1929 was a busy year. With lightning speed, Ferdinand arranged the marriages of several of his sons.
Then he sent them off to the Americas. There was no time to waste—the economic crisis was about to erupt. If they did not hurry over to take control of the situation, then who would call the shots in the future would truly be hard to say.
For this, Ferdinand received no small amount of blame, but there was nothing to be done. Though they were all founding monarchs, real power still lay in the hands of parliament and the government.
The best way to seize power was to do nothing at all. First, they had to make their presence known and put everyone at ease.
Then they could sit back and wait for the economic crisis to erupt, for the government to collapse, and for the kings to come out and clean up the mess. Before that, they could not so much as touch power.
All five sons had left. Looking at the empty palace, Ferdinand found it somewhat dull and joyless as well.
He was beginning to regret it. Raising sons to be too capable was not necessarily a good thing.
Being capable also meant being able to stir things up. If they were not allowed to stir things up outside, they would stir things up at home.
No wonder the ancient struggles for the throne had been so fierce. So long as a prince had ability, who would willingly spend the rest of his life doing nothing, cooped up at home as a rice-eating parasite?
The question of the throne was very simple: it would be decided by drawing lots. Ferdinand left everything to God's judgment. Whether it turned out a loss or a gain, it would all be God's