5 famous world leaders photographed when they were young
Getting a kid to sit still and have their picture taken is an almost universal struggle for parents. For most, these snaps are just to remember a cherished moment in their childhood.
But very, very, rarely, these childhood mementos will take on a whole new meaning, with that awkward and unassuming youth turning into a person of national or even international importance.
Seeing images of great world leaders like Winston Churchill as a child can give you a fresh perspective on the person behind the name, or even just lend credence to President Trump's strange claim that 'he was a very handsome man'.
Indeed, another of President Trump's odd statements, that John F. Kennedy 'had a great aura,' can actually be seen in one of the slain president's childhood snaps where, behind his youthful expression, you can see the man who would become JFK.
John F. Kennedy
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Having died at the age of 46 in circumstances that would change the trajectory of American history, John F. Kennedy has been etched into our collective cultural memory as the ideal of a photogenic, middle aged, president.
But JFK was not 46 forever, indeed, as will be unsurprising to anyone with even a passing knowledge of the Kennedy dynasty's tragic history, much of the bad luck and worse health that would become a feature of his later life had echoes in his childhood.
Not only did he almost lose his life to Scarlet Fever aged just two, by the time John was 10 in 1927, his fragile health had already isolated him from his siblings and other children his age.
The family even had their own joke about his ill health, saying that if a mosquito were to bite young JFK, the mosquito would die from the 'toxicity' of the youngster's blood.
While young JFK would continue to suffer from potentially fatal contagious diseases like whooping cough, measles, and diphtheria, despite his father's large fortune, he had already been inocculated in politics by the time he was five.
In between these frequent bouts of illness, the man who would later successfully avert the Cuban Missile Crisis was taken along on the failed gubernatorial campaign of his grandfather, John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, touring his Boston wards - who would later give him his first job in Congress.
Bill Clinton
Despite facing down a major infidelity scandal while in office, Bill Clinton continues to be ranked among America's most impactful presidents for overseeing eight years of relative stability and economic growth, from 1993 to 2001.
The United States that he oversaw during his two terms in office, in many ways, would have been barely recognizable from the country of his childhood.
Born one year after World War Two in segregated Arkansas, Bill's youth was marked by one of the greatest social revolutions in American history, one that would ultimately upend the racism that had become entrenched in towns, cities, and states across the country
When he was just 11, one of the pivotal moments of the civil rights era would take place barely an hour's drive from his home in Hope, Arkansas, when nine African American students attempted to desegregate Little Rock Central High School in the wake of the landmark 'Brown v. Board of Eduction' ruling.
Not only would Clinton make frequent visits to this high school when he was the state's governor and later as president, but during his campaigns he would often cite his grandparents, who ran an early desegregated store, as key figures in his political development.
Justin Trudeau
Perhaps the most successful political 'nepo baby' of the modern era, Justin Trudeau has led a charmed life from the very day of his birth, Christmas Day, 1971.
Having been born to Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau during his first term in office, by the time Justin was out of swaddling clothes he'd already met a number of world leaders.
Young Justin met everyone from Queen Elizabeth II to Pope John Paul II and President Nixon as a result of his father's decade of political success, all before he could even grow hair on his top lip.
As the son of the most powerful politician in Canada, Justin's childhood was a difficult mixture of trying to lead a normal life, and the surreality of his father's high office. No better exemplified than his demand to catch the bus to school rather than a limo.
His father caved, kind of. From then on Justin caught the school bus, which was always closely followed by a security vehicle.
King Charles III
No living world leader has spent as long in the spotlight as the UK's King Charles III, who in 1948 was born into one of the world's wealthiest families and oldest monarchies, second only in age to Japan's Imperial family.
Four years after his birth, his 'darling mama' became the iconic Queen Elizabeth II, who would end up sitting on the throne for 70 years - the longest reign of any British monarch ever.
Living with all the pomp, pageantry and public attention that has surrounded the Royal Family for much of the past 1000 years turned young Charles into quite a shy and sensitive child. Perhaps unsurprising when your mom ruled over and traveled to dozens of countries.
This lonely childhood meant the heir to the throne delivered his first steps and his first words to his nanny Mabel Anderson, who was essentially his surrogate mother and was called 'Nana' by Charles.
It is widely accepted by royal historians that his parents, the Queen and Prince Philip, were quite absent from Charles' early life, instead relying on nannies and private boarding schools to raise him.
Sadly, he hated his time at Scottish boarding school Gordounstown, which he compared to the prison camp that stored Nazis after World War Two by calling it 'Colditz in Kilts'.
Winston Churchill
Often regarded as one of the greatest world leaders of all time, Winston Churchill was already an old man when he rallied wartime Britain to stand alone against the Nazis as they swept through Europe.
But Churchill's journey to national hero did not begin in 1940 when the king asked him to form a wartime government. He had actually been on a path to greatness from an early age, though it did help that he was a member of one of Britain's most aristocratic families.
Attending one of the most exclusive institutions of the upper classes, Harrow School, did not motivate Churchill to become studious. Instead, he opted to try and get into the elite Sandhurst Military Academy.
After graduating, he leveraged his father's noble background to try and get posted to an active war zone, showing a bravery and recklessness that would mark much of his career.
Though his first combat experience would be as an observer and newspaper reporter covering the Cuban War of Independence, he would go on to serve during wars in Pakistan, Sudan, and South Africa as both a cavalry officer and correspondent during the dying decades of the British Empire.
And he did all of that by the age of 30.
Topics: Politics, History, Justin Trudeau
William Morgan