saintsup wrote:Always thought it was a reference to 'the empire where the sun never sets'
That, in turn, is originally a reference to the Austro-Spanish empire of Charles V. With possessions spanning the globe, the sun indeed never set in this one.
Apparantely the quote was transformed by a witty writer in the last years of WW1 to apply to Charles' last and final successor, also named Charles, emperor of Austria 1916-18. According to him Charles ruled an empire over which the sun never rose ...