During the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916, some Republican leaders, including Pearse and Joseph Plunkett, contemplated giving the throne of an independent Ireland to Prince Joachim of Prussia. While they were not in favour of a monarchy in itself, Pearse and Plunkett thought that if the rising were successful and Germany won the First World War, they would insist on an independent Ireland being a monarchy with a German prince as king, in the same way as Romania and Bulgaria. The fact that Joachim did not speak English was also considered an advantage, as he might be more disposed to learning and promoting the use of the Irish language. In his memoirs, Desmond FitzGerald wrote: