Emperor Shun (Prince Bao) was the only son of Emperor An of Han. After Emperor An died in 125, the Empress Dowager Yan, childless but yearning to hold on to power, displaced Prince Bao (whose title of crown prince she had wrongly caused Emperor An to strip in 124) from the throne in favour of Liu Yi, the Marquess of Beixiang. After Liu Yi died after reigning less than seven months, eunuchs loyal to Prince Bao, led by Sun Cheng, carried out a successful coup d'etat against the Empress Dowager, and Prince Bao was declared emperor at age 10.