興宣大院君
Because the throne was vacant, this led to a distant relative, Cheoljong of Joseon, to take the throne, but then the king also died in 1864 leaving the throne empty. The Heungseon Daewongun then approached the Queen Shinjeong, Cheoljong's cousin, as he was a distant relative of King Injo and the adoptive son of Prince Eunsin. The Heungseon Daewongun was ineligible to throne due to a law that dictated that any possible heir to the kingdom be part of the generation after the most recent incumbent of the throne, but his second son Yi Myeong-bok, was a possible successor to the throne. On 21 January 1864, Yi Myeong-bok was enthroned as King Gojong.