What country had to burn the socks of a former king because they had deteriorated so badly? (Honest, I am not making this up.)

Hungary.

Mozart is on his toes!

The sceptre is considered the artistically most valuable piece of the Hungarian royal inventory. It contains a solid mountain crystal ball decorated with engraved lions, a rare product of the 10th century Fatimid empire. Its handle contains a wooden rod surrounded by very fine wrought silver ornaments. The only missing items are the king's socks which were badly deteriorated and had to be burned in late 1945, after spending a part of WWII buried. - Wikipeia.com