The following monarchs either lost their thrones through deposition by a coup d'état, by a referendum which abolished their throne, or chose to abdicate during the 20th century or 21st century. A list of surviving former monarchs appears at the end of the article. See also: Abolished monarchy, List of current monarchs - Emperor Karl was deposed as Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary in 1918.
- King Charles III (Emperor Charles I of Austria) abdicated and the Habsburg-Lothringen dynasty was deposed in 1918.
- Ndagara, Omukama of Buhweju, deposed 1901.
- Tsar Ferdinand I abdicated in 1918 in favour of his son, Tsar Boris III, following World War I.
- Tsar Simeon II never abdicated but was exiled by the Bulgarian government following a national referendum in 1946 after which Bulgaria became a People's Republic. After the fall of communism in Bulgaria, he returned to the country in 1996, and was elected as Prime Minister in 2001, serving until 2005. He is the only monarch in recent history to become a democratically elected head of government.
- Caliph Abdul Mejid II, cousin of the last Ottoman Sultan, was deposed in 1924.
- King Norodom Sihanouk abdicated in 1955, then served in various important positions, including prime minister and head of state, intermittently until 1976, and was eventually restored to the kingship in 1993.
- Queen Sisowath Monivong Kossamak was deposed in 1970 with the coup that ended the regime of Prince Norodom Sihanouk. The monarchy was restored in 1993 with Sihanouk (who had previously reigned from 1941 to 1955) as King.
- King Norodom Sihanouk abdicated in favour of his son on October 7, 2004.
- Bua Laphan Ratsadany, prince of Champasak 1900–1904, was deposed when the principality was abolished on November 22, 1904.
- Xuantong Emperor (Puyi) was forced to abdicate in 1912 following a Republican revolution.
- Yuan Shikai (reigned as the self-proclaimed Hongxian Emperor) abdicated in 1916, a few months before his death, and lasting only 83 days on the throne.
- Violet Pachanos chief of Chisabibi 1989-1995 ,deposed or abdicated 1995,restored 1999,reigned until 2001.
- Duke-elect (and German Emperor) William II was deposed following the end of World War I in 1918.
- Sir Sri Rama Varma (1895-1914): He was rewarded with K.C.S.I, G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E. It was during his reign that the railway line from Shornur was extended to Cochin. There are many versions for his abdication. He resigned in 1914. One of the very talked about version is that he had differences with British Empire because of his proximity with Germans. There is also another version in his biography which says he resigned due to ill-health. He died in January 1932 (1107 Makaram 16th). He is known as Ozinja Vallia Thampuran (Abdicated Highness, aka Rajarshi).
- King Farouk abdicated in 1952 in favor of his infant son Fuad II, who was deposed the next year when Egypt became a republic. (Farouk died 1965; Fuad is still living as of 2009[update].)
- Emperor Iyasu V was deposed 1916 for suspected conversion to the Muslim faith.
- Emperor Haile Selassie was deposed following the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1936, and restored in 1941. He was deposed again during communist revolution in 1975.
- Emperor Amha Selassie I, briefly emperor 1974–1975, was deposed by the abolition of the monarchy. see here, http://www.ethiopiancrown.org/crown.htm
- Queen Elizabeth II ceased to be Queen following the 1987 coup in which it was declared a republic.
- Emperor William II abdicated and fled to the Netherlands following Germany's defeat in World War I in 1918.
- King Constantine I was deposed in 1917; succeeded by his second-born son, Alexander; returned to the throne in 1920, after Alexander's death.
- King Constantine I abdicated in 1922 in favour of his first-born son, George.
- King George II went into exile in 1923 and was deposed in 1924 by a referendum abolishing monarchy; returned to the throne in 1935; exiled in 1941, as the Axis forces overran Greece; returned in 1946 after a favorable referendum.
- King Constantine II was exiled in 1967 and was deposed by a referendum abolishing monarchy in 1973 (both events under dictatorial rule); referendum repeated in 1974, during democratic rule, and the monarchy was abolished.
- King Ali of Hejaz, deposed by Saudi Military forces in 1925.
- King Charles IV (Emperor Charles I of Austria) lost his throne when a republic was established in 1918. Following the restoration of the Hungarian monarchy in 1920, he was refused permission to assume residency and constitutional functions in the Kingdom by the Regent of Hungary. Charles died in exile in 1922. His son Otto succeeded him in his claims but, like his father, was not allowed to enter the Kingdom or assume constitutional functions, and was not recognized as king. Hungary was proclaimed a republic by the National Assembly on 1 Feb. 1946.
- King Christian X of Denmark ceased to be king in 1944, when the country became a republic on the 17th of June.
- Musinga, Omukama of Igara, deposed 1901.
- King George VI ceased to be King when the country became a republic in 1949.
- King Talal I ruled from July 20, 1951 upon the assassination of his father, Abdullah I of Jordan until August 11, 1952. He was forced to abdicate due to schizophrenia and was succeeded by his son, Hussein I.
- King Moshoeshoe II was deposed in 1990 and reinstated in 1995.
- King Letsie III took the throne upon his father's, Moshoeshoe II, deposition in 1990. He later abdicated the throne in favor of his father (1995), and then reclaimed the throne on his father's death in 1996.
- King Idris I was deposed in a coup led by Muammar al-Gaddafi on September 1, 1969 a day before his abdication was due to take effect.
- The German puppet King Mindaugas II of Lithuania (William, Duke of Urach, Count of Württemberg) was deposed following the end of the First World War in 1918.
- Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde was forced to abdicate in 1919 due to political issues.
- Her sister and successor Grand Duchess Charlotte also abdicated, in 1964.
- Charlotte's son and successor Grand Duke Jean abdicated in favour of his son Henri in 2000.
- Voivode Julius I was deposed in 1943, after German occupation.
- Emperor Puyi was deposed in 1945, after Soviet intervention.
- The last Grand Duke, Adolf Friedrich VI, committed suicide in February 1918. From then until the abolition of the monarchy in 1918, the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin acted as regent.
- King Nicholas was deposed after the First World War, when Montenegro became part of Yugoslavia.
- King Gyanendra lost his throne after the government decided to form a republic, hence dissolving the monarchy in 2008.
- King Oscar II was replaced in 1905, ending the Swedish-Norwegian personal union.
- Queen Elizabeth II ceased to be Queen of the country when it became a republic in 1956.
- The portion of Poland formerly ruled by Russia was occupied by Germany and Austria in 1915 and proclaimed an independent kingdom in 1916. Archduke Charles Stephen of Austria was named King-elect, but the nation was declared a republic without ever actually having had a King in the 20th century.
- King Manuel II fled following a revolution in 1910. Portugal became a Republic.
- King William II (also German Emperor) was overthrown from the Prussian and German thrones after World War I.
- King Michael I was removed as king in favor of his father Carol II in 1930.
- King Carol II abdicated in 1940.
- King Michael was deposed again by the communist-dominated government in 1947.
- Makobore, omukama of Rujumbura, deposed 1901.
- Emperor Nicholas II abdicated after the February Revolution of 1917, as did his named successor, his brother Grand Duke Michael (possibly known for a very short time as Michael II). Both Nicholas II and Michael separately were later murdered, as was all of Nicholas II's family in 1918 (see the House of Romanov). The monarchy was abolished and replaced by a Russian republic under Lenin, which in 1922 became the Soviet Union.
- Duke Ernst II was deposed at the end of the First World War in 1918 with all the other German monarchs.
- Duke Charles Edward was deposed at the end of the First World War in 1918 with all the other German monarchs.
- Duke Bernhard III was deposed at the end of the First World War in 1918 with all the other German monarchs.
- Grand Duke William Ernest was deposed at the end of the First World War in 1918 with all the other German monarchs.
- King Frederick Augustus III was deposed at the end of the First World War in 1918 with all the other German monarchs.
- Prince Adolf II was deposed at the end of the First World War in 1918 with all the other German monarchs.
- Prince Günther was deposed at the end of the First World War in 1918 with all the other German monarchs.
- From 1909 Prince Günther of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was also ruler of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, and, as said above, was deposed at the end of the First World War in 1918 with all the other German monarchs.
- King Peter I became instead King of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes in 1918.
- Queen Elizabeth II ceased to be Queen when the country became a republic in 1971.
- Queen Elizabeth II ceased to be Queen when the country became a republic in 1961.
- King Alfonso XIII fled following republican wins in local elections in 1931. (The monarchy was restored in 1975 under his grandson, King Juan Carlos.)
- King Faisal I was elected to be king of Greater Syria. His reign lasted from March 11, 1920 until July 25th when he was expelled by French forces.
- Emperor Bảo Đại abdicated in 1945 when communists seized control of the nation. Following the Geneva accords, Vietnam was partitioned and Bao Dai became Head of State (Quoc Truong) of the French controlled areas of Vietnam. He was never restored as emperor, and in 1955 was removed from office via referendum.
- HRH Sarmad i Raja-e-Hindustan, mirza raja, Padma murasa, Sata Vigraha Samrat, maharaja dhiraj, Maharana Sir Sawai Jagdish Singh Kachwaha of Vallabpur. The state merged into the Indian union in 1947. Deprived of his princely rank, titles and honours by the republican federal government of India on 28 December 1971.
(Zanzibar was later united with Tanganyika, and Tanzania was formed)
[edit] Surviving monarchs from abolished monarchies - Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria (b.1937); He later served as Prime Minister (2001-2005).
- King Fuad II of Egypt (b.1952)
- King Constantine II of Greece (b.1940)
- King Gyanendra of Nepal (b.1947)
- King Michael of Romania (b.1921)
- King Kigeri V of Rwanda (b.1935)
- Sultan Jamshid bin Abdullah of Zanzibar (b. 1926)
- Queen Elizabeth II of Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Guyana, Kenya, Malawi, Malta, Mauritius, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uganda (b.1926)
- Sultan Ghalib II of Qu'aiti (b. 1948)
See also List of living former sovereign monarchs
[edit] See also |
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