List of the last monarchs in Europe

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This is a list of the last monarchs in Europe.

Nation / territoryMonarchTitleBirthReigned fromReign ceasedReasonDeathArmsRef
Flag of Albania (1939).svg  Albania Stamp of Albania - 1939 - Colnect 173117 - King Victor Emmanuel III.jpeg Victor Emmanuel III King of Albania 11 November 186916 April 19393 September 1943 Armistice of Cassibile 28 December 1947 Great Arms of the Kingdom of Albania (1939-1943).svg [1]
Flag of Lusignan dynasty.webp Armenia Bust Leon V of Armenia.jpg Levon V King of Armenia 134213741375Deposed29 November 1393 Coat of arms of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia.svg
Flag of Austria-Hungary (1867-1918).svg  Austria-Hungary Emperor Charles I of Austria.jpg Charles I and IV Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary 17 August 188721 November 191611 & 13 November 1918 "Relinquished participation in the administration of the State" 1 April 1922 Austro-hungarian coat of arms 1914.svg [2]
Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria BASA-3K-15-302-26-Simeon-The Prince of Turnovo.jpeg Simeon II Tsar of Bulgaria 16 June 193728 August 194315 September 1946 Republican constitution adopted Living State Achievement of Bulgaria 1908-1946.svg [3]
Flag of Independent State of Croatia.svg  Croatia Prince Aimone of Savoy - restored.jpg Tomislav II King of Croatia 9 March 190018 May 194131 July 1943Abdicated29 January 1948 Coat of arms of the Independent State of Croatia.svg [4]
Royal banner of Janus of Cyprus.svg Cyprus Tiziano, ritratto postumo di caterina corner come santa caterina d'alessandria, 1542 (cropped).jpg Catherine Queen of Cyprus25 November 145426 August 147426 February 1489Abdicated10 July 1510 Coat of Arms of the House of Lusignan (Kings of Armenia, Cyprus and Jerusalem).svg [5]
Flag of France (1794-1815).svg  France Franz Xaver Winterhalter Napoleon III.jpg Napoleon III Emperor of the French 20 April 18082 December 18524 September 1870 Abdicated 9 January 1873 Coat of Arms Second French Empire (1852-1870)-2.svg [6]
Flag of the German Empire.svg  Germany Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany - 1902.jpg Wilhelm II Emperor of Germany, King of Prussia 27 January 185915 June 18889 November 1918 Abdicated 9 June 1941 Wappen Deutsches Reich - Reichsadler 1889.svg [7]
Flag of Greece (1822-1978).svg  Greece Aankomst Grieks Koninklijk paar op Schiphol, Bestanddeelnr 918-8596 (cropped).jpg Constantine II King of the Hellenes 2 June 19406 March 19641 June 1973 Deposed 10 January 2023 Royal Coat of Arms of Greece.svg [8]
Flag of Iceland (1918-1944).svg  Iceland Christian X - Peter Elfelt.jpg Christian X King of Iceland 26 September 187014 May 191217 June 1944 Republican constitution adopted 20 April 1947 Kingdom of Iceland Coat of Arms.svg [9]
Flag of Ireland.svg  Irish Free State King George VI LOC matpc.14736 A (cropped).jpg George VI King of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas 14 December 189511 December 193629 December 1937 Constitution of Ireland 6 February 1952 Seal of the Irish Free State.png
Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg  Italy Umberto II, 1944.jpg Umberto II King of Italy 15 September 19049 May 194618 June 1946 Republican constitution adopted 18 March 1983 Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Italy (1890).svg [10]
Flag of Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti.svg Kartli-Kakheti (Eastern Georgia) George XII of Georgia.jpg George XII King of all Georgia, King of all Kartli, Kakheti and all the other lands 10 November 174611 January 179828 December 1800Death28 December 1800 Coat of arms of Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti.svg
Flag of Malta.svg  Malta Queen Elizabeth II official portrait for 1959 tour (retouched) (cropped) (3-to-4 aspect ratio).jpg Elizabeth II Queen of Malta 21 April 192621 September 196413 December 1974Republican constitution adopted8 September 2022 Coat of arms of Malta 1964-1975.svg [11]
Flag of Montenegro (1905-1918).svg  Montenegro Nicholas I of Montenegro.jpg Nicholas I King of Montenegro 7 October 184128 August 191026 November 1918 Monarchy abolished 1 March 1921 Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Montenegro.svg [12]
Flag of Portugal (1830-1910).svg  Portugal Manoel II, King of Portugal (Nov 1909).png Manuel II King of Portugal and the Algarves 15 November 18891 February 19085 October 1910 Monarchy abolished 2 July 1932 Coats of arms of the Kingdom of Portugal and Algarves (1834 to 1910) - Lesser.png [13]
Flag of Romania.svg  Romania Mihai.jpg Michael I King of Romania 25 October 19216 September 194030 December 1947 Monarchy abolished 5 December 2017 Kingdom of Romania - Big CoA.svg [14]
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia Mikola II (cropped)-2.jpg Nicholas II Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias 18 May 18681 November 189415 March 1917 Abdicated 17 July 1918 Lesser Coat of Arms of Russian Empire.svg [15]
Flag of Yugoslavia (1918-1943).svg  Yugoslavia Petar II Karadordevic.jpg Peter II King of Yugoslavia 6 September 19239 October 193429 November 1945 Deposed 3 November 1970 Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.svg [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constitutional monarchy</span> Form of government

Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. Constitutional monarchies differ from absolute monarchies in that they are bound to exercise powers and authorities within limits prescribed by an established legal framework.

A monarch is a head of state for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power in the state, or others may wield that power on behalf of the monarch. Usually a monarch either personally inherits the lawful right to exercise the state's sovereign rights or is selected by an established process from a family or cohort eligible to provide the nation's monarch. Alternatively, an individual may proclaim oneself monarch, which may be backed and legitimated through acclamation, right of conquest or a combination of means.

A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic, to fully autocratic, and can span across executive, legislative, and judicial domains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1241</span> Calendar year

Year 1241 (MCCXLI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.

1280 (MCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Julian calendar.

Absolute monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute power. Often such monarchies are hereditary and sometimes elective

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Windsor</span> British royal house

The House of Windsor is a British royal house, and currently the reigning house of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms. The royal house's name was inspired by the historic Windsor Castle estate. Since it was founded in 1917, there have been five British monarchs of the House of Windsor: George V, Edward VIII, George VI, Elizabeth II, and Charles III. The children and male-line descendants of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip also genealogically belong to the House of Oldenburg since Philip was by birth a member of the Glücksburg branch of that house.

The abolition of monarchy is a legislative or revolutionary movement to abolish monarchical elements in government, usually hereditary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dynasty</span> Sequence of rulers considered members of the same family

A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coronation</span> Ceremony marking the investiture of a monarch

A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of other items of regalia, marking the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power. Aside from the crowning, a coronation ceremony may comprise many other rituals such as the taking of special vows by the monarch, the investing and presentation of regalia to the monarch, and acts of homage by the new ruler's subjects and the performance of other ritual deeds of special significance to the particular nation. In certain Christian denominations, such as Lutheranism and Anglicanism, coronation is a rite. As such, Western-style coronations have often included anointing the monarch with holy oil, or chrism as it is often called; the anointing ritual's religious significance follows examples found in the Bible. The monarch's consort may also be crowned, either simultaneously with the monarch or as a separate event.

An elective monarchy is a monarchy ruled by a monarch who is elected, in contrast to a hereditary monarchy in which the office is automatically passed down as a family inheritance. The manner of election, the nature of candidate qualifications, and the electors vary from case to case. Historically, it was common for elective monarchies to transform into hereditary ones over time or for hereditary ones to acquire at least occasional elective aspects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen regnant</span> Female monarch who rules a country in her own right

A queen regnant is a female monarch, equivalent in rank, title and position to a king. She reigns suo jure over a realm known as a kingdom; as opposed to a queen consort, who is married to a reigning king; or a queen regent, who is the guardian of a child monarch and rules pro tempore in the child's stead or instead of her husband who is absent from the realm, be it de jure in sharing power or de facto in ruling alone. A queen regnant is sometimes called a woman king. A princess regnant is a female monarch who reigns suo jure over a principality; an empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns suo jure over an empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Habsburg monarchy</span> Monarchy in Europe (1282–1918)

The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is also referred to as the Danubian monarchy or the Austrian monarchy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles V, Duke of Lorraine</span> Duke of Lorraine and Bar from 1675 to 1690

Charles V, Duke of Lorraine and Bar succeeded his uncle Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine as titular Duke of Lorraine and Bar in 1675; both duchies were occupied by France from 1634 to 1661 and 1670 to 1697.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monarchism</span> Advocacy of a monarch or monarchical rule

Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. Conversely, the opposition to monarchical rule is referred to as republicanism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monarchy of China</span> Form of government in historical China

China was a monarchy from prehistoric times up to 1912, when a republic was established. The succession of legendary monarchs of China were non-hereditary. Dynastic rule began c. 2070 BC when Yu the Great established the Xia dynasty, and monarchy lasted until 1912 when dynastic rule collapsed together with the monarchical government. Various attempts at preserving and restoring the Chinese monarchy occurred during and following the Xinhai Revolution, but these regimes were short-lived and lacked widespread recognition.

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