List of monarchs who lost their thrones or abdicated in the 20th century

   

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. A list of surviving former monarchs appears at the end of the list.

See also: Abolished monarchies, List of current monarchs


Contents: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


  • List of former monarchs by country

A

Afghanistan

    • King Amanullah Shah - overthrown in 1929 (d.1960).
    • Emir Habibullah Ghazi - overthrown in 1929 (executed later that year).
    • King Mohammed Zahir Shah - deposed in coup in 1973.

Image:zogcrop.jpg
King Zog of Albania


overthrown by Mussolini in 1939

Albania

Anhalt

    • Duke Joachim Ernst abdicated at the end of World War I in 1918 (d.1947)

Austria

    • Emperor Karl - Austro-Hungarian Empire abolished in 1918. (d.1922)

B

Baden

    • Grand Duke Friedrich II abdicated in 1918. (d.1928)

Baltic State (Estonia and Livonia)

    • No ruler actually chosen, although offers were made to German Emperor Wilhelm II before it ceased to exist in 1918.

Baroda

    • Farzand-i-Khas-i-Daulat-i- Inglishia, Shrimant Maharaja Sir Pratapsinhrao Gaekwad, Sena Khas Khel Shamsher Bahadur Maharaja of Baroda, deposed 1951.

Bavaria

Belgium

Bharatpur

    • Maharaja Shri Brijendra Sawai Brijendra Singhji Bahadur Bahadur Jang, Maharaja of Bharatpur

deposed 1971

Bhopal

    • Sikander Saulat, Iftikhar ul-Mulk, Nawab Sultan Kaikhusrau Jahan Begum Sahiba Nawab Begum of Bhopal, abdicated 1926

Bohemia

    • Emperor Karl deposed by the the proclamation of the Czechoslovakian republic 1918.

Bone

    • La Pawowoni Karaeng Segeri Arumpone of Bone,deposed 1905
    • Haji Andi La Mappanjuki Karaeng Silayar Sri Sultan Ibrahim ibnu Sultan Husain Arumpone of Bone, abdicated 1946, restored 1950, reign secondly to 1960, d.1967
    • Andi Pabenteng Arumpone of Bone, deposed 1950

Brunswick

    • Duke Ernst August, abdicated in 1918 (d.1953)

Buganda

Bukhara

    • Emir Muhammad Alim Khan - deposed 1920, lands taken over by Bolsheviks (d.1934)

Buleleng

    • Sri Ratu Anak Agung g Nyoman Panji Tisna Raja of Buleleng, abdicated 1947, reinstalled 1950, died 1978
    • Sri Ratu Anak Agung Panji Sakti II Raja of Buleleng, abdicated 1950

Bulgaria

    • King Simeon II - deposed in plebiscite in 1946; currently Prime Minister of Bulgaria.

C

Caliphate

Cambodia

    • Queen Sisowath Monivong Kossamak - 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 as King from 1941 to 1955) as King.

Champasak

  • Bua Laphan Ratsadany, prince of Champasak 1900-1904, deposed when the principality was abolished on 22nd November 1904

China

    • Emperor Puyi was forced to abdicate in 1912 following a Republican revolution. (d.1967)
    • Emperor Hongxian, deposed 1916(emperor briefly)

Courland

    • Duke-elect Wilhelm II is deposed following the end of World War I in 1918 (d.1941)

Croatia

    • The Axis puppet King Tomislav II (Prince Aimone of Savoy, Duke of Spoleto), who had never actually reigned, abdicated in 1943, when Italy made peace with the allies.

D

Dewas

    • Kshatriya Kulavatana Sena Sapta Sahasri Senapati Pratinidhi, Meherban Shrimant Maharaja Sir Vikramsinhrao Tukojirao (Nana Sahib) Puar Maharaja of Dewas, abdicated 1947

E

Egypt

    • 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)

Ethiopia

    • Emperor Iyasu V,deposed 1916 for suspected convert to muslim faith.
    • Emperor Haile Selassie deposed, later murdered following communist revolution in 1975.

Image:Kaisercrop.jpg
Kaiser William II of Germany
King of Prussia


deposed after World War I
    • Emperor Amha Selassie I., briefly emepror 1974-1975.deposed by the abolition of the monarchy. Died 1997.

F

Fiji

Finland

G

Gambia

Germany

    • Kaiser Wilhelm II deposed following Germany's defeat in World War I in 1918. (d.1941)

Ghana

Gojjam

    • Le'ul-Ras Hailu Takla-Haymaynot, prince of Gojjam, deposed 1932.

Gowa

    • Andi Ijo Daeng Mattawang Karaeng Lalolang Paduka Sri Sultan Muhammad 'Abdu'l Kadir Aid ud-din ibnu Sultan Muhammad Tahir Muhib ud-din Sultan of Gowa, deposed by the Indonesian republic 1960, d.1978

Greece

    • King Constantine I - deposed in 1917 (returned to the throne in 1920)
    • King Constantine I - abdicated in 1922 (d.1923)
    • King George II - deposed in 1924 by referendum abolishing monarchy. (returned to the throne in 1935)
    • King Constantine II - deposed by referendum abolishing monarchy in 1973 (and re-run in 1974)

Guyana

H

Hesse and the Rhine

    • Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig deposed in 1918 (d.1937)

Hungary

    • King Charles IV - Lost his throne when a republic was established in 1918. Folowing the restoration of the Hungarian monarchy in 1920 he was refused permission to assume residency and constitutional functions in the Kingdom of Hungary following the end of World War I by the Regent of Hungary. Karl died in exile in 1922. The Kingdom of Hungary was abolished by communists following World War II.

Hyderabad

    • His Exalted Highness Rustam-i-Dauran, Arustu-i-Zaman, Wal Mamaluk, Asaf Jah VIII, Muzaffar ul-Mamaluk, Nizam ul-Mulk, Nizam ud-Daula, Nawab Mir Barakat 'Ali Khan Bahadur, Sipah Salar, Fath Jang

deposed 1971.

I

India

    • King George VI of the United Kingdom, Emperor of India - ceased to be Emperor in 1947, when India gained its independence, and ceased to be King of India in 1950, when India became a republic. (d.1952)

Indian Princely States

    • all the several hundred princely states (with a few exceptions) were abolished upon India's independence in 1947.
Image:shah.crop.jpg
Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran
overthrown by revolution in 1979

Iran

Iraq

    • King Faisal II - murdered with his family in 1958.

Republic of Ireland

    • King George VI – ceased to be King when the country became a republic in 1948. (d.1952)

Italy

J

K

Karangasem

    • Sri Paduka Ratu Anak Agung Gusti Gedé Jelantik Regent and Stedehouder of Karangasem, abdicated 1908
    • Sri Paduka Ratu Anak Agung Agung Anglurah Ketut Karangasem Raja of the State of Karangase, abdicated 1950
    • Sri Paduka Ratu Anak Agung Agung Ngurah Ketut Karangasem Raja of the State of Karangasem, reign briefly 1950, Karangasem added to Indonesia 1950, continued to reign as a nominal Raja till his death in 1991

Kenya

Khiva

    • Khan Abd Allah Khan, deposed 1920, lands taken over by Bolsheviks

Kokang

Korea

    • Lyunghui Emperor deposed by the Japanese in 1910.

Kubu

    • Sharif 'Abbas ibni al-Marhum Sharif Hasan 'Ali al-Idrus Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Kubu deposed 1911
    • Sharif Muhammad Zainal Idrus ibni al-Marhum Sharif Ismail al-Idrus Tuan Besar of Kubu abdicated 1921
    • Sharif Salih ibni al-Marhum Idrus al-Idrus Tuan Besar of Kubu,deposed by the Japanese in 1943
    • Sharif Hasan ibni al-Marhum Sharif Muhammad Zainal Idrus al-Idrus Tuan Besar of Kubu

deposed by the Indonesian government 1958

Kupang

  • Raja Don Ote Nicolaas Isu Nisnoni Raja of Kupang, abdicated 1945
  • Raja Don Obe Alfonsus Nisnoni Raja of Kupang, deposed by the Indonesian republic 1960. Died 1992

Kutai

    • Sri Paduka Sultan Aji Muhammad Parikesit al-Adil Khalifat ul-Muminin, Sultan of Kutai Karta Negara, deposed by the Indonesian government 1960, died 1981

L

Lambjang and Kaski

  • Sri Sri Sri Maharaja Juddha Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana, T'ung-ling- ping-ma-Kuo-Kang-wang Maharaja of Lambjang and Kaski 1932-1945, abdicated 29th November 1945.
  • Sri Sri Sri Maharaja Padma Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana Maharaja of Lambjang and Kaski, 1945-1948, abdicated 1948.
  • Sri Sri Sri Maharaja Mohan Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana Maharaja of Lambjang and Kaski

1948-1951, Deprived of all the hereditary offices and priviledges conferred on Jung Bahadur in 1857, 18th February 1951.

Laos

Lesotho

    • King Moshoeshoe II, deposed 1990, reinstated 1995, died 1996.
    • King Letsie III, took the throne upon his father's, Moshoeshoe II, deposition (1990). Later deposed in favor of his father (1995), and then recalimed the throne on his father's death in 1996.

Libya

    • King Idris - deposed in a coup led by Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi in 1969. (d. 1983)

Lingga

    • Paduka Sri Sultan 'Abdu'l-Rahman II Mu'azzam Shah ibni al-Marhum Raja Muhammad Yusuf al-Mahdi Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Lingga, Riau, deposed in absentia in 1911.

Lippe

    • Prince Leopold IV - deposed in 1918 (d.1949)

Lithuania

    • The German puppet King Mindaugas II Duke Wilhelm von Urach is deposed following the end of the First World War in 1918.

Luxembourg

    • Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaďde was forced to abdicate in 1919 due to political issues (d. 1924)
    • Her sister and successor Grand Duchess Charlotte also abdicated, in 1964 (d. 1985)
    • Charlotte's son and successor Grand Duke Jean abdicated in favour of his son Henri in 2000.

M

Malawi

Malta

Manchukuo

    • Emperor Pu-yi deposed, 1945

Mauritius

Mecklenburg-Schwerin

    • Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV deposed in 1918 (d.1945)

Mecklenburg-Strelitz

    • 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.

Montenegro

    • King Nikola - deposed after the First World War, when Montenegro became part of Yugoslavia.

N

Netherlands

Nigeria

Norway

    • King Oscar II was replaced in 1905, ending the Swedish-Norwegian personal union (d. 1907)

O

Oldenburg

    • Grand Duke Friedrich August, deposed 1918 (d.1931)


Image:Manuel_II.jpg
King Manuel II of Portugal
overthrown by revolution in 1910

P

Pakistan

Poland

    • The portion of Poland formerly ruled by Russia was occupied by Germany and Austria in 1915 and proclaimed an independent kingdom in 1916. Archduke Karl Stefan of Austria was named King-elect, but the nation was declared a republic without ever actually having had a King in the 20th century.

Portugal

    • King Manuel II - fled following a revolution in 1910. (d.1932)

Prussia

    • King Wilhelm II - overthrown from Prussian and German thrones after World War I. (d.1941)

Q

Qatar

    • Shaikh 'Abdu'llah bin Jasim Al-Thani Ruler of Qatar, abdicated 1949, died 1957

R

Reuss Elder Line

    • Prince Henry XXIV - deposed 1918 (d.1927)

Reuss Younger Line

    • Prince Henry XXVII - deposed 1918 (d.1928)

Romania

    • King Michael - deposed by communist-dominated government in 1947.

Russia

    • 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. See The House of Romanov. The monarchy was abolished and replaced by a Russian republic under Lenin, which in 1922 became the Soviet Union
Image:Nick2crop.jpg
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia
overthrown by revolution in 1917
executed with his family in 1918


Rwanda (the Tutsi state)

S

Sarawak

Saudi Arabia

Saxe-Altenburg

    • Duke Ernst II deposed 1918 (d.1955)

Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

    • Duke KKarl Eduard deposed 1918 (d.1954)

Saxe-Meiningen

    • Duke Bernhard III deposed 1918 (d.1928)

Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

    • Grand Duke Wilhelm Ernst deposed 1918 (d.1923)

Saxony

    • King Frederick Augustus III - deposed at the end of the First World War in 1918 with all the other German monarchs. (d.1932)

Schaumburg-Lippe

    • Prince Adolf II - deposed in 1918 (d.1936)

Serbia

    • The Obrenovich dynasty came to an end in 1903, when King Alexander was murdered.
    • King Peter I became instead King of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes in 1918.

Serdang

    • Paduka Sri Sultan Tuanku Sulaiman Sharif ul-'Alam Shah ibni al-Marhum Sultan Bashar un-din [Al-Marhum Perbaungan], Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Serdang.

deposed 1946.

Sierra Leone

Sikkim

    • Muwong Chogyal Sri Sri Sri Sri Sri Chempo Palden Tondup Namgyal (dPal-ldan Don-grub rNamgyal) Maharaja and Chogyal of Sikkim

South Africa

    • Queen Elizabeth II - deposed when South Africa became a republic in 1961.

Spain

    • King Alfonso XIII - fled following republican win in local elections in 1931, died 1941 (monarchy restored in 1975 under his grandson, King Juan Carlos)

Sri Lanka

T

Tanzania

Thailand

Tibet

  • Tenzin Gyatso was forsed to flee from Tibet in 1959 because of the Chinese ocupation; he retains the title of Dalai Lama

Tigray

    • Le'ul Ras Seyum Mangasha, prince of Tigray, deposed 1921, reinstalled 1941.

Toro

    • Rukirabasaija Patrick David Matthew Koboyo Olimi III, deposed by the abolition of the Ugandian kingdoms 8th September 1967

Travancore

    • Maharaja Raja Ramaraja Sri Patmanabha Dasa Vanchi Pala Bala Rama Varma II (Sri Chithira Tirunal), Kulasekhara Kiritapati Manney Sultan Bahadur, Shamsher Jang, Maharaja of Travancore, deposed 1971

Trinidad and Tobago

Tunisia

    • King Muhammad al-Amin - deposed in 1957, when Tunisia became a republic. (d.1962)

Turkey

U

Uganda

United Kingdom

    • King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom abdicated on December 11, 1936, later became the Duke of Windsor. (d.1972)
      • He also abdicated from the rest of the Commonwealth nations, but is not listed under them, since the dates of abdication are the same, or one day different for technical reasons in Ireland.

V

Vietnam

    • Emperor Bao Dai abdicates in 1945 when communists seize 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 (d.1997)

W

Waldeck and Pyrmont

    • Prince Friedrich - deposed in 1918 (d.1946)

Württemberg

X

Y

Yemen

    • King Muhammad al-Badr - deposed in 1962 (d.1996)

Yugoslavia

Z

  • Zanzibar (later united with Tanganyika)(see Peoples Republic of Zanzibar for information on Zanzibar after 1964)
    • Sultan Sayyid 'Ali II bin Hamud Sultan of Zanzibar, abdicated 1911
    • Sultan Sayyid Jamshid bin 'Abdu'llah Sultan of Zanzibar 1964

Surviving monarchs from abolished monarchies:

Image:Baodaicrop.jpg
Emperor Bao Dai of Vietnam

deposed twice
  • King Mohammed Zahir Shah of Afghanistan (b. 1914)
  • King Constantine II of Greece (b. 1940)
  • King Fuad II of Egypt (b.1952)
  • Queen Elizabeth II of Fiji, Mauritius, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Malta (b. 1926)
  • King Simeon II of Bulgaria (b. 1937) - currently serving as Prime Minister
  • King Michael of Romania (b.1921)

For monarchs deposed before 1900, see Monarchs deposed in the 19th century


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