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

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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 article.

See also: Abolished monarchy, List of current monarchs, List of non-sovereign monarchs who lost their thrones in the 20th century

A

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  • Prince William fled Albania in 1914 following the outbreak of World War I (he was formally deposed in 1925).

B

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  • Mir Ahmad of Kalat was the last ruler of the Khanate of Kalat in Baluchistan. On 27 March 1948 he acceded to Pakistan.
  • King Otto was deposed by legislation in 1913, and succeeded by his cousin, Prince Regent Ludwig.
  • King Ludwig III went into exile when the German Empire collapsed in 1918, but did not abdicate; Bavaria was incorporated into the new German Republic in 1919.

C

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  • 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. He abdicated a second time in favour of his son, Norodom Sihamoni, on 7 October 2004.
  • Queen Sisowath 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.
  • Bokassa I (president turned monarch), Emperor of Central African Empire, deposed in 1979.

E

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F

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  • Queen Elizabeth II ceased to be Queen of Fiji in 1987 when the country became a republic following a coup.
  • Designated King-elect Frederick Charles I (Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse), was offered but did not accede to the throne as King of Finland.

G

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H

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  • King Charles IV (Emperor Charles I of Austria) was deposed in 1918 when a republic was established. 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 Miklós Horthy. Charles IV died in exile in 1922. His son Crown Prince Otto succeeded him but claimed that like his father he was not allowed to enter the Kingdom or assume "residency and constitutional functions", and was not recognised as King. Hungary was proclaimed a republic by the National Assembly on 1 February 1946.

I

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J

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  • King Talal I ruled from July 20, 1951 upon the assassination of his father, King Abdullah I until August 11, 1952. He was forced to abdicate due to schizophrenia and was succeeded by his son, King Hussein I.

K

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L

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  • 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 Gaddafi on 1 September 1969 a day before his abdication was due to take effect.
  • Designated King-elect Mindaugas II (Wilhelm Karl, Duke of Urach), was deposed following the end of World War I in 1918.

M

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Mohammerah

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N

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  • King Tribhuvan went into exile in 1950 and was replaced by his grandson Gyanendra, but returned in 1951 and was restored as King that year.
  • King Gyanendra was removed as King in 1951 following the return of his grandfather. He returned to the throne in 2001 after the Nepalese royal massacre in which his brother Birendra was killed, but was forced to abdicate after the Constituent Assembly of Nepal with a huge majority decided to form Nepal a federal democratic Republic, hence dissolving the monarchy on May 28, 2008.

O

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P

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Q

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R

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  • Elizabeth II ceased to be Queen of Rhodesia in 1970 when the country became a republic by referendum. The country and the title, however, were not recognised by international community nor The Queen herself. Rhodesia was still considered as a British colony until 1980.
  • King Michael I was removed as King in favour of his father Carol II in 1930. He returned to the throne in 1940, but was forced to abdicate in 1947 by the communist government.
  • King Carol II abdicated in 1940 in favour of his son Michael I.
  • King Kigeli V was deposed 1961, but never abdicated.

S

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  • King Faisal I was elected to be king of Greater Syria. His reign lasted from March 11, 1920 until July 25 when he was expelled by French forces.

T

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(Tanganyika was later united with Zanzibar, and Tanzania was formed.)

  • The 14th Dalai Lama went into exile to India from Tibet during the 1959 Tibetan uprising. However Tibet had never claimed to be a sovereign state in modern history. Tibet was considered de facto independent until 1950, which she became an “Autonomous Region” under the PRC.

U

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  • King Edward VIII abdicated on 11 December 1936 in favour of his brother George VI, later he became the Duke of Windsor.
    • He also abdicated from the rest of the Dominions, but is listed separately under them. The dates of abdication are the same except in Ireland, where it occurred one day earlier for technical reasons, and in South Africa, where it was one day later, i.e. on 12 December.

V

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  • Emperor Bao Dai abdicated in 1945 when communists, called Viet Minh, seized control of the nation. Later on Ho Chi Minh, leader of Viet Minh, proclaimed the creation of Democratic Republic of Vietnam. 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.

W

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Y

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Z

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(Zanzibar was later united with Tanganyika, and Tanzania was formed.)

Surviving monarchs from abolished monarchies in 20th century

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Country Monarch Born Reign Notes
Bulgaria Bulgaria Tsar Simeon II 1937 28 August 1943 – 15 September 1946 He later served as Prime Minister (2001–2005).
Egypt Egypt and Sudan King Fuad II 1952 26 July 1952 – 18 June 1953
Nepal Nepal King Gyanendra 1947 7 November 1950 – 8 January 1951;
4 June 2001 – 28 May 2008
Qu'aiti Sultan Ghalib II 1948 10 October 1966 – 17 September 1967
Zanzibar Zanzibar (as minor part of Tanzania nowadays) Sultan Jamshid bin Abdullah 1929 1 July 1963 – 12 January 1964

See also List of living former sovereign monarchs

See also

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