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

See also: Abolished monarchies

• Afghanistan
  • Emir Habibullah Khan - assassinated in 1919.
  • King Amanullah Shah - overthrown in 1929 (d.1960).
  • Emir Habibullah Ghazi - overthrown in 1929 (executed later that year).
  • King Mohammed Nadir Shah - assassinated in 1933.
  • King Mohammed Zahir Shah - deposed in coup in 1973.

King Zog of Albania
overthrown by Mussolini in 1939

• Albania
  • Prince William of Wied fled in 1914, following the outbreak of the First World War (d.1945)
  • King Zog of Albania (president turned monarch) deposed by Italy in 1939. (d.1961)
  • King Victor Emmanuel III, deposed in 1943, when Italy made peace with the Allies.

• 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)

• 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.

• Bavaria
  • King Ludwig III deposed in 1918. (d.1921)

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

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

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

• Caliphate
  • Caliph Abdul Mejid II, cousin of the last Ottoman Sultan, was deposed in 1924 (d.1944)

• 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.

• China
  • Emperor Puyi was forced to abdicate in 1912 following a Republican revolution. (d.1967)

• 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.

• 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 Haile Selassie deposed, later murdered following communist revolution in 1975.

Kaiser William II of Germany
King of Prussia
deposed after World War I

• Fiji
  • Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom- deposed as Queen of Fiji following 1987 coup which declared a republic.

• Finland
  • Grand Duke Nicholas II abdicated March 1917. The Russian Provisional Government continued to exercise grand ducal authority for its brief existence.
  • At the end of World War I, the king-elect, Prince Friedrich Karl von Hessen, was offered but did not accede to the throne as Väinö I of Finland.

• Gambia
  • Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom ceased to be Queen when the country became a republic in 1970.

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

• Ghana
  • Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom ceased to be Queen when the country became a republic in 1960.

• Greece
  • King Constantine II - deposed by referendum abolishing monarchy in 1973 (and re-run in 1974)

• Guyana
  • Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom ceased to be Queen when the country became a republic in 1970.

• Hesse and the Rhine
  • Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig deposed in 1918 (d.1937)

• Hungary
  • King Charles IV - 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. Died in exile in 1922. Kingdom of Hungary abolished by communists following World War II.

• 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.

Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran
overthrown by revolution in 1979

• Iran
  • Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi- deposed by revolution in 1979 (d. 1980).

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

• Ireland
  • King George VI - deposed upon the creation of the Republic of Ireland in 1949. (d.1952)

• Italy
  • King Umberto II - deposed by referendum abolishing monarchy in 1946. (d.1983)

• Kenya
  • Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom - ceased to be queen when Kenya became a republic in 1964.

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

• Korea
  • Lyunghui Emperor deposed by the Japanese in 1910.

• Laos
  • King Savang Vatthana - deposed in 1975 by the Communists.

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

• 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-Adélaïde 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.

• Malawi
  • Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom ceased to be queen when the country became a republic in 1966.

• Malta
  • Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom ceased to be queen when the country became a republic in 1974.

• Manchukuo
  • Emperor Pu-yi deposed, 1945

• Mauritius
  • Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom- deposed as Queen of Mauritius following 1992 referendum.

• 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.

• Netherlands
  • Queen Wilhelmina abdicated the throne in favour of her daughter Juliana in 1948 (d.1962)
  • Queen Juliana abdicated in favour of her daughter Beatrix in 1980.

• Nigeria
  • Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom ceased to be Queen when the country became a republic in 1963.

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

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

King Manuel II of Portugal
overthrown by revolution in 1910

• Pakistan
  • Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom - ceased to be Queen of Pakistan in 1956, when it became a republic.

• 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.

• Portugal
  • King Carlos I - assassinated in 1908
  • 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)

• 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, Michael II (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. The monarchy was abolished and replaced by a Russian republic under Lenin, which in 1922 became the Soviet Union

Tsar Nicholas II of Russia
overthrown by revolution in 1917
executed with his family in 1918

• Saxe-Altenburg
  • Duke Ernst II deposed 1918 (d.1955)

• Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
  • Duke Karl 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.

• Sierra Leone
  • Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom ceased to be Queen when the country became a republic in 1971.

• 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
  • Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom - ceased to be Queen when the country became a republic in 1972.

• Tanzania
  • Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom - ceased to be queen when the country became a republic in 1962.

• Trinidad and Tobago
  • Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom - ceased to be queen when the country became a republic in 1976.

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

• Turkey
  • Sultan Mehmet VI deposed following collapse of Ottoman Empire in 1922. (d.1926)

• Uganda
  • Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom ceased to be Queen when the country became a republic in 1963.

• 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.

• Vietnam
  • Emperor Bao Dai abdicates in 1945 when communists seize control of the nation. Following the Geneva accords, Vietnam is partitioned, and Bao Dai becomes Emperor of South Vietnam. In 1955 the monarchy is abolished via referendum (d.1997)

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

• Württemberg
  • King William II - deposed in 1918 (d.1921)

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

• Yugoslavia
  • King Peter II deposed by Tito following the end of World War II in 1945 (d.1970)

Surviving monarchs from abolished monarchies:

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)

Referenced By