List of living former sovereign monarchs
Encyclopedia
This is a list of former monarchs of sovereign states who are living to date. While most monarchs retain their position for their lifetime, some choose to abdicate in favour of a younger heir, while other monarchs are deposed when their monarchies are abolished or when another ruler seizes power by force. By international courtesy, these individuals are usually still addressed by their monarchical titles.
Besides these, there are four living former holders of the title Yang di-Pertuan Agong
in Malaysia (who are not listed because they remain leaders of one of the nine subnational Malay states), as well as two living former Presidents of France and a living former acting Bishop of Urgell, who in their respective offices served as Co-Princes of Andorra.
- Jigme Singye Wangchuk (King of Bhutan, 1972–2006) (abdicated)
- Simeon IISimeon Saxe-Coburg-GothaSimeon Borisov of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Tsar Simeon II or Simeon II of Bulgaria is an important political and royal figure in Bulgaria...
(Tsar of Bulgaria, 1943–1946) (monarchy abolished) - Norodom SihanoukNorodom SihanoukNorodom Sihanouk regular script was the King of Cambodia from 1941 to 1955 and again from 1993 until his semi-retirement and voluntary abdication on 7 October 2004 in favor of his son, the current King Norodom Sihamoni...
(King of Cambodia, 1941–1955 and 1993–2004) (abdicated) - Fuad IIFuad II of EgyptFuad II was the last King of Egypt and Sudan.- Biography :He ascended the throne on 26 July 1952 upon the abdication of his father King Farouk I following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952...
(King of EgyptKing of EgyptKing of Egypt was the title used by the ruler of Egypt between 1922 and 1951. When the United Kingdom ended its protectorate over Egypt on 28 February 1922, Egypt's Sultan Fouad I issued a decree on 15 March 1922 whereby he adopted the title of King of Egypt...
, 1952–1953) (monarchy abolished) - Constantine IIConstantine II of Greece|align=right|Constantine II was King of Greece from 1964 until the abolition of the monarchy in 1973, the sixth and last monarch of the Greek Royal Family....
(King of the Hellenes, 1964–1973) (monarchy abolished) - JeanJean, Grand Duke of LuxembourgGrand Duke Jean of Luxembourg ruled Luxembourg from 1964 to 2000. He is the father of the current ruler, Grand Duke Henri, and the son of Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma...
(Grand Duke of LuxembourgGrand Duke of LuxembourgThe Grand Duke of Luxembourg is the sovereign monarch and head of state of Luxembourg. Luxembourg has been a grand duchy since 15 March 1815, when it was elevated from a duchy when placed in personal union with the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, 1964–2000) (abdicated) - Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah DevGyanendra of NepalGyanendra Shah was the last King of Nepal. During his life, he has held the title of the King twice: first between 1950 and 1951 as a child when his grandfather Tribhuvan was forced into exile in India with the rest of his family; and from 2001 to 2008, following the Nepalese royal massacre.King...
(King of Nepal, 1950–1951 and 2001–2008) (monarchy abolished) - Khalifa bin Hamad Al ThaniKhalifa bin Hamad Al ThaniEmir Shaikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Abdullah bin Jassim bin Muhammed Al Thani GCB GCMG was the Emir of Qatar from 1972 until he was deposed by his son Hamad bin Khalifa in 1995....
(Emir of Qatar, 1972–1995) (deposed) - Michael I (King of RomaniaKing of RomaniaKing of the Romanians , rather than King of Romania , was the official title of the ruler of the Kingdom of Romania from 1881 until 1947, when Romania was proclaimed a republic....
, 1927–1930 and 1940–1947) (monarchy abolished) - Kigeli V (King of Rwanda, 1959–1961) (monarchy abolished)
- Jamshid bin AbdullahJamshid bin Abdullah of ZanzibarSayyid Sir Jamshid bin Abdullah Al Said GCMG, was the last Sultan of Zanzibar. He ruled Zanzibar from July 1, 1963 to January 12, 1964. On December 10, 1963, Zanzibar received its independence from the United Kingdom as a constitutional monarchy under Jamshid. This state of affairs was short...
(Sultan of Zanzibar, 1963–1964) (monarchy abolished)
Besides these, there are four living former holders of the title Yang di-Pertuan Agong
Yang di-Pertuan Agong
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the head of state of Malaysia. The office was established in 1957 when the Federation of Malaya gained independence....
in Malaysia (who are not listed because they remain leaders of one of the nine subnational Malay states), as well as two living former Presidents of France and a living former acting Bishop of Urgell, who in their respective offices served as Co-Princes of Andorra.
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II was Queen of the following former realms when they later became republics in their own right. Since the start of her reign in 1952, the years shown are chronologically up to when the transitions occurred.- PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
(1952–1956) - GhanaGhanaGhana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
(1957–1960) - South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
(1952–1961) - TanganyikaTanganyikaTanganyika , later formally the Republic of Tanganyika, was a sovereign state in East Africa from 1961 to 1964. It was situated between the Indian Ocean and the African Great Lakes of Lake Victoria, Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika...
(1961–1962) - NigeriaNigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
(1960–1963) - UgandaUgandaUganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
(1962–1963) - KenyaKenyaKenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
(1963–1964) - MalawiMalawiThe Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
(1964–1966) - The GambiaThe GambiaThe Republic of The Gambia, commonly referred to as The Gambia, or Gambia , is a country in West Africa. Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, surrounded by Senegal except for a short coastline on the Atlantic Ocean in the west....
(1965–1970) - GuyanaGuyanaGuyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
(1966–1970) - Sierra LeoneSierra LeoneSierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
(1961–1971) - Ceylon (1952–1972)
- MaltaMaltaMalta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
(1964–1974) - Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
(1962–1976) - FijiFijiFiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
(1970–1987) - MauritiusMauritiusMauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
(1968–1992)
See also
- Former Commonwealth realms
- List of monarchs who lost their thrones in the 20th and 21st centuries