In certain cultures, the abdication of a monarch was seen as a profound and shocking abandonment of royal duty. As a result, abdications usually only occurred in the most extreme circumstances of political turmoil or violence. Likewise, when abdications were forced on an incompetent or tyrannical ruler, only the severest of circumstances would entail the risk in compelling it. The forced abdication may also be viewed as a vicious abuse of power by those who compel it. For other cultures, abdication was a much more routine element of
succession, often employed to smooth the transition process between monarchs.
Roman Empire Among the most notable abdications of antiquity are those of
Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, the
Roman dictator, in 458 and 439 BC;
Lucius Cornelius Sulla, the Roman dictator, in 79 BC;
Emperor Diocletian in AD 305; and Emperor
Romulus Augustulus in AD 476.
The papacy, the Papal States and Vatican City Due to the complex nature of the office of
pope (head of the worldwide Catholic Church and sovereign of the
Papal States from 754 to 1870 and of Vatican City since 1929), a papal abdication involves both the spiritual and the secular sphere. Technically, the correct term for a reigning pope voluntarily stepping down as bishop of Rome is renunciation or resignation, as regulated in Canon 332 §2 of the
1983 Code of Canon Law. The debate is open about some disputed resignations in the early Middle Ages: the last three popes to resign were
Celestine V in 1294,
Gregory XII in 1415, to end the
Western Schism, and
Benedict XVI in 2013, who was succeeded by
Francis. Benedict's resignation, which occurred 598 years after the last time a pope did so, and 719 years after the last one who renounced entirely on his own volition, was an event unheard of for more than half a millennium, as well as being the first papal resignation since the
Reformation and
Counter-Reformation, and was met with a great deal of surprise worldwide.
Venice After the exile of his son Jacopo for treasonable correspondence, and Jacopo's subsequent death in Crete,
Francesco Foscari withdrew from his duties. in October 1457 the Council of Ten forced him to abdicate. He died within a week, and the public outcry forced a state funeral.
Lord Byron drew on this incident for his play
The Two Foscari. Many other works of literature and art drew upon it.
Britain and his three brothers,
Albert,
Henry and
George, 10 December 1936 One of the most well-known abdications in recent history is that of King
Edward VIII of the
United Kingdom and the
Dominions. In 1936
Edward abdicated to marry American divorcée
Wallis Simpson, over the objections of the
royal family, the British establishment, the governments of the
Commonwealth and the
Church of England.
Richard II was forced to abdicate in 1399 after power was seized by his paternal first cousin
Henry Bolingbroke while Richard was abroad. During the
Glorious Revolution in 1688,
James II and VII fled to France, dropping the
Great Seal of the Realm into the Thames, and the question was discussed in Parliament whether he had forfeited the throne or had abdicated. The latter designation was agreed upon in spite of James's protest, and in a full assembly of the Lords and Commons it was resolved "that King James II having endeavoured to subvert the constitution of the kingdom, by breaking the original contract between king and people, and, by the advice of
Jesuits and other wicked persons, having violated the fundamental laws, and having withdrawn himself out of this kingdom, has abdicated the government, and that the throne is thereby vacant." The
Scottish Parliament pronounced a decree of
forfeiture and
deposition. In
Scotland,
Mary, Queen of Scots, was forced to abdicate in 1567 in favour of her one-year-old son,
James VI. Today, because the title to the Crown depends upon statute, particularly the
Act of Settlement 1701, a royal abdication can be effected only by an
act of Parliament; under the terms of the
Statute of Westminster 1931, such an act must be agreed by the parliaments of all extant signatories of the Statute. To give legal effect to the abdication of King Edward VIII,
His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 was passed.
China In 579,
Emperor Xuan abdicated the throne to his 6-year-old son. His son was born in 573 when Xuan was only 14.
Japan In
Japanese history, abdication was used very often, and in fact occurred more often than death on the throne.
Empress Jitō became the first monarch to abdicate. Initially, abdication was mainly done by
female Emperors. It wasn't until the
Heian period (specifically near the end) where abdication became a tradition. During the Heian and later periods, most executive authority resided in the hands of
regents (see
Sesshō and Kampaku), and the
emperor's chief task was priestly, containing so many repetitive rituals that it was deemed the incumbent emperor deserved pampered retirement as an honoured
retired emperor after a service of around ten years. A tradition developed that an emperor should accede to the throne relatively young. The high-priestly duties were deemed possible for a walking child; and a dynast who had passed his toddler years was regarded as suitable and old enough; reaching the age of legal majority was not a requirement. Thus, many Japanese emperors have acceded as children, some only 6 or 8 years old. Childhood apparently helped the monarch to endure tedious duties and to tolerate subjugation to political power brokers, as well as sometimes to cloak the truly powerful members of the imperial dynasty. Almost all Japanese empresses and dozens of emperors abdicated and lived the rest of their lives in pampered retirement, wielding influence behind the scenes, often with more power than they had had while on the throne (see
Cloistered rule). Several emperors abdicated while still in their teens. These traditions show in Japanese folklore, theatre, literature and other forms of culture, where the emperor is usually described or depicted as an adolescent. Before the
Meiji Restoration, Japan had eight reigning empresses, with two reigning twice, making ten times Japan was ruled by a woman. The two who reigned twice,
Kōgyoku and
Kōken abdicated during their first reign, but not their second. Other than them,
Suiko is the only female emperor of Japan not to abdicate. On 8 August 2016, the Emperor gave a rare televised address, where he emphasized his advanced age and declining health; this address was interpreted as an implication of his intention to abdicate. On 19 May 2017, the bill that would allow Akihito to abdicate was issued by the
Japanese government's cabinet. On 8 June 2017, the
National Diet passed a one-off bill allowing Akihito to abdicate, and for the government to begin arranging the process of handing over the position to Crown Prince Naruhito. On 1 December 2017, following a meeting of the
Imperial Household Council, Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe announced that the abdication would occur at the end of
30 April 2019.
India According to Jain sources written almost 800 years after his reign,
Chandragupta, the first emperor of the
Mauryan Dynasty abdicated and became a Jain monk in the last years of his life.
Other examples in recent history shocked Europe by abdicating to move to
Rome. The chaos of
Germany's defeat in the
First World War forced
German Emperor (
Kaiser)
Wilhelm II to abdicate his throne as German Emperor and consequentially, his throne as
King of Prussia. The following
Treaty of Versailles resulted in the abolition of both monarchies, leading to the other German kings, dukes, princes and other nobility to abdicate and renounce their royalty titles.
Hussein bin Ali,
Sharif of Mecca abdicated the throne of the
Kingdom of Hejaz in October 1924. When Germany invaded Belgium in 1940,
Leopold III, instead of fleeing to London like his Dutch and Norwegian counterparts in a similar predicament, surrendered to the invaders. This made him unpopular both at home and abroad, and after the war, in July 1951, the Belgian government
ordered Leopold III to abdicate. After mass protests against
King Farouk of Egypt began on 23 July 1952, the military forced Farouk I to abdicate in favour of his infant son
Fuad II during the
Egyptian revolution of 1952. Farouk was exiled to Italy. Fuad himself was shortly thereafter deposed and a
republic declared.
21st century In recent decades, the monarchs of the
Netherlands,
Belgium,
Luxembourg,
Qatar,
Cambodia and
Bhutan have abdicated either as a result of old age or to pass the throne to the heir sooner. In June 2014,
Juan Carlos I of Spain
abdicated in favour of his son,
Felipe VI. On 14 January 2024, Queen
Margrethe II of Denmark abdicated on the 52nd anniversary of her accession to the throne. She was the first Danish monarch to abdicate since King
Erik III Lamb in 1146 and the first Scandinavian monarch to abdicate since Queen
Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden in 1720. ==See also==