Nationalism China The
monarchy of China ceased to exist in 1912 when the
Xinhai Revolution led by
Sun Yat-sen succeeded in overthrowing the young
Xuantong Emperor; this marked the end of the
Qing dynasty and the start of the
Republic of China. In 1915,
Yuan Shikai briefly proclaimed the
Empire of China with himself as the emperor; the regime failed to gain legitimacy and collapsed three months later. In 1917, the Qing loyalist
Zhang Xun sought to revive the Qing dynasty and briefly reinstalled the Xuantong Emperor to the Chinese throne; this attempt is known as the "
Manchu Restoration" in historiography. The monarchy in parts of China was restored through the Japanese-sponsored client state known as
Manchukuo with the former Qing emperor as its leader until the final abolition in 1945. The area of
Tibet was ruled by the
Ganden Phodrang government which continued through the
annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China until the
Tibetan rebellion in 1959 where the monarchy in Tibet was dissolved although it continued in exile as the
Central Tibetan Administration in India. During the Xinhai Revolution,
Outer Mongolia declared independence from the Qing dynasty of China in the
Mongolian Revolution of 1911. The
Bogd Khanate of Mongolia was subsequently proclaimed, although the Republic of China laid claims to Outer Mongolia and was widely recognized by the international community as having sovereignty over it. In 1924, the
Mongolian People's Republic was established, bringing an end to the monarchy in Mongolia.
World War I and aftermath World War I led to perhaps the greatest number of abolition of monarchies in history.
Russian Empire The conditions inside the Russian Empire and the poor performance in the war gave rise to a
revolution which toppled the entire institution of the monarchy, followed by a
second revolution against that government in October of the same year that executed Tsar (
Imperator (Императоръ))
Nicholas II and implemented a
Marxist-Leninist government. The
Russian Civil War saw various monarchist, Republican, anarchist, nationalist and socialist factions fight each other with
bourgeois independence movements winning in the
Baltic States, Poland and Finland and the
Bolsheviks winning everywhere else.
Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Montenegro The defeated
German,
Austro-Hungarian and
Ottoman empires saw the abolition of their monarchies in the close aftermath of the war, ending the reigns of
Wilhelm II,
Charles I and
Mehmed VI respectively. The monarchs of the constituent states within the German Empire, most importantly
Ludwig III of Bavaria,
Frederick Augustus III of Saxony and
Wilhelm II of Württemberg, soon abdicated. During the war, monarchies were planned for
Poland (
Kingdom of Poland), the
Grand Duchy of Finland (to have a
Finnish King), and
Lithuania (
Mindaugas II of Lithuania), with a
protectorate-like
suzerainty exercised by the
German Empire. Both intended kings renounced their thrones after Germany's defeat in November 1918. King
Nicholas I of Montenegro lost his throne when the country became a part of Yugoslavia in 1918.
World War II and aftermath World War II saw another increased number of abolition of monarchies.
Italy, Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, Croatia In 1922, Benito Mussolini's
March on Rome led to King Victor Emmanuel III appointing Mussolini Prime Minister. In 1939
Italy invaded Albania and removed the reigning self-proclaimed
King Zog and instated their own King
Victor Emmanuel III as its new monarch.
Italy, along with the eastern European monarchies of
Bulgaria,
Hungary and
Romania were forced to join with
Germany by their dictators in World War II against the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the
Western allies and the
Soviet Union. When Yugoslavia fell in 1941 the
Independent State of Croatia was established under a nominal monarchy, but it was in fact a
one party state under
Ante Pavelić and a
puppet state of Nazi Germany. With the fall of
Mussolini in July 1943, the monarchy in Croatia was abolished. As the
Axis powers were defeated in the war, communist partisans in
occupied Yugoslavia and
occupied Albania seized power and ended the monarchies. Communists in Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania removed their monarchies with strong backing by the Soviet Union, which had many troops and supporters placed there during the course of the war. Through this,
Peter II of Yugoslavia,
Simeon II of Bulgaria and
Michael I of Romania all lost their thrones. King
Victor Emmanuel III of Italy had remained King after the
Fall of the Fascist regime in Italy but transferred most of his powers to
his son after the
Armistice of Cassibile. After Victor Emmanuel abdicated to save the monarchy, a narrow
referendum in 1946 ended the short reign of his son King
Umberto II and the Italian monarchy ceased to exist.
Republicanism Australia (monarchy kept after referendum) In a
1999 referendum, the voters of Australia rejected a proposal to replace the constitutional monarchy with a republic with a president appointed by Parliament. The proposal was rejected in all states, with only the
Australian Capital Territory voting in favour. Though polling consistently showed a majority in favour of a republic, the result of the referendum was attributed to a split among republicans between those who supported the presented model and those who supported a directly elected president.
Greece In the
modern history of Greece, the monarchy was toppled in 1924, as a result of the
National Schism and the
Asia Minor Disaster. The resulting
Second Hellenic Republic led a troubled existence, until a coup restored the monarchy in 1935. The subsequent dictatorial
4th of August Regime was established with the support of King
George II of Greece, further delegitimizing the monarchy. During the
Axis occupation of Greece, George II nominally led the
Greek government in exile, but the post-war fate of the monarchy was a major dividing issue for Greeks, especially with the rise of the pro-communist
National Liberation Front (EAM) as the country's largest resistance movement. As a compromise, the issue was to be determined by a referendum after the war. In the end, the threat of a post-war communist takeover led the
Venizelist republicans to ally with the monarchists; with the defeat of EAM in the
Dekemvriana, the subsequent
White Terror, and the outbreak of the
Greek Civil War in 1946 resulted in a monarchist victory in the
1946 referendum and the return of George II to the country. The last king,
Constantine II, interfered in politics during the
Iouliana of 1965. The resulting political crisis led to a
military coup in April 1967. Constantine II reluctantly accepted the
fait accompli and lent it legitimacy, but when he tried to stage a counter-coup later that year, he was defeated and forced into exile. Greece formally remained a monarchy until it was abolished by the military junta in June 1973, followed by
a July referendum confirming that decision. The restoration of the monarchy was overwhelmingly defeated, after constitutional legality was restored, by a free
referendum in 1974.
Spain In Spain, the monarchy was again abolished in 1931 by the
Second Spanish Republic (1931–1939). In
1947,
Francisco Franco declared Spain a
monarchy but kept himself as
regent for life with the constitutional setup essentially unchanged. Per the right the 1947 law granted him to decide
who would be the future Spanish monarch, he appointed
Juan Carlos of Bourbon his successor in 1969. The "
Prince of Spain" became king at Franco's death in 1975, and during the
Spanish transition to democracy, the
Spanish constitution of 1978 put the monarchy on a new constitutional basis. The existence of monarchy in Spain is an
entrenched clause with much stricter rules for
constitutional amendment than other constitutional provisions.
Portugal The monarchy of Portugal was also
overthrown in 1910, two years after the
assassination of King
Carlos I, ending the reign of
Manuel II, who died in exile in England in 1932 without issue.
Communism, socialism, and Islamism Afghanistan In 1973, the monarchy of King
Mohammed Zahir Shah of Afghanistan was abolished after a socialist-supported
coup d'état led by
Mohammad Daoud Khan, from the same
Musahiban royal family, who declared himself the first
President of Afghanistan.
Ethiopia Emperor
Haile Selassie I was overthrown in 1974 as a result of the
Ethiopian Revolution, ending almost three millennia of monarchical rule in Ethiopia.
Indochina In 1945, during the
August Revolution,
Bảo Đại abdicated under the pressure of the
Việt Minh led by
Ho Chi Minh. This marked the end of the
Nguyễn dynasty and the Vietnamese monarchy. From 1949 to 1955, Bảo Đại served as the
Quốc Trưởng () of the
State of Vietnam and did not receive the title of
Hoàng Đế (). Political upheaval and Communist insurrection put an end to the monarchies of
Indochina after World War II: a short-lived attempt to leave a monarchical form of government in post-colonial
South Vietnam came to naught in a
fraudulent 1955 referendum, a
military coup overthrew the kingless monarchy in Cambodia in 1970 and a
Communist takeover ended the monarchy in Laos in 1975. Cambodia's monarchy later saw an unexpected rebirth under an internationally mediated peace settlement with former king
Norodom Sihanouk being restored as a figurehead in 1993.
Iran The
Pahlavi dynasty's rule in Iran ended following the
Iranian Revolution of 1979 overthrowing Shah
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and leading to the
establishment of an Islamic republic.
Arab countries The monarchy of Egypt was abolished in 1953, a year after the
military overthrow of King
Farouk, which caused him to abdicate in favour of his infant son
Fuad II. The monarchy of Iraq ended in 1958 when King
Faisal II was killed and a republic proclaimed. The monarchy of Yemen was abolished in 1962 when King
Muhammad al-Badr was overthrown in a coup, although he continued to resist his opponents until 1970. King
Idris of Libya was overthrown by
a military coup led by
Muammar Gaddafi in 1969.
Imperialism expansion and decolonisation Commonwealth of Nations Many monarchies were abolished in the middle of the 20th century or later as part of the process of decolonization. This included several
Commonwealth realms, which were sovereign states in
personal union with the
monarchy of the United Kingdom. The monarchy of Ireland was not abolished following the
Irish war of independence in the 1920s. The
Irish Free State was created as a separate state from the United Kingdom; it was nominally a monarchy but transitioned towards a more republican form of government throughout its existence. The
Irish Constitution that
came into force in 1937
left the question of Republic or monarchy vague, but established a
President of Ireland, an office usually absent in monarchies. The monarchy was officially abolished by the
Republic of Ireland Act of 1948, which came into force in 1949. The monarchies of India, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanganyika, Uganda, Guyana, and Malawi were abolished shortly after they became independent of the United Kingdom, whilst remaining within the
Commonwealth. Others waited longer before abolishing their monarchies, such as Pakistan, South Africa, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Malta, Trinidad and Tobago, and Mauritius. The latest country to become a
republic within the Commonwealth was
Barbados in 2021. With the exceptions of Ireland and India, in each case the deposed monarch was
Elizabeth II. Most realms which abolished their monarchy did so by declaring a new constitution or amending it to remove references to
the Crown, with the exception of Fiji, whose monarchy was abolished in 1987 following a
series of coups d'état.
Korea In 1910 the last emperor of Korea,
Sunjong, lost his throne when the country was annexed by Japan. However, the Korean royal family was mediatized as a puppet family within the Japanese imperial family. Many of the Korean royals were forcibly re-educated in Japan and forced to marry Japanese royalty and aristocrats to meld the ruling families of the two empires. With the abolition of the Japanese aristocracy and cadet branches of the imperial family, the Korean royals officially lost their remaining status.
South Asia The
independence of India from the
United Kingdom in 1947 posed a unique problem. From 1858, when the British government replaced
Company rule with direct
Crown rule, it had been governed as a quasi-federation, with much of the country under the direct rule of the British monarch, who was styled as the
Emperor of India. The remainder of the country, however, was under a form of indirect rule under him through its division into over 500
subnational monarchies, known as
princely states; each was ruled by a prince who acknowledged the suzerainty of the Indian Emperor. The princely states ranged from powerful and largely independent principalities such as Hyderabad or Mysore, with a high level of autonomy, to tiny fiefdoms a few dozen acres (in the low tens of hectares) in size. In 1947, it was agreed that India would be
partitioned into the independent British dominions of
India and
Pakistan, with the princely states acceding to one nation or the other. The accession process proceeded smoothly, with the notable exception of four of the most influential principalities. The Muslim ruler of the Hindu-majority state of Junagadh acceded to Pakistan, but his decision was overruled by the Indian government, while Hyderabad chose to be independent, but was forcibly annexed to India in 1948. The Hindu ruler of Jammu and Kashmir, among the largest and most powerful of the principalities, but with a Muslim-majority population, initially held off on a decision. In the autumn of 1947, an invading force from Pakistan frightened the ruler into acceding to India. The ruler of Kalat, in Baluchistan, declared his independence in 1947, after which the state was forcibly merged with Pakistan, resulting in an insurgency persisting to this day. With the promulgation of the Indian constitution in 1950, India abolished its monarchy under the British crown and became a Republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, followed by Pakistan in 1956; as a result of both developments, the majority of the princes formally lost their sovereign rights. A few remaining principalities in Pakistan retained their autonomy until 1969 when they finally acceded to Pakistan. The Indian government formally derecognized its princely families in 1971, followed by Pakistan in 1972. Finally, in 1975, King
Palden Thondup Namgyal of
Sikkim lost his throne when the country became a state of
India following a
referendum.
New monarchies The 20th century also saw the formation of a number of new monarchies that still exist to this day such as
Bhutan (1907),
Jordan (1921),
Saudi Arabia (1932), and
Malaysia (1957). == 21st century ==