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A prince regent or princess regent is a
prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...
or
princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subs ...
who, due to their position in the
line of succession An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
in the stead of a monarch regnant, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness) or absence (e.g., by remoteness, such as exile or long voyage, or the absence of an incumbent). While the term itself can have the generic meaning and refer to any prince or princess who fills the role of regent, historically it has mainly been used to describe a small number of individual princes and princesses who were regents of non- principalities.


Prince regent in the United Kingdom

In the English language the title ''Prince Regent'' is most commonly associated with
George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...
, who held the style '' HRH'' The Prince Regent during the
Regency era The Regency era of British history officially spanned the years 1811 to 1820, though the term is commonly applied to the longer period between and 1837. King George III succumbed to mental illness in late 1810 and, by the Regency Act 1811, h ...
, the incapacity, by dint of mental illness, of his father,
George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
(see
Regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
for other regents).
Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...
, Regent Street and
Regent's Canal Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in e ...
(which he commissioned) in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, were all named in honour of him. The architect John Nash, under the patronage of HRH The Prince Regent, planned a palatial summer residence for the prince, 50 detached villas in a parkland setting and elegant terraces around the exterior of the park. This was all part of an ambitious plan, to develop The Regent's Park and lay out an elegant new street, Regent's Street, to link it to
St James's Park St James's Park is a park in the City of Westminster, central London. It is at the southernmost tip of the St James's area, which was named after a leper hospital dedicated to St James the Less. It is the most easterly of a near-continuous ch ...
and the prince's London residence,
Carlton House Carlton House was a mansion in Westminster, best known as the town residence of King George IV. It faced the south side of Pall Mall, and its gardens abutted St James's Park in the St James's district of London. The location of the house, no ...
.
Regent Terrace Regent Terrace is a residential street of 34 classical 3-bay townhouses built on the upper south side of Calton Hill in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland. Regent Terrace is within the Edinburgh New and Old Town UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed ...
in
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
is also named after the Prince Regent, who visited the area in 1822. This period is known as the
British Regency The Regency era of British history officially spanned the years 1811 to 1820, though the term is commonly applied to the longer period between and 1837. King George III succumbed to mental illness in late 1810 and, by the Regency Act 1811, ...
, or just the Regency. The title was conferred by the Regency Act on 5 February 1811. Subject to certain limitations for a period, the prince regent was able to exercise the full powers of the King. The precedent of the Regency Crisis of 1788 (from which George III recovered before it was necessary to appoint a regent) was followed. The
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
continued as regent until his father's death in 1820, when he became
George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...
.


Prince regent in Germany

In Germany, the title ''Prinzregent'' (literally prince regent) is most commonly associated with Prince Luitpold of Bavaria, who served as regent for two of his nephews, King Ludwig II of Bavaria, who was declared mentally incompetent in 1886, and King Otto of Bavaria (who had been declared insane in 1875) from 1886 until 1912. The years of Luitpold's regency were marked by tremendous artistic and cultural activity in Bavaria, where they are known after the regencies as the ''Prinzregentenjahre'' or the ''Prinzregentenzeit''. Numerous streets in Bavarian cities and towns are called ''Prinzregentenstraße''. Many institutions are named in Luitpold's honour, ''e.g.'', the ''
Prinzregententheater The Prinzregententheater, or, as it was called in its first decades, the Prinz-Regenten-Theater, in English the Prince Regent Theatre, is a concert hall and opera house on Prinzregentenplatz in the Bavarian capital of Munich, Germany. Building ...
'' in Munich. ''
Prinzregententorte Prinzregententorte () is a Bavarian torte consisting of at least six, usually seven, thin layers of sponge cake interlaid with chocolate buttercream. The exterior is covered in a dark chocolate glaze. Prinzregententorte is very popular in Ba ...
'' is a multi-layered cake with chocolate butter cream named in Luitpold's honour. At Luitpold's death in 1912, his son Prince Ludwig succeeded as prince regent. Ludwig held the title for less than a year, since the Bavarian Legislature decided to recognise him as king.


Prince regent in Belgium

*The first head of state of Belgium after it seceded from the Dutch monarchy in 1831 was a regent (but not a prince in his own right), baron
Erasme Louis Surlet de Chokier Érasme-Louis, Baron Surlet de Chokier (27 November 1769 – 7 August 1839), born in Liège, was a Belgian politician and, before the accession of Leopold I to the Belgian throne, was the first Regent of Belgium. During the Liège Revolution o ...
, before the new nation, which had chosen to become a parliamentary monarchy, had its first king sworn into the constitution. *
Prince Charles of Belgium nl, Karel Theodoor Hendrik Anton Meinrad , image = Karel van België Charles de Belgique Karl von Belgien.jpg , image_size = 230px , spouse = Jacqueline Peyrebrune , issue = Isabelle , birth_date = , birth_place = Bruss ...
served as prince regent of Belgium from 1944 to 1950 during the German captivity and exile to Switzerland of his elder brother, King Leopold III of Belgium.


Prince regent in Bulgaria

Kiril, Prince of Preslav was appointed head of a regency council by the Bulgarian parliament following the death of his brother, Tsar
Boris III Boris III ( bg, Борѝс III ; Boris Treti; 28 August 1943), originally Boris Klemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver (Boris Clement Robert Mary Pius Louis Stanislaus Xavier) , was the Tsar of the Kingdom of Bulgaria from 1918 until h ...
on 28 August 1943, to act as Head of State until the late Tsar's son and successor, Tsar Simeon II, reached the age of 18 years. On 5 September 1944 the Soviet Union declared war on the
Kingdom of Bulgaria The Tsardom of Bulgaria ( bg, Царство България, translit=Tsarstvo Balgariya), also referred to as the Third Bulgarian Tsardom ( bg, Трето Българско Царство, translit=Treto Balgarsko Tsarstvo, links=no), someti ...
and on 8 September Soviet armies crossed the Romanian border and occupied the country. On 1 February 1945 the prince regent Kyril, and the two other former regents - Professor Bogdan Filov and General Nikola Mikhov, as well as a range of former cabinet ministers, royal advisors and 67 MPs were executed.


Prince Lieutenant in Luxembourg

The heir-apparent or heir-presumptive to the grand duke of Luxembourg may be titled ''prince-lieutenant'' ('prince deputy') during a period in which the incumbent remains formally on the grand ducal throne, but (progressively, most) functions of the crown are performed by the 'monarch apprentice', as prince Jean did 4 May 1961 – 12 November 1964 in the last years of his mother Charlotte's reign until she abdicated and he succeeded to the grand ducal throne (she lived until 1985), and Jean's own son prince Henri 3 March 1998 – 7 October 2000 until his father abdicated and he succeeded (Jean lived until 2019).


Queen regent

If a king is unable to perform his duties then his consort or the queen mother may act for him as a ''Queen Regent''. Queen mothers have acted in this way in the Kingdom of Eswatini.


Other notable princes and princesses regent

:''More prince-regents (often without such specific title) are to be found in List of regents.'' * Duke of Zhou Dan served as prince regent for his nephew King Cheng of Zhou until the latter came of age. *
Philippe II, Duke of Orléans Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (Philippe Charles; 2 August 1674 – 2 December 1723), was a French prince, soldier, and statesman who served as Regent of the Kingdom of France from 1715 to 1723. He is referred to in French as ''le Régent''. ...
was Regent of France from the death of Louis XIV in 1715 until Louis XV came of age in 1723; this is also used as a period label for many aspects of French history, as "Régence" in French. *Te Wherowhero Tawhiao, younger brother of Māori King Mahuta Tāwhiao, served as Whirinaki-a-te-Kiingi (Prince Regent) for his brother from 1903 to 1910. This was because Mahuta Tāwhiao spent this period of his reign as a member of the Legislative Council. * Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark served as regent from 1784 to 1808 for his father, King
Christian VII of Denmark Christian VII (29 January 1749 – 13 March 1808) was a monarch of the House of Oldenburg who was King of Denmark–Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1766 until his death in 1808. For his motto he chose: "''Gloria ex amore patriae'' ...
, who was insane. * Prince William of Prussia served as regent from 1858 to 1861 for his older brother King Frederick William IV of Prussia, who had become mentally unfit to rule. * Prince Dorgon of the early
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...
served as regent for his nephew, the Shunzhi Emperor, from 1643 to 1650, because the latter was only six at the time of his ascension. Dorgon was instrumental in moving Manchu forces into Beijing in 1644, proclaiming the Qing dynasty to be the legitimate successor to the
Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...
. In Qing dynasty historical records, Dorgon was the first to be referred to as ''Shezhengwang'' (摄政王; "Prince regent"). * Rameses the Great * Prince Chun of the late Qing dynasty served as regent from 1908 to 1911 for his son
Puyi Aisin-Gioro Puyi (; 7 February 1906 – 17 October 1967), courtesy name Yaozhi (曜之), was the last emperor of China as the eleventh and final Qing dynasty monarch. He became emperor at the age of two in 1908, but was forced to abdicate on 1 ...
, the Xuantong Emperor. Apart from Dorgon, Zaifeng was the only person in Chinese history who was specifically referred to as prince regent. * Crown Prince Hirohito served as regent from 1921 to 1926 for his ailing father,
Emperor Taishō was the 123rd Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession, and the second ruler of the Empire of Japan from 30 July 1912 until his death in 1926. The Emperor's personal name was . According to Japanese custom, while reigni ...
. * Prince Paul of Yugoslavia from 1934 to 1941, known in Serbian as ''Његово Краљевско Височанство, Кнез Намесник'' (English: His Royal Highness The Prince Regent) served as regent for his first cousin once removed, King Peter II who was a minor. * John, Prince of Brazil (1767–1826) served as regent of Portugal for his mother Queen Maria I, who had become mentally unfit to rule, from 1799 to 1816. His regency was associated with the transfer of the Portuguese court to Brazil. *
Princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subs ...
Erelu Kuti of
Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...
, a Yoruba chieftess of the eighteenth century who served as queen mother of a line of
tribal king A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categorized a ...
s. The successors to the noble title that now shares her name have all subsequently served as regent of Lagos following the death of a reigning oba. Princesses are traditionally called upon to serve as regents in this fashion in most of the other kingdoms of
Yorubaland Yorubaland () is the homeland and cultural region of the Yoruba people in West Africa. It spans the modern-day countries of Nigeria, Togo and Benin, and covers a total land area of 142,114 km2 or about 60% of the land area of Ghana. Of this ...
as well. In Akure, for example, the eldest daughter of a recently deceased king ruled in his stead until a substantive successor to the royal title was chosen by the college of noble kingmakers, a period that lasted for an unusually long six years due to a succession crisis in the state. * Chief Tshekedi Khama of the
Bamangwato The Bamangwato (more correctly BagammaNgwato, and also referred to as the BaNgwato or Ngwato) is one of the eight "principal" Tswana chieftaincies of Botswana. They ruled over a majority Bakalanga population (the largest ethnic group in Central Dis ...
, a
Tswana Tswana may refer to: * Tswana people, the Bantu speaking people in Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and other Southern Africa regions * Tswana language, the language spoken by the (Ba)Tswana people * Bophuthatswana, the former ba ...
prince who served as regent during the reign of his famous nephew, Sir Seretse Khama. He opposed Sir Seretse's marriage to Lady Khama on the grounds that it would have an adverse effect on the chieftaincy, and attempted to claim the tribal throne in his stead thereafter because of it. He was ultimately unsuccessful. *
Anne of France Anne of France (or Anne de Beaujeu; 3 April 146114 November 1522) was a French princess and regent, the eldest daughter of Louis XI by Charlotte of Savoy. Anne was the sister of Charles VIII, for whom she acted as regent during his minority fro ...
served as regent of France for her younger brother between 1483-1491. * Sophia Alekseyevna from 1682-1689 as regent of Russia on behalf of her younger brothers.


References

{{Authority control Regents Royal titles