A reign is the period of a person's or
dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A "house" is an imperial, royal or noble family, not always ruling.
Historians periodize th ...
's occupation of the office of
monarch
A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch usually exercises the highest autho ...
of a nation (e.g.,
Saudi Arabia,
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the south ...
,
Andorra
Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in southwestern Europe, bordered by France to the north and Spain to the south. Believed to have been created by ...
), of a people (e.g.,
the Franks,
the Zulus) or of a spiritual community (e.g.,
Catholicism,
Tibetan Buddhism,
Nizari Ismailism). In most
hereditary monarchies and some elective monarchies (e.g.,
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity comprising and controlling much of Central Europe and Western Europe, headed by the Holy Roman Emperor and characterized by a decentr ...
) there have been no limits on the duration of a sovereign's reign or
incumbency, nor is there a
term of office. Thus, a reign usually lasts until the monarch dies, unless the monarchy itself is abolished or the monarch abdicates or is deposed.
In
elective monarchies, there may be a fixed period of time for the duration of the monarch's tenure in office (e.g.,
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. A federal constitutional monarchy, it consists of 13 states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia on Mainland Southeast Asia and ...
).
The term of a reign can be indicated with the abbreviation "r." (for
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area around Rome, Italy. Through the expansi ...
''/'') after a sovereign's name,
such as the following:
:
George VI, King of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions, Emperor of India (r. 1936–1952).
End of reign
A reign can be ended in several ways:
*
Abdication
*
Abolition of monarchy
*
Death
Death is the end of life. It is the irreversible cessation of biological functions that sustain a living organism; however, the identification of the moment of death presents certain difficulties. Some organisms, such as the immortal ...
*
Deposition
Abdication
* Emperor
Ferdinand I of Austria, King of
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, both Croatia and Slovenia ...
and
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohemian kings, including Moravia and Cz ...
, King of
Lombardy-Venetia (r. 1835–1848) was abdicated due to his disabilities (
feeble-mindedness and
epilepsy). His successor, Emperor
Franz Josef (r. 1848–1916) reigned for 68 years.
* King
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom reigned from January to December 1936 before he abdicated the throne. After his abdication he became known as the
Duke of Windsor. No other monarch of the
Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800), the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, or any
Dominion
A dominion was a self-governing country within the British Empire and then the British Commonwealth of Nations, primarily in the first half of the 20th century. The dominions in 1926 were Australia, Canada, the Irish Free State, New Zeal ...
or
Commonwealth realm has ever abdicated, though forced abdications did occur on rare occasions in the
Kingdom of England and the
Kingdom of Scotland prior to their merger in 1707.
* Queen
Wilhelmina of the Netherlands reigned from 1890 to 1948, before abdicating in favor of her daughter, Queen
Juliana who then reigned until 1980 when she abdicated in favor of her daughter, Queen
Beatrix of the Netherlands. Beatrix followed suit and abdicated in 2013 in favor of her son and heir apparent, King
Willem-Alexander.
Abolition of monarchy
* King
Louis XVI of France reigned from 1774 until the overthrow of the monarchy in 1792 and his execution the following year.
*
Xuantong Emperor of
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's second-most populous country after India, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion (17% of the world's population), across an area of , m ...
abdicated in 1912 following the
Xinhai Revolution, marking the end of the
Chinese monarchy.
* King
Umberto II of Italy reigned for only a few weeks in 1946 before the abolition of the
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
Related to the people of Italy
* Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
* Italian language, a Romance language
** Regional Italian, regional variants o ...
Monarchy.
* King
Constantine II of Greece reigned from 1964 until the abolition of the Greek monarchy in 1973.
* Tsar
Nicholas II of Russia reigned from 1894 until 1917 when he was forced to abdicate and the
Russian Empire was overthrown during the
Russian Revolution.
* Emperor
Haile Selassie of
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE), is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to ...
reigned for over 40 years (1930-1974) until the
Derg forced him to abdicate and abolished the 3,000 year old monarchy, making him the 225th and final Emperor of Ethiopia.
*
Shah
Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning 'king' in Persian.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Persianate so ...
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, historically known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the no ...
reigned for more than 37 years (1941–1979) until the
Iranian Revolution, which superseded the 2,500 years of monarchy with an
Islamic republic system of government. The Shah died the following year and is buried in
Cairo
Cairo is the capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate. It is home to more than 9.8 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world, and the Middle East. The Greater Cairo m ...
.
See also
*
Interregnum
*
Rex (title)
References
{{Reflist