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List of monarchs who lost their thrones or abdicated in the 20th century

The following monarchs either lost their thrones through deposition by a coup, by a referendum which abolished their throne, or chose to abdicate during the twentieth century.

See also: Abolished_monarchies

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King Zog of Albania
overthrown by Mussolini in 1939

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Kaiser William II of Germany
King of Prussia

deposed after World War I

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Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran
overthrown by revolution in 1979

  • Italy
    • King Umberto II - deposed by referendum abolishing monarchy in 1946. (d.1983)

  • Khiva[?]
    • Khan Abd Allah Khan, deposed 1920, lands taken over by Bolsheviks

  • Korea
    • Lyunghui Emperor deposed by the Japanese in 1910.

  • Laos
    • King Savang Vatthana - deposed in 1975 by the Communists.

  • Libya
    • King Idris[?] - deposed in a coup led by Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi in 1969. (d. 1983)

  • Lithuania
    • The German puppet King Mindaugas II (Duke Wilhelm von Urach) is deposed following the end of the First World War in 1918.

  • Mecklenburg-Strelitz
    • the last Grand Duke, Adolf Friedrich VI[?], committed suicide in February 1918. From then until the abolition of the monarchy in 1918, the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin acted as regent.

  • Montenegro
    • King Nikola[?] - deposed after the First World War, when Montenegro became part of Yugoslavia.

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King Manuel II of Portugal
overthrown by revolution in 1910

  • Poland
    • The German and Austrian established Kingdom of Poland, which never had a King, although Archduke Karl Stefan of Austria was for a time King-elect, ceased to exist after the armistice in 1918.

  • Prussia
    • King Wilhelm II - overthrown from Prussian and German thrones after World War I. (d.1941)

  • Romania
    • King Michael - deposed by communist-dominated government in 1947.

  • Russia
    • Emperor Nicholas II - abdicated after the February Revolution of 1917, as did his named successor, his brother, Michael II (known for a very short time as Michael II); both Nicholas II and Michael separately were later murdered, as was all of Nicholas II's family. The monarchy was abolished and replaced by a Russian republic under Lenin, which in 1922 became the Soviet Union

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Tsar Nicholas II of Russia
overthrown by revolution in 1917
executed with his family in 1918

  • Spain
    • King Alfonso XIII - fled following republican win in local elections in 1931, died 1941 (monarchy restored in 1975 under his grandson, King Juan Carlos)

  • Tunisia
    • King Muhammad al-Amin - deposed in 1957, when Tunisia became a republic. (d.1962)

  • Vietnam
    • Emperor Bao Dai abdicates in 1945 when communists sieze control of the nation. (d.1997)

  • Yemen
    • King Muhammad al-Badr - deposed in 1962 (d.1996)

Surviving monarchs from abolished monarchies:

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Emperor Bao Dai of Vietnam
deposed twice
  • King Mohammed Zahir Shah of Afghanistan (b. 1914)
  • King Constantine II of Greece (b. 1940)
  • King Fuad II of Egypt (b.1952)
  • Queen Elizabeth II of Fiji, Mauritius, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Malta (b. 1926)
  • King Simeon II of Bulgaria (b. 1937) - currently serving as Prime Minister
  • King Michael of Romania (b.1921)