Abolition of monarchy
Abolition has been carried out in various ways, including via abdication leading to the extinction of the monarchy, legislative reform, revolution, coup d'état, and decolonisation.
[7][8] In the Kingdom of England, the Glorious Revolution of 1688 furthered the constitutional monarchy, restricted by laws such as the Bill of Rights 1689 and the Act of Settlement 1701.
At the same time, in Scotland, the Convention of Estates enacted the Claim of Right Act 1689, which placed similar limits on the Scottish monarchy.
Due to French intervention under Napoleon III, the Second Mexican Empire lasted from 1864 to 1867, when it collapsed and its Emperor, Maximilian I of Mexico, was executed.
South Asia In 1858 the Mughal Empire came to an end after losing a war against Britain, and its Emperor, Bahadur Shah II, lost his throne.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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 subsequent dictatorial 4th of August Regime was established with the support of King George II of Greece, further delegitimizing the monarchy.
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.
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.
[20] 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.
Emperor Haile Selassie I was overthrown in 1974 as a result of the Ethiopian Revolution, ending almost three millennia of monarchical rule in Ethiopia.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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 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.
[25] In 2013, an alleged coup plot by Al Islah to overthrow the monarchy of the United Arab Emirates and establish an Islamic republic failed.
Former King Michael of Romania and Prince Alexander of Serbia had been allowed to return, gained some popularity, played largely apolitical public roles, but never came close to being restored to their ancestral thrones.
The only formerly communist country to have held a referendum on the monarchy was Albania, where the claimant to his father's throne, the self-styled Leka I, lost by a two-thirds majority.
