6 monarchs who abdicated
Why would a king or queen abdicate from their own throne? Some have done it voluntarily, others far less so. We explore six abdications and how they happened.
Image: Edward VIII abdicated in order to marry Wallis Simpson, an American socialite who had already been married two times before | Public Domain
Countless novels, plays and legends are dedicated to struggles over gaining the throne. Far less common are tales about monarchs who decide to give up their thrones. Yet the stories of real monarchs who abdicated are just as varied and interesting as those who fought to claim the crown.
Here are six monarchs who famously chose to leave their thrones behind.
1. Edward VIII
The United Kingdom’s Edward VIII ruled for less than a year, from 20th January to 10th December 1936. Famously, Edward VIII abdicated because he wanted to marry Wallis Simpson, an American woman who was in the process of divorcing her second husband.
The problem was that as the head of the Church of England, Edward VIII could not marry a divorced woman whose ex-husband was still alive. Therefore, Edward VIII gave up the crown and was made the Duke of Windsor instead, mostly living outside the UK after marrying Simpson. His brother, King George VI, succeeded him.
2. Edward II
Edward II of England’s abdication was not voluntary. His troubles began when he showed great favouritism toward Hugh Despenser, whom many believed he loved romantically. In fact, Despenser grew so powerful that he was referred to as a ‘second king’.
After Edward II’s French wife, Isabella, had been greatly insulted by Despenser, she rallied military forces against her husband in 1326. Public opinion was on her side. When she won, Edward II was forced to abdicate, imprisoned, and murdered months later in September 1327.
Edward II was succeeded by his son, Edward III. The story of this king’s defeat, abdication and death was retold centuries later by Marlowe in the play Edward II.
3. Margrethe II
Image: Michael W. Holm / Shutterstock.com
Unlike many other monarchs on this list, Margrethe II of Denmark was a generally popular ruler at the end of her reign. But at the age of 83, following a difficult back surgery, she said that she felt it was time for her to pass the crown on. On 14th January 2024, exactly 52 years after she had risen to the throne, Margrethe II stepped down in favour of her son, who became King Frederik X.
4. Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte, emperor of the French, is the only ruler on this list who actually abdicated twice – and perhaps even three times, depending on how you see it.
His first abdication occurred after just under 10 years of his reign as emperor. A series of losses in battle ended with the invasion of Paris by a coalition of Napoleon’s foes. Napoleon, not in the city at the time, was informed that Paris was lost and that the French Senate had rejected him as ruler. First, Napoleon attempted to abdicate and leave his three-year-old son as emperor, with his wife as regent. But his enemies would not accept this proposition, so on 6th April 1814, Napoleon was forced to abdicate completely. This time, he gave up any rights to succession for his descendants.
Napoleon was famously exiled to the island of Elba. Yet the reign of his replacement, King Louis XVIII, proved to be shaky. On 26th February 1815, Napoleon escaped Elba and by the end of March, he was Emperor again – but only for a few months. His defeat at Waterloo obliged him to abdicate once more on 22nd June. Although this abdication again stated that he was leaving his throne to his son, Napoleon II was removed from the throne by 7th July 1815.
5. Juan Carlos I
Image: Gil Corzo / Shutterstock.com
Juan Carlos I became king of Spain in 1975 following the death of the nation's dictator, Francisco Franco. He initially won praise by helping his country return to democracy. However, later in his life he became embroiled in scandals relating to corruption and embezzlement. In 2014, he abdicated at the age of 76, and his son became King Felipe VI.
6. Wilhelm II
Kaiser Wilhelm II was the German Emperor and King of Prussia throughout most of World War I. But when it became clear that in autumn 1918 Germany would lose, the country saw a revolution wishing to overthrow Wilhelm.
Interestingly, the emperor’s abdication was announced on 9th November, before he had made his own statement about it. Wilhelm would not sign a statement of his own abdication until 26th November, after he had already taken refuge in the Netherlands. Wilhelm II was not succeeded by any heir, as the monarchy was abolished after his departure.
To learn more about royal troubles and scandals, take a look at our lists of the shortest reigning British monarchs or scandalous royal heirs and playboy princes.
