The succession of monarchs has mostly been hereditary, often building dynasties. However, elective and self-proclaimed monarchies have also often occurred throughout history. Aristocrats, though not inherent to monarchies, often serve as the pool of persons from which the monarch is chosen, and to fill the constituting institutions (e.g. diet and court), giving many monarchies oligarchic elements.
Monarchs can carry various titles such as emperor, empress, king, and queen. Monarchies can form federations, personal unions and realms with vassals through personal association with the monarch, which is a common reason for monarchs carrying several titles.
Featured articles are displayed here, which represent some of the best content on English Wikipedia.
Image 1
Portrait miniature from a thirteenth-century genealogical scroll depicting Edward
Edward the Elder (870s? – 17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousin Æthelwold, who had a strong claim to the throne as the son of Alfred's elder brother and predecessor, Æthelred I.
Alfred had succeeded Æthelred as king of Wessex in 871, and almost faced defeat against the Danish Vikings until his decisive victory at the Battle of Edington in 878. After the battle, the Vikings still ruled Northumbria, East Anglia and eastern Mercia, leaving only Wessex and western Mercia under Anglo-Saxon control. In the early 880s Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians, the ruler of western Mercia, accepted Alfred's lordship and married his daughter Æthelflæd, and around 886 Alfred adopted the new title King of the Anglo-Saxons as the ruler of all Anglo-Saxons not subject to Danish rule. Edward inherited the new title when Alfred died in 899. (Full article...)
Sahure (also Sahura, meaning "He who is close to Re") was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the second ruler of the Fifth Dynasty (c. 2465 – c. 2325 BC). He reigned for about 13 years in the early 25th century BC during the Old Kingdom Period. Sahure's reign marks the political and cultural high point of the Fifth Dynasty. He was probably the son of his predecessor Userkaf with Queen NeferhetepesII, and was in turn succeeded by his son Neferirkare Kakai.
During Sahure's rule, Egypt had important trade relations with the Levantine coast. Sahure launched several naval expeditions to modern-day Lebanon to procure cedar trees, slaves and exotic items. His reign may have witnessed the flourishing of the Egyptian navy, which included a high-seas fleet as well as specialized racing boats. Relying on this, Sahure ordered the earliest attested expedition to the land of Punt, which brought back large quantities of myrrh, malachite and electrum. Sahure is shown celebrating the success of this venture in a relief from his mortuary temple which shows him tending a myrrh tree in the garden of his palace named "Sahure's splendor soars up to heaven". This relief is the only one in Egyptian art depicting a king gardening. Sahure sent further expeditions to the turquoise and copper mines in Sinai. He also ordered military campaigns against Libyan chieftains in the Western Desert, bringing back livestock to Egypt. (Full article...)
Olga was raised at the Gatchina Palace outside Saint Petersburg. Olga's relationship with her mother, Empress Marie, the daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark, was strained and distant from childhood. In contrast, she and her father were close. He died when she was 12, and her brother Nicholas became emperor. In 1901, at 19, she married Duke Peter Alexandrovich of Oldenburg, who was privately believed by family and friends to be homosexual. Their marriage of 15 years remained unconsummated, and Peter at first refused Olga's request for a divorce. The couple led separate lives and their marriage was eventually annulled by the Emperor in October 1916. The following month Olga married cavalry officer Nikolai Kulikovsky, with whom she had fallen in love several years before. During the First World War, Olga served as an army nurse and was awarded a medal for personal gallantry. At the downfall of the Romanovs in the Russian Revolution of 1917, she fled with her husband and children to Crimea, where they lived under the threat of assassination. Her brother Nicholas and his family were shot and bayoneted to death by revolutionaries. (Full article...)
Anne was born during the reign of her uncle King Charles II. Her father was Charles's younger brother and heir presumptive, James, whose suspected Roman Catholicism was unpopular in England. On Charles's instructions, Anne and her elder sister Mary were raised as Anglicans. Mary married their Dutch Protestant cousin, William III of Orange, in 1677, and Anne married the LutheranPrince George of Denmark in 1683. On Charles's death in 1685, James succeeded to the throne, but just three years later he was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Mary and William became joint monarchs. Although the sisters had been close, disagreements over Anne's finances, status, and choice of acquaintances arose shortly after Mary's accession and they became estranged. William and Mary had no children. After Mary's death in 1694, William reigned alone until his own death in 1702, when Anne succeeded him. (Full article...)
Óengus son of Fergus (Pictish: *Onuist map Vurguist; Old Irish: Óengus mac Fergusso, lit. 'Angus son of Fergus'; died 761) was king of the Picts from 732 until his death in 761. His reign can be reconstructed in some detail from a variety of sources. The unprecedented territorial gains he made from coast to coast, and the legacy he left, mean Óengus can be considered the first king of what would become Scotland.
Wresting power from his rivals, Óengus became the chief king in Pictland following a period of civil war in the late 720s. (Full article...)
Image 7
Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor, and Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, visited Nazi Germany in October 1937. Edward had abdicated the British throne in December 1936, and his brother George VI had become king. Edward had been given the title Duke of Windsor and married Wallis Simpson in June 1937. He appeared to have been sympathetic to Germany in this period and, that September, announced his intention to travel privately to Germany to tour factories. His interests, officially researching the social and economic conditions of the working classes, were against the backdrop of looming war in Europe. The Duke's supporters saw him as a potential peacemaker between Britain and Germany, but the British government refused to sanction such a role, opposed the tour and suspected that the Nazis would use the Duke's presence for propaganda. Prince Edward was keen for his wife, who had been rejected by the British establishment, to experience a state visit as his consort. He promised the government to keep a low profile, and the tour went ahead between 12 and 23 October 1937.
The Duke and the Duchess, who were officially invited to the country by the German Labour Front, were chaperoned for much of their visit by its leader, Robert Ley. The couple visited factories, many of which were producing materiel for the rearmament effort, and the Duke inspected German troops. The Windsors were greeted by the British national anthem and Nazi salutes. They dined with high-ranking Nazis such as Joseph Goebbels, Hermann Göring, Joachim von Ribbentrop, and Albert Speer, and had tea with Adolf Hitler in Berchtesgaden. The Duke had a long private conversation with Hitler, but it is uncertain what they discussed, as the minutes of their meeting were lost during the war. The Duchess took afternoon tea with Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess. Hitler was sympathetic to the Windsors and treated the Duchess like royalty. (Full article...)
Image 8
Scarab seal inscribed with "the son of Ra, Sheshi, given life"
Maaibre Sheshi (also Sheshy) was a ruler of areas of Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period. The dynasty, chronological position, duration and extent of his reign are uncertain and subject to ongoing debate. The difficulty of identification is mirrored by problems in determining events from the end of the Middle Kingdom to the arrival of the Hyksos in Egypt. Nonetheless, Sheshi is, in terms of the number of artifacts attributed to him, the best-attested king of the period spanning the end of the Middle Kingdom and the Second Intermediate period; roughly from c. 1800 BC until 1550 BC. Hundreds of scaraboid seals bearing his name have been found throughout the Levant, Egypt, Nubia, and as far away as Carthage, where some were still in use 1,500 years after his death.
Three competing hypotheses have been put forth for the dynasty to which Sheshi belonged. The first hypothesis is supported by Egyptologists such as Nicolas Grimal, William C. Hayes, and Donald B. Redford, who believe that he should be identified with Salitis, founder of the 15th Dynasty according to historical sources and king of the Hyksos during their invasion of Egypt. Salitis is credited with 19 years of reign and would have lived sometime between c. 1720 BC and 1650 BC. The second hypothesis is supported by Egyptologist William Ayres Ward and the archaeologist Daphna Ben-Tor, who propose that Sheshi was a Hyksos king and belongs to the second half of the 15th Dynasty, reigning between Khyan and Apophis. Alternatively, Manfred Bietak has proposed that Sheshi was a vassal of the Hyksos, ruling over some part of Egypt or Canaan. The very existence of such vassals is debated. The final hypothesis says Sheshi could be a ruler of the early 14th Dynasty, a line of kings of Canaanite descent ruling over of the Eastern Nile Delta immediately before the arrival of the Hyksos. Proponents of this theory, such as Kim Ryholt and Darrell Baker, credit Sheshi with 40 years of reign starting ca. 1745 BC. (Full article...)
Rhys ap Gruffydd or ap Gruffudd (often anglicised to "Griffith"; c. 1132 – 28 April 1197) was the ruler of the kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales from 1155 to 1197. Today, he is commonly known as The Lord Rhys, in WelshYr Arglwydd Rhys, although this title may have not been used in his lifetime. He usually used the title "Proprietary Prince of Deheubarth" or "Prince of South Wales", but two documents have been discovered in which he uses the title "Prince of Wales" or "Prince of the Welsh". Rhys was one of the most successful and powerful Welsh princes, and, after the death of Owain Gwynedd of Gwynedd in 1170, the dominant power in Wales.
Rhys's grandfather, Rhys ap Tewdwr, was king of Deheubarth, and was killed at Brecon in 1093 by Bernard de Neufmarché. Following his death, most of Deheubarth was taken over by the Normans. Rhys's father, Gruffydd ap Rhys, eventually was able to become ruler of a small portion, and more territory was won back by Rhys's older brothers after Gruffydd's death. Rhys became ruler of Deheubarth in 1155. He was forced to submit to King Henry II of England in 1158. Henry invaded Deheubarth in 1163, stripped Rhys of all his lands and took him prisoner. A few weeks later he was released and given back a small part of his holdings. Rhys made an alliance with Owain Gwynedd and, after the failure of another invasion of Wales by Henry in 1165, was able to win back most of his lands. (Full article...)
Image 10
The Count of Porto Alegre around age 61, c. 1865
Manuel Marques de Sousa, Count of Porto Alegre (13 June 1804 – 18 July 1875), nicknamed "the Gloved Centaur", was an army officer, politician and abolitionist of the Empire of Brazil. Born into a wealthy family of military background, Manuel Marques de Sousa joined the Portuguese Army in Brazil in 1817 when he was little more than a child. His military initiation occurred in the conquest of the Banda Oriental (Eastern Bank), which was annexed and became the southernmost Brazilian province of Cisplatina in 1821. For most of the 1820s, he was embroiled in the Brazilian effort to keep Cisplatina as part of its territory: first during the struggle for Brazilian independence and then in the Cisplatine War. It would ultimately prove a futile attempt, as Cisplatina successfully separated from Brazil to become the independent nation of Uruguay in 1828.
A few years later, in 1835 his native province of Rio Grande do Sul was engulfed in a secessionist rebellion, the Ragamuffin War. The conflict lasted for almost ten years, and the Count was leading military engagements for most of that time. He played a decisive role in saving the provincial capital from the Ragamuffin rebels, allowing forces loyal to the legitimate government to secure a key foothold. In 1852, he led a Brazilian division during the Platine War in an invasion of the Argentine Confederation that overthrew its dictator. He was awarded a noble title, eventually raised from baron to viscount and finally to count. (Full article...)
Image 11
Miniature from Matthew Paris's Historia Anglorum, c. 1253. The portrait is generic and depicts Henry holding the Church of Reading Abbey, where he was buried.
Henry I (c. 1068 – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in 1087, Henry's elder brothers Robert Curthose and William Rufus inherited Normandy and England, respectively, but Henry was left landless. He purchased the County of Cotentin in western Normandy from Robert, but his brothers deposed him in 1091. He gradually rebuilt his power base in the Cotentin and allied himself with William Rufus against Robert.
Present in England with his brother William, who died in a hunting accident, Henry seized the English throne, promising at his coronation to correct many of William's less popular policies. He married Matilda of Scotland and they had two surviving children, Empress Matilda and William Adelin; he also had many illegitimate children by his numerous mistresses. Robert, who invaded from Normandy in 1101, disputed Henry's control of England; this military campaign ended in a negotiated settlement that confirmed Henry as king. The peace was short-lived, and Henry invaded the Duchy of Normandy in 1105 and 1106, finally defeating Robert at the Battle of Tinchebray. Henry kept Robert imprisoned for the rest of his life. Henry's control of Normandy was challenged by Louis VI of France, Baldwin VII of Flanders and Fulk V of Anjou, who promoted the rival claims of Robert's son, William Clito, and supported a major rebellion in the Duchy between 1116 and 1119. Following Henry's victory at the Battle of Brémule, a favourable peace settlement was agreed with Louis in 1120. (Full article...)
James was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, and a great-great-grandson of Henry VII, King of England and Lord of Ireland, and thus a potential successor to all three thrones. He acceded to the Scottish throne at the age of thirteen months, after his mother was forced to abdicate in his favour. Four regents governed during his minority, which ended officially in 1578, though he did not gain full control of his government until 1583. In 1589, he married Anne of Denmark. Three of their children survived to adulthood: Henry Frederick, Elizabeth, and Charles. In 1603, James succeeded his cousin Elizabeth I, the last Tudor monarch of England and Ireland, who died childless. He continued to reign in all three kingdoms for 22 years, a period known as the Jacobean era, until his death in 1625. After the Union of the Crowns, he based himself in England (the largest of the three realms) from 1603, returning to Scotland only once, in 1617, and styled himself "King of Great Britain and Ireland". He was an advocate of a single parliament for England and Scotland. In his reign, the Plantation of Ulster and English colonisation of the Americas began. (Full article...)
Always in need of funds, Raynald tortured Aimery of Limoges, Latin Patriarch of Antioch, who had refused to pay a subsidy to him. He launched a plundering raid in Cyprus in 1156, causing great destruction in Byzantine territory. Four years later, Manuel I Komnenos, the Byzantine Emperor, led an army towards Antioch, forcing Raynald to accept Byzantine suzerainty. Raynald was raiding the valley of the river Euphrates in 1160 or 1161 when the governor of Aleppo captured him at Marash. He was released for a large ransom in 1176 but did not return to Antioch, because his wife had died in the interim. He married Stephanie of Milly, the wealthy heiress of Oultrejordain. Since King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem had also granted Hebron to him, Raynald became one of the wealthiest barons in the kingdom. After Baldwin, who suffered from leprosy, made him regent in 1177, Raynald led the crusader army that defeated Saladin, the Muslim ruler of Egypt and Syria, at the Battle of Montgisard. In control of the caravan routes between Egypt and Syria, he was the only Christian leader to pursue an offensive policy against Saladin, by making plundering raids against the caravans travelling near his domains. After Raynald's newly constructed fleet plundered the coast of the Red Sea in early 1183, threatening the route of Muslim pilgrims to Mecca, Saladin pledged that he would never forgive him. (Full article...)
Merenre Nemtyemsaf (meaning "Beloved of Ra, Nemty is his protection") was an Ancient Egyptianpharaoh, fourth king of the Sixth Dynasty. He ruled Egypt for six to 11 years in the early 23rd century BC, toward the end of the Old Kingdom period. He was the son of his predecessor Pepi I Meryre and queen Ankhesenpepi I and was in turn succeeded by Pepi II Neferkare who might have been his son or less probably his brother. Pepi I may have shared power with Merenre in a co-regency at the very end of the former's reign.
Merenre's rule saw profound changes in the administration of the southern provinces of Egypt, with a marked increase in the number of provincial administrators and a concurrent steep decline in the size of the central administration in the capital Memphis. As a consequence the provincial nobility became responsible for tax collection and resource management, gaining in political independence and economic power. This led to the first provincial burials for the highest officials including viziers, governors of Upper Egypt and nomarchs. Several trading and quarrying expeditions took place under Merenre, in particular to Nubia where caravans numbering hundreds of donkeys were sent to fetch incense, ebony, animal skins, ivory and exotic animals. Such was the interest in the region that Merenre had a canal dug to facilitate the navigation of the first cataract into Nubia. Trade with the Levantine coast for lapis lazuli, silver, bitumen, and tin took place while quarrying for granite, travertine and alabaster took place in the south and in the Eastern Desert. (Full article...)
Image 15
Muhammad III (Arabic: محمد الثالث; 15 August 1257 – 21 January 1314) was the ruler of the Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula from 8 April 1302 until 14 March 1309, and a member of the Nasrid dynasty. He ascended the Granadan throne after the death of his father Muhammad II, which according to rumours, was caused by Muhammad III poisoning him. He had the reputation of being both cultured and cruel. Later in his life, he became visually impaired—which caused him to be absent from many government activities and to rely on high officials, especially the powerful VizierIbn al-Hakim al-Rundi.
Muhammad III inherited an ongoing war against Castile. He built upon his father's recent military success and expanded Granada's territory further when he captured Bedmar in 1303. He negotiated a treaty with Castile the following year, in which Granada's conquests were recognised in return for Muhammad making an oath of fealty to the King of Castille, Ferdinand IV, paying him tribute. Muhammad sought to extend his rule to Ceuta, North Africa. To achieve this, he first encouraged the city to rebel against its Marinid rulers in 1304, and then, two years later, he invaded and conquered the city himself. Consequently, Granada controlled both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar. This alarmed Granada's three larger neighbours, Castile, the Marinids, and Aragon, who by the end of 1308 had formed a coalition against Granada. The three powers were preparing for an all-out war against Granada when Muhammad III was deposed in a palace coup. His foreign policy was increasingly unpopular among his nobility, and Vizier Ibn al-Hakim—who was, due to Muhammad's near-blindness, by now the power behind the throne—universally distrusted. Muhammad was replaced by his half-brother Nasr on 14 March 1309. Muhammad was allowed to live in Almuñécar, but—following an attempt by his followers to overthrow Nasr—was executed five years later in the Alhambra. (Full article...)
Stanisław Poniatowski (15 September 1676 – 29 August 1762) was a Polish military commander, diplomat, and noble. Throughout his career, Poniatowski served in various military offices, and was a general in both the Swedish and Polish–Lithuanian militaries. He also held numerous civil positions, including those of podstoli of Lithuania and Grand Treasurer of the Lithuanian army in 1722, voivode of the Masovian Voivodeship in 1731, regimentarz of the Crown Army in 1728, and castellan of Kraków in 1752. Throughout his lifetime, he served in many starost positions.
Poniatowski was involved in Commonwealth politics, and was a prominent member of the Familia, a faction led by the Czartoryski family. On a number of occasions he was in service of Stanisław I Leszczyński, the principal rival of Augustus II for the throne of Poland. Having served under Leszczyński as a military officer and envoy during the Great Northern War, Poniatowski later embraced the Russian-supported Augustus. Subsequently, during the War of the Polish Succession, he returned, with the majority of the Familia, to his earlier allegiance. He later effected a reconciliation with Augustus III, and eventually became one of the new king's chief advisors. (Full article...)
Styled Duke of Anjou from birth, Philippe became Duke of Orléans upon the death of his uncle Gaston in 1660. He was also granted the dukedoms of Valois, Chartres and Nemours. Known as le Petit Monsieur or simply Monsieur, Philippe was a distinguished military commander and took part in the War of Devolution and the Franco-Dutch War, the latter of which saw his victory over William of Orange at the Battle of Cassel. Through careful personal administration, he greatly augmented the fortunes of the House of Orléans, which rivalled that of the Bourbons. (Full article...)
Image 3
King of Kings was a ruling title employed primarily by monarchs based in the Middle East. Although most commonly associated with Iran (historically known as Persia in the West), especially the Achaemenid and Sasanian Empires, the title was originally introduced during the Middle Assyrian Empire by king Tukulti-Ninurta I (reigned 1233–1197 BC) and was subsequently used in a number of different kingdoms and empires, including the aforementioned Persia, various Hellenic kingdoms, India, Armenia, Georgia, and Ethiopia.
The title is commonly seen as equivalent to that of Emperor, both titles outranking that of king in prestige, stemming from the late antiqueRoman and Eastern Roman emperors who saw the Shahanshahs of the Sasanian Empire as their equals. The last reigning monarchs to use the title of Shahanshah, those of the Pahlavi dynasty in Iran (1925–1979), also equated the title with "Emperor". The rulers of the Ethiopian Empire used the title of Nəgusä Nägäst (literally "King of Kings"), which was officially translated as "Emperor". Sultan of Sultans is the sultanic equivalent of King of Kings. (Full article...)
Hugh III (French: Hugues; c. 1235 – 24 March 1284), also called Hugh of Antioch-Lusignan and the Great, was the king of Cyprus (as Hugh III) from 1267 and king of Jerusalem (as Hugh I) from 1268. Born into the family of the princes of Antioch, he effectively ruled as regent for underage kings Hugh II of Cyprus and Conrad III of Jerusalem for several years. Prevailing over the claims of his cousin Hugh of Brienne, he succeeded both young monarchs upon their deaths and appeared poised to be an effective political and military leader.
As the first king of Jerusalem to reside in the kingdom since the 1220s, Hugh tried to restore the royal domain, reassert royal authority over the increasingly independent mainland vassals, and prevent further loss of territory to the Egyptian Mamluks. Marital alliances brought to him steadfast loyalty of the most powerful noble families, the Ibelins and the Montforts, but his efforts on the mainland were doomed to failure by the hostility of the Venetian merchants and the Knights Templar. His insular vassals, on the other hand, resented his determination to deploy Cypriot armies in defense of the Crusader states. In 1275 he failed to establish himself as regent of the County of Tripoli. (Full article...)
Image 6
Abu 'l-Ma'ali Sharif, more commonly known by his honorific title, Sa'd al-Dawla (Arabic: سعد الدولة), was the second ruler of the HamdanidEmirate of Aleppo, encompassing most of northern Syria. The son of the emirate's founder, Sayf al-Dawla, he inherited the throne at a young age and in the midst of a major offensive by the Byzantine emperor Nikephoros II Phokas that within two years conquered the western portions of his realm and turned Aleppo into a tributary state. Facing a multitude of rebellions and desertions until 977, Sa'd was unable even to enter his own capital, which was in the hands of his father's chief minister, Qarquya. By maintaining close relations with the Buyids, he managed to re-establish his authority in parts of the Jazira, but his rule was soon challenged by the rebellion of his governor Bakjur, who was supported by the Fatimids of Egypt. In turn, Sa'd came to rely increasingly on Byzantine assistance, although he continued to fluctuate in his allegiance between Byzantium, the Buyids, and the Fatimids. (Full article...)
Bronze coin of Farn-Sasan. He is depicted on the obverse, while the reverse depicts a fire altar
Farn-Sasan was the last king of the Indo-Parthian Kingdom, ruling the region of Sakastan approximately from 210 to 226. Literary sources makes no mention of him, and he is only known through the coins he issued. He was defeated in 226 by the Sasanian ruler Ardashir I (r. 224–242), which marked the end of Indo-Parthian rule. (Full article...)
Image 9
Coat of arms of the family
The House of Tocco (pl.Tocchi, Greek: Τόκκος, translit.Tókkospl. Τόκκοι, Tokkoi) was an Italian noble family from Benevento that came to prominence in the late 14th and 15th centuries, when they ruled various territories in western Greece as Counts Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos and Despots of Epirus. During their brief period of rule in Greece, they were one of the most ambitious and able Latin dynasties in the region, and they were one of the few to leave descendants lasting until modern times.
The earliest known members of the family are recorded in the 12th century in Benevento, though Tocco family genealogies claimed that they originated much earlier, with forged connections to ancient Gothic kings Theodoric the Great and Totila, as well as to the ancient Epirote king Pyrrhus. Members of the family held various prominent offices during the rule of the Hohenstaufen and Angevin dynasties in the Kingdom of Sicily. As a result of the family's loyalty to the Angevin princes in Greece, such as the titular Latin emperorsPhilip I of Taranto and Robert of Taranto, Leonardo I Tocco was rewarded c. 1357 with the grant of the County Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos, islands off the western coast of Greece. (Full article...)
In 1909, it was discovered that John had epilepsy. In 1916, as his condition deteriorated, he was sent to live at Sandringham House and kept away from the public eye. There, he was cared for by his governess, Charlotte "Lala" Bill, and befriended local children whom his mother had gathered to be his playmates. He died at Sandringham in 1919 after a severe seizure, and was buried at nearby St Mary Magdalene Church. His illness was disclosed to the wider public only after his death. (Full article...)
Heraclius (Greek: Ἡράκλειος, translit.Hērákleios) was Byzantine co-emperor from 659 to 681. He was the son of Emperor Constans II and Fausta, who was elevated in 659, before his father departed for Italy. After the death of Constans, Heraclius' brother Constantine IV ascended the throne as senior emperor. Constantine attempted to have both Heraclius and Tiberius removed as co-emperors. However, this sparked a popular revolt in 681. Constantine ended the revolt by promising to accede to the demands of the rebels, sending them home, but bringing their leaders into Constantinople. Once there, Constantine had them executed, then imprisoned Tiberius and Heraclius and had their noses slit, after which point they disappear from history. (Full article...)
Image 12
Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent (5 August 1301 – 19 March 1330), whose seat was Arundel Castle in Sussex, was the sixth son of King Edward I of England, and the second by his second wife Margaret of France, and was a younger half-brother of King Edward II. Edward I had intended to make substantial grants of land to Edmund, but when the king died in 1307, Edward II refused to respect his father's intentions, mainly due to his favouritism towards Piers Gaveston. Edmund remained loyal to his brother, and in 1321 he was created Earl of Kent. He played an important part in Edward's administration as diplomat and military commander and in 1321–22 helped suppress a rebellion.
Discontent against the King grew and eventually affected Edmund. The discontent was largely caused by Edward's preference for his new favourites, Hugh Despenser the Younger and his father. In 1326, Edmund joined a rebellion led by Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer, whereby King Edward II was deposed. Edmund failed to get along with the new administration, and in 1330 he was caught planning a new rebellion and executed. (Full article...)
Constans II (died 411) was the son of Western Roman emperorConstantine III, and served as his co-emperor from 409 to 411. Constans was a monk prior to his father being acclaimed emperor by the army in Britain in early 407, an act of rebellion against the ruling emperor Honorius. He was summoned to Gaul, appointed to the position of caesar (heir) and swiftly married so that a dynasty could be founded. In Hispania, Honorius's relatives rose in 408 and expelled Constantine's administration. An army under the generals Constans and Gerontius was sent to deal with this and Constantine's authority was re-established. Honorius acknowledged Constantine as co-emperor in early 409 and Constantine immediately raised Constans to the position of augustus (emperor), theoretically equal in rank to Honorius as well as to Constantine. Later in 409 Gerontius rebelled, proclaimed his client Maximus emperor and incited barbarian groups in Gaul to rise up. Constans was sent to quash the revolt, but was defeated and withdrew to Arles. In 410, Constans was sent to Hispania again. Gerontius had strengthened his army with barbarians and defeated Constans; the latter withdrew north and was defeated again and killed at Vienne early in 411. Gerontius then besieged Constantine in Arles and killed him. (Full article...)
Image 14
Lerwick Town Hall stained glass window depicting "Margaret, queen of Scotland and daughter of Norway"
Margaret (Norwegian: Margrete, Scottish Gaelic: Maighread; March or April 1283 – September 1290), known as the Maid of Norway, was the queen-designate of Scotland from 1286 until her death. As she was never crowned, her status as monarch is uncertain and has been debated by historians.
Solidus minted for Victor, marked: d n fl victor pf aug
Victor (died August 388AD) was a Western Roman emperor from either 383/384 or 387 to August 388. He was the son of the magister militumMagnus Maximus, who later became a usurper of the Western Roman Empire, in opposition to Gratian. Maximus rose up in 383, and was recognized as the legitimate emperor in the west by Theodosius I. Victor was elevated to augustus of the Western Roman Empire in either 383/384 or mid-387, making him co-emperor with his father. Maximus invaded Italy in 387, to depose Valentinian II, the brother and successor of the late Gratian. Because of Maximus' invasion, Theodosius invaded the Western Empire in 388. Theodosius defeated Maximus in two battles in Pannonia, before crushing his army at Aquilea, and capturing Maximus. Maximus was executed on 28 August 388. His death was followed quickly by that of Victor, who was executed in Trier by the Frankish general Arbogast. (Full article...)
Credit: Sébah & Joaillier; restoration: Adam Cuerden
Mehmed VI (1861–1926) was the 36th and last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He was girded with the Sword of Osman in June 1918, with his reign beginning the following month after his brother's death. Following the Ottoman defeat in World War I, Mehmed VI was tasked with reconciliation with the Allies. However, his settlements were denounced by Turkish nationalists, and in 1922 the Grand National Assembly of Turkey abolished the sultanate. Mehmed VI spent the rest of his life in exile.
All in the world I have is yours; Next to God, you are the one I love best, and if I did not know that your love for me is the same, I could not be so happy as I am: May God give us both the grace to live always in this affection without any guile.
Image 4British India and the princely states within the Indian Empire. The princely states (in yellow) were sovereign territories of Indian princes who were practically suzerain to the Emperor of India, who was concurrently the British monarch, whose territories were called British India (in pink) and occupied a vast portion of the empire. (from Non-sovereign monarchy)
Image 7The constituent states of the German Empire (a federal monarchy). Various states were formally suzerain to the emperor, whose government retained authority over some policy areas throughout the federation, and was concurrently King of Prussia, the empire's largest state. (from Non-sovereign monarchy)
Image 8The administrative divisions of the British Protectorate of Uganda, including five of today's six kingdoms (from Non-sovereign monarchy)
Image 9Contemporary European monarchies by type of succession
This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk·contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged or categorized (e.g. Category:Royalty work group articles) correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.