Portal:Monarchy

The Monarchy Portal The Weld-Blundell Prism is inscribed with the Sumerian King List The heraldic crown for the King of Norway (1905 pattern) A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy), to fully autocratic (absolute monarchy), and can span across executive, legislative, and judicial domains. 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. Monarchies were the most common form of government until the 20th century, by which time republics had replaced many monarchies. Today forty-three sovereign nations in the world have a monarch, including fifteen Commonwealth realms that share King Charles III as their head of state. Other than that, there is a range of sub-national monarchical entities. Most of the modern monarchies are constitutional monarchies, retaining under a constitution unique legal and ceremonial roles for the monarch, exercising limited or no political power, similar to heads of state in a parliamentary republic. (Full article...) Featured articles - Featured articles are displayed here, which represent some of the best content on English Wikipedia. The Berlin Cleopatra, a Roman sculpture of Cleopatra wearing a royal diadem, mid-1st century BC, now in the Altes Museum, Germany Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (Koinē Greek: Κλεοπάτρα Θεά Φιλοπάτωρ lit. Cleopatra "father-loving goddess"; 70/69 BC – 10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler. A member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, she was a descendant of its founder Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general and companion of Alexander the Great. After the death of Cleopatra, Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire, marking the end of the last Hellenistic-period state in the Mediterranean and of the age that had lasted since the reign of Alexander (336–323 BC). Her first language was Koine Greek, and she was the only known Ptolemaic ruler to learn the Egyptian language. In 58 BC, Cleopatra presumably accompanied her father, Ptolemy XII Auletes, during his exile to Rome after a revolt in Egypt (a Roman client state) allowed his rival daughter Berenice IV to claim his throne. Berenice was killed in 55 BC when Ptolemy returned to Egypt with Roman military assistance. When he died in 51 BC, the joint reign of Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy XIII began, but a falling-out between them led to an open civil war. After losing the 48 BC Battle of Pharsalus in Greece against his rival Julius Caesar (a Roman dictator and consul) in Caesar's civil war, the Roman statesman Pompey fled to Egypt. Pompey had been a political ally of Ptolemy XII, but Ptolemy XIII, at the urging of his court eunuchs, had Pompey ambushed and killed before Caesar arrived and occupied Alexandria. Caesar then attempted to reconcile the rival Ptolemaic siblings, but Ptolemy's chief adviser, Potheinos, viewed Caesar's terms as favoring Cleopatra, so his forces besieged her and Caesar at the palace. Shortly after the siege was lifted by reinforcements, Ptolemy XIII died in the Battle of the Nile; Cleopatra's half-sister Arsinoe IV was eventually exiled to Ephesus for her role in carrying out the siege. Caesar declared Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy XIV joint rulers but maintained a private affair with Cleopatra that produced a son, Caesarion. Cleopatra traveled to Rome as a client queen in 46 and 44 BC, where she stayed at Caesar's villa. After Caesar's assassination, followed shortly afterwards by that of Ptolemy XIV (on Cleopatra's orders), she named Caesarion co-ruler as Ptolemy XV. (Full article...) Bust in the National Archaeological Museum, Naples Domitian (/dəˈmɪʃən, -iən/, də-MISH-ən, -⁠ee-ən; Latin: Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was Roman emperor from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavian dynasty. Described as "a ruthless but efficient autocrat", his authoritarian style of ruling put him at sharp odds with the Senate, whose powers he drastically curtailed. Domitian had a minor and largely ceremonial role during the reigns of his father and brother. After the death of his brother, Domitian was declared emperor by the Praetorian Guard. His 15-year reign was the longest since that of Tiberius. As emperor, Domitian strengthened the economy by revaluing the Roman coinage, expanded the border defenses of the empire, and initiated a massive building program to restore the damaged city of Rome. Significant wars were fought in Britain, where his general Agricola attempted to conquer Caledonia (Scotland), and in Dacia, where Domitian was unable to procure a decisive victory against King Decebalus. Domitian's government exhibited strong authoritarian characteristics. Religious, military, and cultural propaganda fostered a cult of personality, and by nominating himself perpetual censor, he sought to control public and private morals. (Full article...) Photograph by W. & D. Downey, c. 1889 Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 to 6 May 1910 as the wife of King-Emperor Edward VII. Alexandra's family had been relatively obscure until 1852, when her father, Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, was chosen with the consent of the major European powers to succeed his second cousin Frederick VII as king of Denmark. At the age of sixteen, Alexandra was chosen as the future wife of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, the son and heir apparent of Queen Victoria. The couple married eighteen months later in 1863, the year in which her father became king of Denmark as Christian IX and her brother William was appointed king of Greece as George I. Alexandra was Princess of Wales from 1863 to 1901, the longest anyone has ever held that title, and became generally popular; her style of dress and bearing were copied by fashion-conscious women. Largely excluded from wielding any political power, she unsuccessfully attempted to sway the opinion of British ministers and her husband's family to favour Greek and Danish interests. Her public duties were restricted to uncontroversial involvement in charitable work. (Full article...) Woodcut vignette of Alboin in the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle Alboin (530s – 28 June 572) was king of the Lombards from about 560 until 572. During his reign the Lombards ended their migrations by settling in Italy, the northern part of which Alboin conquered between 569 and 572. He had a lasting effect on Italy and the Pannonian Basin; in the former, his invasion marked the beginning of centuries of Lombard rule, and in the latter, his defeat of the Gepids and his departure from Pannonia ended the dominance there of the Germanic peoples. The period of Alboin's reign as king in Pannonia following the death of his father, Audoin, was one of confrontation and conflict between the Lombards and their main neighbours, the Gepids. The Gepids initially gained the upper hand, but in 567, thanks to his alliance with the Avars, Alboin inflicted a decisive defeat on his enemies, whose lands the Avars subsequently occupied. The increasing power of his new neighbours caused Alboin some unease however, and he therefore decided to leave Pannonia for Italy, hoping to take advantage of the Byzantine Empire's vulnerability in defending its territory in the wake of the Gothic War. (Full article...) Portrait in Westminster Abbey likely depicting Edward I, installed sometime during his reign Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 to 1306 he ruled Gascony as Duke of Aquitaine in his capacity as a vassal of the French king. Before his accession to the throne, he was commonly referred to as the Lord Edward. The eldest son of Henry III, Edward was involved from an early age in the political intrigues of his father's reign. In 1259, he briefly sided with a baronial reform movement, supporting the Provisions of Oxford. After reconciliation with his father, he remained loyal throughout the subsequent armed conflict, known as the Second Barons' War. After the Battle of Lewes, Edward was held hostage by the rebellious barons, but escaped after a few months and defeated the baronial leader Simon de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham in 1265. Within two years, the rebellion was extinguished and, with England pacified, Edward left to join the Ninth Crusade to the Holy Land in 1270. He was on his way home in 1272 when he was informed of his father's death. Making a slow return, he reached England in 1274 and was crowned at Westminster Abbey. Edward spent much of his reign reforming royal administration and common law. Through an extensive legal inquiry, he investigated the tenure of several feudal liberties. The law was reformed through a series of statutes regulating criminal and property law, but the King's attention was increasingly drawn towards military affairs. After suppressing a minor conflict in Wales in 1276–77, Edward responded to a second one in 1282–83 by conquering Wales. He then established English rule, built castles and towns in the countryside and settled them with English people. After the death of the heir to the Scottish throne, Edward was invited to arbitrate a succession dispute. He claimed feudal suzerainty over Scotland and invaded the country, and the ensuing First Scottish War of Independence continued after his death. Simultaneously, Edward found himself at war with France (a Scottish ally) after King Philip IV confiscated the Duchy of Gascony. The duchy was eventually recovered but the conflict relieved English military pressure against Scotland. By the mid-1290s, extensive military campaigns required high levels of taxation and this met with both lay and ecclesiastical opposition. When the King died in 1307, he left to his son Edward II a war with Scotland and other financial and political burdens. (Full article...) Electrum coin with Theodore (left) blessed by Thessalonica's patron, St. Demetrius Theodore Komnenos Doukas (Greek: Θεόδωρος Κομνηνὸς Δούκας, Theodōros Komnēnos Doukas, Latinized as Theodore Comnenus Ducas, died c. 1253) was the ruler of Epirus and Thessaly from 1215 to 1230 and of Thessalonica and most of Macedonia and western Thrace from 1224 to 1230. He was also the power behind the rule of his sons John and Demetrios over Thessalonica in 1237–1246. Theodore was the scion of a distinguished Byzantine aristocratic family related to the imperial Komnenos, Doukas, and Angelos dynasties. Nevertheless, nothing is known about Theodore's life before the conquest of Constantinople and dissolution of the Byzantine Empire by the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Following the fall of Constantinople, he served Theodore I Laskaris, founder of the Empire of Nicaea, for a few years before being called to Epirus, where his half-brother Michael I Komnenos Doukas had founded an independent principality. When Michael died in 1215, Theodore sidelined his brother's underage and illegitimate son Michael II and assumed the governance of the Epirote state. Theodore continued his brother's policy of territorial expansion. Allied with Serbia, he expanded into Macedonia, threatening the Latin Kingdom of Thessalonica. The capture of the Latin Emperor Peter II of Courtenay in 1217 opened the way to the gradual envelopment of Thessalonica, culminating in the city's fall in 1224. (Full article...) Ranavalona III (Malagasy pronunciation: [ranaˈvalːə̥]; 22 November 1861 – 23 May 1917) was the last sovereign of the Kingdom of Madagascar. She ruled from 30 July 1883 to 28 February 1897 in a reign marked by ultimately futile efforts to resist the colonial designs of the government of France. As a young woman, she was selected from among several Andriana qualified to succeed Queen Ranavalona II upon her death. Like both preceding queens, Ranavalona entered a political marriage with a member of the Hova elite named Rainilaiarivony, who largely oversaw the day-to-day governance of the kingdom and managed its foreign affairs in his role as prime minister. Ranavalona tried to stave off colonization by strengthening trade and diplomatic relations with foreign powers throughout her reign, but French attacks on coastal port towns and an assault on the capital city of Antananarivo led to the capture of the royal palace in 1895, ending the sovereignty and political autonomy of the centuries-old kingdom. Ranavalona and her court were initially permitted to remain as symbolic figureheads, but the outbreak of a popular resistance movement called the menalamba rebellion, and the discovery of anti-French political intrigues at court led the French to exile her to the island of Réunion in 1897. Rainilaiarivony died that same year, and Ranavalona was relocated to a villa in Algiers, along with several members of her family. The queen, her family, and the servants accompanying her were provided an allowance and enjoyed a comfortable standard of living, including occasional trips to Paris for shopping and sightseeing. Ranavalona was never permitted to return home to Madagascar, however, despite her repeated requests. She died of an embolism at her villa in Algiers in 1917 at age 55. Her remains were buried in Algiers but were disinterred 21 years later and shipped to Madagascar, where they were placed within the tomb of Queen Rasoherina on the grounds of the Rova of Antananarivo. (Full article...) Olga Alexandrovna c. 1910 Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia (Russian: Ольга Александровна; 13 June [O.S. 1 June] 1882 – 24 November 1960) was the youngest child of Emperor Alexander III of Russia and younger sister of Emperor Nicholas II. 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...) Seleucus VI's portrait on the obverse of a tetradrachm minted in Antioch Seleucus VI Epiphanes Nicator (Ancient Greek: Σέλευκος Ἐπιφανής Νικάτωρ, romanized: Séleukos Epiphanís Nikátor; between 124 and 109 BC – 94 BC) was a Hellenistic Seleucid monarch who ruled Syria between 96 and 94 BC. He was the son of Antiochus VIII and his Ptolemaic Egyptian wife Tryphaena. Seleucus VI lived during a period of civil war between his father and his uncle Antiochus IX, which ended in 96 BC when Antiochus VIII was assassinated. Antiochus IX then occupied the capital Antioch while Seleucus VI established his power-base in western Cilicia and himself prepared for war. In 95 BC, Antiochus IX marched against his nephew, but lost the battle and was killed. Seleucus VI became the master of the capital but had to share Syria with his brother Demetrius III, based in Damascus, and his cousin, Antiochus IX's son Antiochus X. According to the ancient historian Appian, Seleucus VI was a violent ruler. He taxed his dominions extensively to support his wars, and resisted allowing the cities a measure of autonomy, as had been the practice of former kings. His reign did not last long; in 94 BC, he was expelled from Antioch by Antiochus X, who followed him to the Cilician city of Mopsuestia. Seleucus took shelter in the city where his attempts to raise money led to riots that eventually claimed his life in 94 BC. Ancient traditions have different versions of his death, but he was most probably burned alive by the rioters. Following his demise, his brothers Antiochus XI and Philip I destroyed Mopsuestia as an act of revenge and their armies fought those of Antiochus X. (Full article...) Statue of Menkauhor wearing the dress of the Sed festival from Memphis Menkauhor Kaiu (also known as Ikauhor and in Greek as Mencherês, Μεγχερῆς) was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Old Kingdom period. He was the seventh ruler of the Fifth Dynasty at the end of the 25th century BC or early in the 24th century BC (circa 2399–2390 BC). Menkauhor ruled for possibly eight or nine years, following king Nyuserre Ini, and was succeeded in turn by Djedkare Isesi. Although Menkauhor is well attested by historical sources, few artefacts from his reign have survived. Consequently, his familial relation to his predecessor and successor is unclear, and no offspring of his have been identified. Khentkaus III may have been Menkauhor's mother, as indicated by evidence discovered in her tomb in 2015. (Full article...) Portrait by W. & D. Downey, 1900s Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Edward, nicknamed "Bertie", was related to royalty throughout Europe. He was Prince of Wales and heir apparent to the British throne for almost 60 years. During his mother's reign, he was largely excluded from political influence and came to personify the fashionable, leisured elite. He married Princess Alexandra of Denmark in 1863, and the couple had six children. As Prince of Wales, Edward travelled throughout Britain performing ceremonial public duties and represented Britain on visits abroad. His tours of North America in 1860 and of the Indian subcontinent in 1875 proved popular successes, but despite public approval, his reputation as a playboy prince soured his relationship with his mother. (Full article...) A Serbian Orthodox icon of Prince Jovan Vladimir, who was recognized as a saint shortly after his death Jovan Vladimir or John Vladimir (Serbian Cyrillic: Јован Владимир; c. 990 – 22 May 1016) was the ruler of Duklja, the most powerful Serbian principality of the time, from around 1000 to 1016. He ruled during the protracted war between the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarian Empire. Vladimir was acknowledged as a pious, just, and peaceful ruler. He is recognized as a martyr and saint, with his feast day being celebrated on 22 May. Jovan Vladimir had a close relationship with Byzantium but this did not save Duklja from the expansionist Tsar Samuel of Bulgaria, who conquered the principality around 1010 and took Vladimir prisoner. A medieval chronicle asserts that Samuel's daughter, Theodora Kosara, fell in love with Vladimir and begged her father for his hand. The tsar allowed the marriage and returned Duklja to Vladimir, who ruled as his vassal. Vladimir took no part in his father-in-law's war efforts. The warfare culminated with Tsar Samuel's defeat by the Byzantines in 1014 and death soon after. In 1016, Vladimir fell victim to a plot by Ivan Vladislav, the last ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire. He was beheaded in front of a church in Prespa, the empire's capital, and was buried there. He was soon recognized as a martyr and saint. His widow, Kosara, reburied him in the Prečista Krajinska Church, near his court in southeastern Duklja. In 1381, his remains were preserved in the Church of St Jovan Vladimir near Elbasan, and since 1995 they have been kept in the Orthodox cathedral of Tirana, Albania. The saint's remains are considered Christian relics, and attract many believers, especially on his feast day, when the relics are taken to the church near Elbasan for a celebration. (Full article...) Portrait at Westminster Abbey, mid-1390s Richard II (6 January 1367 – c. 14 February 1400), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father died in 1376, leaving Richard as heir apparent to his grandfather, King Edward III; upon the latter's death, the 10-year-old Richard succeeded to the throne. During Richard's first years as king, government was in the hands of a series of regency councils, influenced by Richard's uncles John of Gaunt and Thomas of Woodstock. England at that time faced various problems, most notably the Hundred Years' War. A major challenge of the reign was the Peasants' Revolt in 1381, and the young king played a central part in the successful suppression of this crisis. Less warlike than either his father or grandfather, he sought to bring an end to the Hundred Years' War. A firm believer in the royal prerogative, Richard restrained the power of the aristocracy and relied on a private retinue for military protection instead. In contrast to his grandfather, Richard cultivated a refined atmosphere centred on art and culture at court, in which the king was an elevated figure. (Full article...) Statue of Æthelberht Interior of Rochester Cathedral Æthelberht (/ˈæθəlbərt/; also Æthelbert, Aethelberht, Aethelbert or Ethelbert; Old English: Æðelberht [ˈæðelberˠxt]; c. 550 – 24 February 616) was King of Kent from about 589 until his death. The eighth-century monk Bede, in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, lists him as the third king to hold imperium over other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. In the late ninth century Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, he is referred to as a bretwalda, or "Britain-ruler". He was the first English king to convert to Christianity. Æthelberht was the son of Eormenric, succeeding him as king, according to the Chronicle. He married Bertha, the Christian daughter of Charibert I, king of the Franks, thus building an alliance with the most powerful state in contemporary Western Europe; the marriage probably took place before he came to the throne. Bertha's influence may have led to Pope Gregory I's decision to send Augustine as a missionary from Rome. Augustine landed on the Isle of Thanet in east Kent in 597. Shortly thereafter, Æthelberht converted to Christianity, churches were established, and wider-scale conversion to Christianity began in the kingdom. He provided the new church with land in Canterbury, thus helping to establish one of the foundation stones of English Christianity. (Full article...) Portrait from studio of Godfrey Kneller, 1714 George I (George Louis; German: Georg Ludwig; 28 May 1660 – 11 June 1727) was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 and ruler of the Electorate of Hanover within the Holy Roman Empire from 23 January 1698 until his death in 1727. He was the first British monarch of the House of Hanover. Born in Hanover to Ernest Augustus and Sophia of Hanover, George inherited the titles and lands of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg from his father and uncles. In 1682, he married his cousin Sophia Dorothea of Celle, with whom he had two children; he also had three daughters with his mistress Melusine von der Schulenburg. George and Sophia Dorothea divorced in 1694. (Full article...) Featured picture Neuschwanstein Castle Neuschwanstein Castle is a Romanesque Revival palace commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria in 1868. This castle on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau was intended to be Ludwig's personal retreat, though it was still under construction at the time of his death in 1886. It was soon thereafter opened to tourists, and remains a popular destination. Its architecture has inspired several further buildings, including Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle. Did you know (auto-generated) No recent additions More Did you know... ... that Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I commissioned the Triumphal Arch (pictured), a monumental woodcut print over 3½ m (11½ ft) tall and nearly 3 m (10 ft) wide printed from 192 separate wood blocks? ... that Petubastis III led a revolt in Egypt against Persian rule in circa 522 BCE? ... that makers of Chantilly lace were guillotined during the French Revolution because they were seen as protégés of the royals? Good articles - These are Good articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards. Charles Edward in 1933 as SA-Gruppenführer Charles Edward (Leopold Charles Edward George Albert; 19 July 1884 – 6 March 1954) was a British prince until 1919, the last sovereign duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a state of the German Empire, reigning from 30 July 1900 to 14 November 1918, and later a Nazi politician. He was given various positions in the Nazi regime, including leader of the German Red Cross, and acted as an unofficial diplomat for the German government. Charles Edward's parents were Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, and Princess Helen of Waldeck and Pyrmont. His paternal grandparents were Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Charles Edward's father died before his son's birth. The boy was born in Surrey, in England, and brought up as a British prince. He was a sickly child who developed a close relationship with his grandmother and his only sibling, Alice. He was privately educated, lastly at Eton College. In 1899, he was selected to succeed to the throne of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha because he was deemed young enough to be re-educated as a German. He moved to Germany at the age of 15. Between 1899 and 1905, he was put through various forms of education, guided by his cousin, German Emperor Wilhelm II. (Full article...) Coin of Vologases V, Ecbatana mint Vologases V (Parthian: 𐭅𐭋𐭂𐭔 Walagash) was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 191 to 208. As king of Armenia (r. 180–191), he is known as Vologases II. Not much is known about his period of kingship of Armenia, except that he put his son Rev I (r. 186–216) on the Iberian throne in 189. Vologases succeeded his father Vologases IV as king of the Parthian Empire in 191; it is uncertain if the transition of power was peaceful or if Vologases took the throne in a civil war. When Vologases acceded the Parthian throne, he passed the Armenian throne to his son Khosrov I (r. 191–217). Vologases' reign was marked by war with the Roman Empire, lasting from 195 to 202, resulting in the brief capture of the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon, and reaffirmation of Roman rule in Armenia and northern Mesopotamia. At the same time, internal conflict took place in the Parthian realm, with the local Persian prince Pabag seizing Istakhr, the capital of the southern Iranian region of Persis. (Full article...) Cloisonné engraving of Constantine Doukas from the Holy Crown of Hungary Constantine Doukas or Ducas (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Δούκας, Kōnstantinos Doukas, c. 1074 – c. 1095) was Byzantine junior emperor from 1074 to 1078, and again from 1081 to 1087. He was born to Emperor Michael VII Doukas and Empress Maria of Alania in about 1074, and elevated to junior emperor probably in the same year. He was junior emperor until 1078, when Michael VII was replaced by Nikephoros III Botaneiates. Because Constantine was not made junior emperor under Nikephoros III, his betrothal to Olympias, the daughter of Robert Guiscard, was broken, which Robert Guiscard used as a pretext to invade the Byzantine Empire. John Doukas forced Nikephoros to abdicate in favor of Alexios I Komnenos in 1081, and shortly afterwards Alexios elevated Constantine to junior emperor. Constantine married Alexios's daughter Anna Komnene, and remained junior emperor until 1087, when Alexios had a son, John II Komnenos. Constantine died in c. 1095. (Full article...) Gold dinar of al-Amir, minted in Cairo, 514 AH (1119/20 CE) Abu Ali al-Mansur ibn al-Musta'li (Arabic: أبو علي المنصور بن المستعلي, romanized: Abū ʿAlī al-Manṣūr ibn al-Mustaʿlī; 31 December 1096 – 7 October 1130), better known by his regnal name al-Amir bi-Ahkam Allah (Arabic: الآمر بأحكام الله, romanized: al-Āmir bi-Aḥkām Allāh, lit. 'The Ruler Who Executes God's Decrees') was the tenth Fatimid caliph, ruling from 1101 to his death in 1130, and the 20th imam of the Musta'li Isma'ili branch of Shia Islam. Until 1121, he was a de facto puppet of his uncle and father-in-law, the vizier al-Afdal Shahanshah. When the latter was murdered, possibly with al-Amir's connivance, he appointed al-Ma'mun al-Bata'ihi as his vizier, but took an increasing direct role in government, and after 1125 ruled without a vizier. His reign saw the progressive loss of all Fatimid strongholds in Palestine to the Crusaders, apart from Ascalon. His assassination in 1130, leaving only his infant son al-Tayyib as heir, threw the Fatimid regime into a succession struggle during which it almost collapsed. Fatimid rule was restored with the succession of al-Amir's cousin al-Hafiz li-Din Allah in 1132, which led to the division of Musta'li Isma'ilism into the rival Hafizi and Tayyibi branches. (Full article...) Nikephoros III Botaneiates (Greek: Νικηφόρος Βοτανειάτης, 1002–1081), Latinized as Nicephorus III Botaniates, was Byzantine Emperor from 7 January 1078 to 1 April 1081. He was born in 1002, and became a general during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos, serving in the Pecheneg revolt of 1048–1053. His actions in guiding his forces away from the Pechenegs following the Battle of Zygos Pass, in which they suffered eleven days of harassment before finally reaching the Byzantine city of Adrianople, attracted the attention of fellow officers, and he received the title of magistros as a reward. Nikephoros served in the revolt of Isaac I Komnenos against the Byzantine Emperor Michael VI Bringas, leading forces at the decisive Battle of Petroe. Under the Emperor Constantine X Doukas he was made doux of Thessalonica. He later served as doux of Antioch. While doux of Antioch, he repelled numerous incursions from the Emirate of Aleppo. When Constantine X died in 1067, his wife, Empress Eudokia Makrembolitissa, considered taking Nikephoros as husband and emperor but instead chose Romanos IV Diogenes. The need for an immediate successor was made pressing by the constant Seljuk raids into Byzantine Anatolia, and Eudokia, Patriarch John VIII of Constantinople, and the Byzantine Senate agreed that their top priority was the defense of the empire and that they needed an emperor to lead troops to repel the Turks. Nikephoros was the favorite candidate of the senate, but was in the field leading troops in Antioch and was still married. Romanos, once chosen to be emperor, exiled Nikephoros to his holdings in the Anatolic Theme, where he remained until he was brought out of retirement by the Emperor Michael VII and made kouropalates and governor of the Anatolic Theme. Nikephoros came into conflict with Michael in 1078 when he pleaded with the emperor to address the worsening situation in Byzantine Anatolia, insulting Michael with his frankness. In order to protect himself, Nikephoros gathered an army of native troops and Turkish mercenaries and declared himself emperor in July or October 1077. Nikephoros gathered a strong support base due to his military acumen and family renown and was later recognized by the Byzantine Senate on 7 January 1078, after which he seized the throne with the help of the citizens of Constantinople. As emperor, Nikephoros faced numerous revolts, including those of Nikephoros Bryennios, Nikephoros Basilakes, and Constantine Doukas, as well as an attempted assassination by the Varangian Guard. Nikephoros embraced the trappings of an emperor, performing many acts to increase his legitimacy and support, such as spending large amounts on donatives for the army and his supporters, forgiving all debt in arrears, and instituting minor legal reforms. Diplomatically, Nikephoros secured the submission of Theodore Gabras and Philaretos Brachamios, governors of Trebizond and Antioch, respectively, who had become de facto independent of the Byzantine Empire due to the constant incursions of the Seljuks into Byzantine Anatolia. (Full article...) King Hussein in 1997 Hussein bin Talal (Arabic: الحسين بن طلال, romanized: Al-Ḥusayn bin Ṭalāl; 14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 11 August 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of Jordan since 1921, Hussein was a 40th-generation direct descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Hussein was born in Amman as the eldest child of Talal bin Abdullah and Zein al-Sharaf bint Jamil. Talal was then the heir to his own father, King Abdullah I. Hussein began his schooling in Amman, continuing his education abroad. After Talal became king in 1951, Hussein was named heir apparent. The Jordanian Parliament forced Talal to abdicate a year later due to his illness, and a regency council was appointed until Hussein came of age. He was enthroned at the age of 17 on 2 May 1953. Hussein was married four separate times and fathered eleven children. (Full article...) Darejan Dadiani (Georgian: დარეჯანი), also known as Daria (Georgian: დარია; Russian: Дарья Георгиевна, romanized: Darya Georgyevna) (20 July 1738 – 8 November 1807), was Queen Consort of Kakheti, and later Kartli-Kakheti in Eastern Georgia, as the third wife of King Erekle II (also known as Heraclius II). She was a daughter of Katsia-Giorgi Dadiani, a member of the princely house of Mingrelia. Darajan married Heraclius in 1750 and their marriage lasted 48 years until his death in 1798; the union produced 23 children. In the final years of her husband's reign, Darejan exerted significant influence on politics and court affairs. She was skeptical of the pro-Russian policies of Heraclius II and his successor, her step-son, George XII, whose progeny she tried to prevent from succeeding to the throne of Georgia. After the Russian annexation of Georgia, Queen Dowager Darejan was deported to Russia proper in 1803. She died in St. Petersburg at the age of 69 and was buried at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. (Full article...) Ahmad ibn Tulun (Arabic: أحمد بن طولون, romanized: Aḥmad ibn Ṭūlūn‎; c. 20 September 835 – 10 May 884) was the founder of the Tulunid dynasty that ruled Egypt and Syria between 868 and 905. Originally a Turkic slave-soldier, in 868 Ibn Tulun was sent to Egypt as governor by the Abbasid caliph. Within four years Ibn Tulun had established himself as a virtually independent ruler by evicting the caliphal fiscal agent, Ibn al-Mudabbir, taking over control of Egypt's finances, and establishing a large military force personally loyal to himself. This process was facilitated by the volatile political situation in the Abbasid court and the preoccupation of the Abbasid regent, al-Muwaffaq, with the wars against the Saffarids and the Zanj Rebellion. Ibn Tulun also took care to establish an efficient administration in Egypt. After reforms to the tax system, repairs to the irrigation system, and other measures, the annual tax yield grew markedly. As a symbol of his new regime, he built a new capital, al-Qata'i, north of the old capital Fustat. After 875/6 he entered into open conflict with al-Muwaffaq, who tried unsuccessfully to unseat him. In 878, with the support of al-Muwaffaq's brother, Caliph al-Mu'tamid, Ibn Tulun took over the governance of Syria as well as the frontier districts with the Byzantine Empire, although control of Tarsus in particular proved tenuous. During his absence in Syria, his eldest son and deputy, Abbas, tried to usurp power in Egypt, leading to the imprisonment of Abbas and the nomination of Ibn Tulun's second son, Khumarawayh, as his heir. The defection in 882 of a senior commander, Lu'lu', to al-Muwaffaq, and the defection of Tarsus, forced Ibn Tulun to return to Syria. Now virtually powerless, al-Mu'tamid tried to escape from his brother's control to Ibn Tulun's domains but was captured by al-Muwaffaq's agents, and Ibn Tulun convened an assembly of jurists at Damascus to denounce al-Muwaffaq as a usurper. His attempt in autumn 883 to bring Tarsus to heel failed, and he fell sick. Returning to Egypt, he died in May 884 and was succeeded by Khumarawayh. (Full article...) Vologases IV's portrait on the obverse of a tetradrachm, showing him wearing a beard and a tiara on his head Vologases IV (Parthian: 𐭅𐭋𐭂𐭔 Walagash) was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 147 to 191. He was the son of Mithridates V (r. 129–140). Vologases spent the early years of his reign re-asserting Parthian control over the Kingdom of Characene. From 161 to 166, he waged war against the Roman Empire; although initially successful, conquering Armenia and Syria, he was eventually pushed back, briefly losing control of the Parthian capitals of Seleucia and Ctesiphon to the Romans. The Romans suffered heavy losses from a plague erupting from Seleucia in 166, forcing them to withdraw. The war ended soon afterward, with Vologases losing most of northern Mesopotamia to the Romans. He died in 191 and was succeeded by his son Vologases V. (Full article...) Statue of Sobekneferu which was lost in World War II Sobekneferu or Neferusobek (Ancient Egyptian: Sbk-nfrw meaning 'Beauty of Sobek') was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the last ruler of the Twelfth Dynasty of the Middle Kingdom. She ascended to the throne following the death of Amenemhat IV, possibly her brother or husband, though their relationship is unproven. Instead, she asserted legitimacy through her father Amenemhat III. Her reign lasted 3 years, 10 months, and 24 days, according to the Turin King List. She adopted the full royal titulary, distinguishing herself from prior female rulers. She was also the first ruler to have a name associated with the crocodile god Sobek. Contemporary evidence for her reign is scant: there are a few partial statues – one with her face – and inscriptions that have been uncovered. It is assumed that the Northern Mazghuna pyramid was intended for her, though this assignment is speculative with no firm evidence to confirm it. The monument was abandoned with only the substructure ever completed. A papyrus discovered in Harageh mentions a place called Sekhem Sobekneferu that may refer to the pyramid. Her rule is attested on several king lists. (Full article...) Gold solidus of Romanos I Lekapenos (left) with his son Christopher (right) Christopher Lekapenos or Lecapenus (Greek: Χριστόφορος Λακαπηνός, romanized: Christóphoros Lakapenōs) was the eldest son of Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos (r. 920–944) and co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 921 until his death in 931. Christopher was given the position of megas hetaireiarches (commander of the palace guard) in spring 919, after Romanos assumed guardianship of the underage Emperor Constantine VII. Romanos, who had made himself emperor in 920, raised Christopher to co-emperor on 21 May 921 in order to give his family precedence over Constantine VII's Macedonian line. In 928 Christopher's father-in-law, Niketas, unsuccessfully attempted to incite Christopher to usurp his father, resulting in Niketas being banished. Christopher died in August 931, succeeded by his father and two brothers, Stephen Lekapenos and Constantine Lekapenos, and Constantine VII. In December 944 his brothers overthrew and exiled their father, but they themselves were exiled after attempting to oust Constantine VII. (Full article...) Ancient Sumerian depiction of the marriage of Inanna and Dumuzid Dumuzid or Dumuzi or Tammuz (Sumerian: 𒌉𒍣, romanized: Dumuzid; Akkadian: Duʾūzu, Dûzu; Hebrew: תַּמּוּז, romanized: Tammūz), known to the Sumerians as Dumuzid the Shepherd (Sumerian: 𒌉𒍣𒉺𒇻, romanized: Dumuzid sipad) and to the Canaanites as Adon (Phoenician: 𐤀𐤃𐤍; Proto-Hebrew: 𐤀𐤃𐤍), is an ancient Mesopotamian and associated with agriculture and shepherds, who was also the first and primary consort of the goddess Inanna (later known as Ishtar). In Sumerian mythology, Dumuzid's sister was Geshtinanna, the goddess of agriculture, fertility, and dream interpretation. In the Sumerian King List, Dumuzid is listed as an antediluvian king of the city of Bad-tibira and also an early king of the city of Uruk. In Inanna's Descent into the Underworld, Inanna perceives that Dumuzid has failed to properly mourn her death and, when she returns from the Underworld, allows the galla demons to drag him down to the Underworld as her replacement. Inanna later regrets this decision and decrees that Dumuzid will spend half of the year in the Underworld, but the other half of the year with her, while his sister Geshtinanna stays in the Underworld in his place, thus resulting in the cycle of the seasons. In the Sumerian poem Inanna Prefers the Farmer, Dumuzid competes against the farmer Enkimdu for Inanna's hand in marriage. (Full article...) Mosaic of Isaac Komnenos the porphyrogennetos from the Chora Church Isaac Komnenos or Comnenus (Greek: Ἰσαάκιος Κομνηνός, romanized: Isaakios Komnēnos; 16 January 1093 – after 1152) was the third son of Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Empress Irene Doukaina. He was raised to the high rank of sebastokrator by his older brother John II Komnenos in reward for his support, but they later fell out, as Isaac began to covet the throne. In 1130, Isaac and his sons fled to exile after becoming involved in a conspiracy against John. For several years, they wandered in Asia Minor and the Levant, trying to gain support from the local rulers, which was ultimately in vain. John's military successes forced Isaac to seek a reconciliation with his brother in 1138, although he did not give up his designs on the throne. In 1139, after his oldest son defected to the Seljuk Turks, Isaac was exiled to Heraclea Pontica. During the succession struggle that followed John's death in 1143, he supported the unsuccessful candidacy of his elder nephew, likewise named Isaac, over his younger nephew Manuel I Komnenos. (Full article...) Solidus of Leo IV and his son Constantine VI Leo IV the Khazar (Greek: Λέων ὁ Χάζαρος, Leōn IV ho Khazaros; 25 January 750 – 8 September 780) was Byzantine emperor from 775 to 780 AD. He was born to Emperor Constantine V and Empress Tzitzak in 750. He was elevated to co-emperor in the next year, in 751, and married to Irene of Athens in 768. When Constantine V died in September 775, while campaigning against the Bulgarians, Leo IV became senior emperor. In 778 Leo raided Abbasid Syria, decisively defeating the Abbasid army outside of Germanicia. Leo died on 8 September 780, of tuberculosis. He was succeeded by his underage son Constantine VI, with Irene serving as regent. (Full article...) Portrait of Henry VIII after Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1537–1562 Henry VIII (28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement with Pope Clement VII about such an annulment led Henry to initiate the English Reformation, separating the Church of England from papal authority. He appointed himself Supreme Head of the Church of England and dissolved convents and monasteries, for which he was excommunicated by the pope. Henry brought radical changes to the Constitution of England, expanding royal power and ushering in the theory of the divine right of kings in opposition to papal supremacy. He frequently used charges of treason and heresy to quell dissent, and those accused were often executed without a formal trial using bills of attainder. He achieved many of his political aims through his chief ministers, some of whom were banished or executed when they fell out of his favour. Thomas Wolsey, Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell, and Thomas Cranmer all figured prominently in his administration. (Full article...) Featured portrait Eleanor of Toledo Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo is a painting by Bronzino of Eleanor of Toledo, a Spanish noblewoman who was the duchess consort of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and her son Giovanni. The painting is one of the artist's most famous works and is in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. It is the first known state-commissioned portrait to include the ruler's heir, which was done in part because Cosimo's predecessor Alessandro died without any legitimate male heirs. The boy's inclusion implies that Cosimo's rule would bring stability to the duchy. Selected quote Related portals General images - The following are images from various monarchy-related articles on Wikipedia. Elizabeth II was the monarch of independent countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Americas. (from Monarch) British 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) Mohamoud Ali Shire, the 26th Sultan of the Somali Warsangali Sultanate (from Monarch) The 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) Sri Lankan King Devanampiya Tissa, Queen consort Anula, and Prince Uththiya, c. 307 BC (from Monarch) Jacques I, Emperor of Haiti, 1804 (from Monarch) Dinzulu kaCetshwayo, the last king of an independent Zulu state, in 1883 (from Non-sovereign monarchy) Louis XIV of France (from Absolute monarchy) Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (from Absolute monarchy) Photograph of Tsar Alexander II, 1878–81 (from Absolute monarchy) Subdivisions of the United Arab Emirates (from Non-sovereign monarchy) Kamehameha IV, King of Hawaii (from Monarch) A map of Europe exhibiting the continent's monarchies (red) and republics (blue) (from Monarch) Postcard from 1908 showing nineteen of the world's reigning monarchs: (left to right)King Rama V/Chulalongkorn of Siam (modern Thailand), King George I of Greece, King Peter I of Serbia, King Carol I of Romania, Emperor and King Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary, Tzar (King) Ferdinand I of Bulgaria, Padishah (Emperor) Abdul Hamid II of the Ottoman Empire, King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, Emperor Nicholas II of the Russia, King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany, King Gustav V of Sweden, King Haakon VII of Norway, King Frederik VIII of Denmark, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, Guangxu Emperor of China, Meiji Emperor of Japan, King Manuel II of Portugal and King Alfonso XIII of Spain. (from Monarch) The administrative divisions of the British Protectorate of Uganda, including five of today's six kingdoms (from Non-sovereign monarchy) Contemporary European monarchies by type of succession   Absolute primogeniture   Male-preference cognatic primogeniture   Agnatic primogeniture   Elective/appointed (from Monarch) Waikato, the homeland of the Māori kings (from Non-sovereign monarchy) Pedro II, Emperor of Brazil, by Delfim da Câmara (from Monarch) Ramesses II (r. 1279–1213 BC), the third Pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt (from Monarch) King Frederick II of Prussia, "the Great" (from Absolute monarchy) King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia (from Monarch) Sultan Mehmed III of the Ottoman dynasty (from Monarch) The islands that make up Wallis and Futuna (from Non-sovereign monarchy) The Nine Sovereigns at Windsor for the funeral of King Edward VII, photographed on 20 May 1910. Standing, from left to right: King Haakon VII of Norway, Tsar (King) Ferdinand of the Bulgarians, King Manuel II of Portugal and the Algarve, Kaiser (Emperor) Wilhelm II of Germany, King George I of the Hellenes and King Albert I of the Belgians. Seated, from left to right: King Alfonso XIII of Spain, King George V of the United Kingdom and King Frederik VIII of Denmark. (from Monarch) Francisco Pizarro meets with the Inca emperor Atahualpa, 1532 (from Monarch) From left to right, Japanese Emperor Hirohito, Crown Prince Akihito, Crown Princess Michiko and Empress Nagako, 1959 (from Monarch) Emperor Naruhito is the hereditary monarch of Japan. The Japanese monarchy is the oldest continuous hereditary monarchy in the world. (from Hereditary monarchy) Featured content Extended content Featured articles 1937 tour of Germany by the Duke and Duchess of Windsor Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan Al-Adid Áedán mac Gabráin Ælle of Sussex Æthelbald of Mercia Æthelbald, King of Wessex Æthelberht, King of Wessex Æthelberht of Kent Æthelflæd Æthelred I of Wessex Æthelred of Mercia Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians Æthelstan Æthelwold ætheling Æthelwulf, King of Wessex Afonso, Prince Imperial of Brazil Ahmose I Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Alboin Aldfrith of Northumbria Alexander II Zabinas Alexander of Greece Alexandra of Denmark Prince Alfred of Great Britain Princess Alice of Battenberg Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia Anna of East Anglia Anne, Queen of Great Britain Anne of Denmark Antiochus XII Dionysus Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll King Arthur Atlanersa Attalus I Augustus Basiliscus Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom Beorhtwulf of Mercia Pedro Álvares Cabral Cædwalla Caroline of Ansbach Catherine de' Medici Ceawlin of Wessex Charles I of England Charles I of Anjou Charles II of England Cleopatra Death of Cleopatra Cleopatra Selene of Syria Coenred of Mercia Coenwulf of Mercia Constantine II of Scotland Constantine III (Western Roman emperor) Constantine (son of Basil I) Constantine (son of Theophilos) David I of Scotland David (son of Heraclius) Diocletian Djedkare Isesi Domitian Donnchadh, Earl of Carrick Theodore Komnenos Doukas Eadbald of Kent Eadred Eadwig Eardwulf of Northumbria Ecgberht, King of Wessex Edgar, King of England Edmund I Edward I of England Edward II of England Edward III of England Edward VI Edward VII Edward VIII Edward the Elder Edward the Martyr Elizabeth I Elizabeth II Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Antiochus XI Epiphanes Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover Demetrius III Eucaerus Antiochus X Eusebes Exhumation and reburial of Richard III of England Fakhr al-Din II Family of Gediminas Frederick the Great Frederick III, German Emperor Geoffrey (archbishop of York) George I of Great Britain George I of Greece George II of Great Britain George III George IV George V George VI Prince George of Denmark Prince William, Duke of Gloucester Glycerius Rhys ap Gruffydd Al-Hafiz Amir Hamzah Princess Helena of the United Kingdom Henry I of England Henry II of England Henry III of England Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor Hö'elün House of Plantagenet Joaquim José Inácio, Viscount of Inhaúma Ine of Wessex Isabeau of Bavaria James II of England James VI and I John, King of England Jovan Vladimir Manuel I Komnenos Tadeusz Kościuszko Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette Theodore II Laskaris Honório Hermeto Carneiro Leão, Marquis of Paraná Prince Louis of Battenberg Nelson Mandela Marcian Princess Maria Amélia of Brazil Martinus (son of Heraclius) Marwan I Mary II Mary, Queen of Scots Mary of Teck Empress Matilda Maximian Menkauhor Kaiu Muhammad I of Granada Mu'awiya I Al-Mu'tadid Al-Mu'tasim Muhammad II of Granada Muhammad III of Granada Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid Muhammad IV of Granada Baron Munchausen Al-Musta'li Al-Muti' Nasr of Granada Neferefre Neferirkare Kakai Merenre Nemtyemsaf I Nizar ibn al-Mustansir Norodom Ranariddh Nyuserre Ini Prince Octavius of Great Britain Odaenathus Óengus I Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia Olga Constantinovna of Russia Andreas Palaiologos José Paranhos, Viscount of Rio Branco Pedro I of Brazil Pedro II of Brazil Pedro Afonso, Prince Imperial of Brazil John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke Penda of Mercia Pepi I Meryre Philip I Philadelphus Ramesses VI Ranavalona I Ranavalona III Raymond III, Count of Tripoli Richard II of England Sahure Salih ibn Mirdas Sayf al-Dawla Seleucus VI Epiphanes Domenico Selvo Sennacherib Shepseskaf Shepseskare Sheshi Shunzhi Emperor Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, Duke of Caxias Simeon I of Bulgaria Wallis Simpson Siward, Earl of Northumbria Manuel Marques de Sousa, Count of Porto Alegre Stephen I of Hungary Stephen, King of England Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik Tiberius III Thekla (daughter of Theophilos) Theodosius III Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies Thurisind Tolui Unas Userkaf Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine Queen Victoria Princess Charlotte of Wales (1796–1817) Al-Walid I Wiglaf of Mercia Wihtred of Kent William III of England William IV William the Conqueror Władysław II Jagiełło Wulfhere of Mercia Yazid I Yusuf I of Granada Zenobia Featured lists List of monarchs of East Anglia List of Roman emperors List of French monarchs List of current monarchs of sovereign states List of emperors of the Han dynasty List of emperors of the Song dynasty List of longest-living members of the British royal family List of monarchs of the Muhammad Ali dynasty List of sultans of Zanzibar List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire Featured pictures File:After Hans Holbein the Younger - Portrait of Henry VIII - Google Art Project.jpg File:Alexander Roslin - King Gustav III of Sweden and his Brothers - Google Art Project.jpg File:Amalia de Llano y Dotres, condesa de Vilches (Federico de Madrazo).jpg File:Ambrogio de Predis - Bianca Maria Sforza - Google Art Project.jpg File:Antoine-François Callet - Louis XVI, roi de France et de Navarre (1754-1793), revêtu du grand costume royal en 1779 - Google Art Project.jpg File:Carle Van Loo - Marie Leszczinska, reine de France (1703-1768) - Google Art Project.jpg File:Charles Motte - Rossini et Georges IV - la soirée de Brighton.jpg File:Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend by Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt (2).jpg File:Crowning Tribhuvan of Nepal (1911) (restoration).jpg File:Death of King Alfonso XII of Spain.jpg File:Fourier2 - restoration1.jpg File:Francisco Goya - Portrait of Ferdinand VII of Spain in his robes of state (1815) - Prado.jpg File:Francoise-Marguerite de Sevigne Roslin 1753.jpg File:George I (György) Rákóczi (1593-1648) - 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