History UsefulNotes / OtherRoyalFamilies

[[ElectiveMonarchy Elected monarch]] of the Vatican City and, by extention, of the Catholic Church[[note]]Though technically it's the other way around: the Pope is the monarch of Vatican City ''ex oficio'', that is he holds the position as monarch ''because'' he is the man in charge of the Catholic Church. But, since Pope and the monarch of the Vatican City are the same person, it doesn't make any difference. Really the only people who care are pedants and those who put in the time to read this excessively long note[[/note]]. While the papacy is not a ''typical'' monarchy, the Pope is nonetheless a major player in world politics and a spiritual leader for the over 1 billion Roman Catholics worldwide. Pope Francis is the 266th Pope and the first from the Americas. See ThePope.

A [[LoveItOrHateIt very polarizing]] king in his home[[note]]he was known as “Ferdinand the Desired” '''and''' “the felon king”[[/note]] (though not the worse of the lot, arguably). He not only disputed the crown with [[NapoleonBonaparte Napoleon’s]] brother during almost all his reign, but also lost almost all its colonies in America.

* Grand Duchess {{WesternAnimation/Anastasia}} (Romanov): When she wasn't found among the executed Romanovs, many thought she was alive and a number of movies have been made about her. As it turns out, she ''was'' among the executed Romanovs. [[HistoryMarchesOn Ah well]].

This page details other monarchies from around the world. These ones are not as famous as TheHouseOfWindsor, mostly turning up (if they do) in their own countries.

The proper title is King of the Belgians, making him the only popular monarch left in the world. Philippe took over after his father Albert II [[AbdicateTheThrone abdicated]] in July 2013 (making him the fourth monarch to do so this year after those of the Netherlands, Vatican City and Qatar). There's a lack of clarity about the name of the royal house, since they changed it in WorldWarI for more or less the same reasons as their British cousins the [[HouseOfWindsor Windsors]], but they haven't objected terribly about using the old name since then. The current King is also a first cousin of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg and a first cousin once removed of King Harald V of Norway.

'''Born, died''': 1859 -- 1941
'''Reign''': 1888 -- 1918

'''Born, died''': 1868 -- 1918
'''Reign''': 1894 -- 1917

'''Born, died''': 1830 -- 1916
'''Reign''': 1848 -- 1916

'''Born, died''': 1835 -- 1909
'''Reign''': 1865 -- 1909

'''Born, died''': 1825 -- 1891
'''Reign''': 1831 -- 1889

'''Born, died''': 1784 -- 1833
'''Reign''': 1808, 1813 -- 1833

'''Born, died''': 1889 -- 1932
'''Reign''': 1908 -- 1910

'''Born, died''': 1892 -- 1975
'''Reign''': 1930 -- 1974

'''Born, died''': 1661 -- 1700
'''Reign''': 1665 -- 1700

'''Born, died''': 1741 -- 1790
'''Reign''': 1765 -- 1790

'''Born, died''': 1754 -- 1793
'''Reign''': 1774 -- 1792

'''Born, died''': 1920--1965
'''Reign'''" 1936--1952

[[ElectiveMonarchy Elected monarch]] of the Vatican City and, by extention, of the Catholic Church[[note]]Though technically it's the other way around: the Pope is the monarch of Vatican City ''because'' he is the man in charge of the Catholic Church. But the monarch of the Vatican City and the Pope are legally the same person, so teh only people who care are pedants and those who put in the time to read this excessively long note[[/note]]. While the papacy is not a ''typical'' monarchy, the Pope is nonetheless a major player in world politics and a spiritual leader for the over 1 billion Roman Catholics worldwide. Pope Francis is the 266th Pope and the first from the Americas. See ThePope.

[[ElectiveMonarchy Elected monarch]] of the Vatican City and, by extention, of the Catholic Church. While the papacy is not a ''typical'' monarchy, the Pope is nonetheless a major player in world politics and a spiritual leader for the over 1 billion Roman Catholics worldwide. Pope Francis is the 266th Pope and the first from the Americas. See ThePope.

One of the wealthiest heads of state with a personal worth of over £2 billion. Once threatened to leave with the Royal Family to Austria if a Constitutional shake-up was not agreed upon. Arguably one of the most powerful monarchs in Europe, in terms of practical political power; unlike most European monarchs, he actually does have an effect over the government.

Son of UsefulNotes/MariaTheresa of Austria and brother to MarieAntoinette and one of the last monarchs of the UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire before it was dissolved in 1806 after [[UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte Napoleon's]] rise in Europe. Famously commissioned operas and works from [[WolfgangAmadeusMozart Mozart]] and appeared as a character in ''{{Theatre/Amadeus}}''. Well-known for being rather liberal in his day, and attempted to [[RomanticismVersusEnlightenment enlighten]] Austria with significant domestic reforms and also reduced censorship significantly. He died without any male children and was succeeded by his brother, Leopold II.

Last King of Egypt. A famous womanizer, glutton, and narcissist, he was deposed in 1952; he fled to Italy and then France. His penchant for luxury despite the fact that most Egyptians lived in poverty led to "King Farouk" being a mid-20th century byword for "person who lives in great luxury amidst great deprivation." His most lasting legacy is the "Louis-Farouk" style of furniture, a variant of Louis XV-style design that remains very popular in Egypt.

Last King of Egypt. A famous womanizer, glutton, and narcissist, he was deposed in 1952. His penchant for luxury despite the fact that most Egyptians lived in poverty led to "King Farouk" being a mid-20th century byword for "person who lives in great luxury amidst great deprivation." His most lasting legacy is the "Louis-Farouk" style of furniture, a variant of Louis XV-style design that remains very popular in Egypt.

Son of King Hussein and his English second wife. Retains significant power in his native country, but the monarchy is constitutional and he shares ''some'' power with Parliament. [[OneOfUs An avowed nerd]], he once guest-starred in ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''.

!!!Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, King of UsefulNotes/SaudiArabia

'''Born''': 1924
'''Reign''': 2005 --

Son of Abdulaziz, who created the modern Arabian state in 1902, King Abdullah is the fifth of his [[TooManyBabies 65 children]] to rule the largest Arab monarchy in the world today. Unlike most other examples on this list, most of which are constitutional monarchies where the monarch has limited effective power, Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy, and Abdullah has tremendous rein over the government.
* In addition, the crown of Saudi Arabia is an ElectiveMonarchy that follows agnatic seniority as a general guideline. As a result, the heir-presumptive is the eldest surviving ''brother'' of the King, and is usually made heir apparent (Crown Prince) by a vote of the Allegiance Council -- a group of the thirty or so most senior princes of the House. At present, the heir is Salman bin Abdul Aziz, aged 76; he is the third Crown Prince during the reign of King Abdullah (previous Crown Princes Sultan and Nayef, died in 2011 and 2012).

Known in his country as the Druk Gyalpo (Dragon King) of Bhutan, he assumed the throne in 2006 when his father Jigme Singye Wangchuck abdicated in his favour as part of a managed transition to democracy. He has dedicated mainly to promote Buddhism outside his country. He also seems to be EstrogenBrigadeBait, which became apparent when he assisted the crowning of Rama IX and ended up attracting hordes of female fans (he was nicknamed 'PrinceCharming' by the media).

!!!Joseph II, [[UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire Holy Roman Emperor]]

Son of MariaTheresa of Austria and brother to MarieAntoinette and one of the last monarchs of the UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire before it was dissolved in 1806 after [[NapoleonBonaparte Napoleon's]] rise in Europe. Famously commissioned operas and works from [[WolfgangAmadeusMozart Mozart]] and appeared as a character in ''{{Theatre/Amadeus}}''. Well-known for being rather liberal in his day, and attempted to [[RomanticismVersusEnlightenment enlighten]] Austria with significant domestic reforms and also reduced censorship significantly. He died without any male children and was succeeded by his brother, Leopold II.

Actually, his title is Yang di-Pertuan Agong, meaning 'He who is made Lord'. Full name Almu'tasimu Billahi Muhibbuddin Tuanku Alhaj Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah Ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah. The Malaysian monarchy is unique because the ruler is [[ElectiveMonarchy elected]] from the Rulers of the Malay states by a council and is rotated on a five-year period basis. Mostly ceremonial.

!!!Juan Carlos I, King of {{UsefulNotes/Spain}}

'''Born''': 1938
'''Reign''': 1975 -- 2014

Full name [[OverlyLongName Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias]], King of Spain since 1975. Restored Spanish democracy (after decades of [[FranciscoFranco Francoist]] rule). Famously told [[{{UsefulNotes/Venezuela}} Hugo Chávez]] to 'shut up' after the former lambasted ex-Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar at a summit, creating an automatic MemeticMutation in the Hispanic world. Once competed in the Olympics. He also had an official picture of him appropriated for a promotional image of [[http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=190217 Magneto]] for the ''House of M'' miniseries.

Announced he would abdicate in 2014 in favour of his son Crown Prince Felipe (likely to be Felipe VI); Spain just needs to amend the constitution first.

Additionally, HMTheQueen serves as Paramount Chief of the Republic of Fiji. Whether this title will remain tied to the British crown is unclear.

'''Reign''': 1975 --

Last Emperor of Ethiopia. Yes, the house name refers to ''[[Literature/TheBible that]]'' [[JudgmentOfSolomon Solomon]]; tradition holds that the royal family of Ethiopia were descended from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Haile Selassie is known for being a good ruler, reigning for 44 years until a Communist military coup overthrew him, and also for being revered as TheMessiah and [[{{God}} God incarnate]] by the Rastafarians. While Haile never embraced this worship, he never [[StopWorshippingMe tried to make them stop either]]; his feeling was that he knew he wasn't God, but if somebody else thought he was it was harmless.

He assumed power when he headed a [[MilitaryCoup coup d’etat]] against his father, who had him under house arrest. A [[CulturedBadass classical music fan]].

Last Emperor of Ethiopia. Yes, the house name refers to ''[[TheBible that]]'' [[JudgmentOfSolomon Solomon]]; tradition holds that the royal family of Ethiopia were descended from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Haile Selassie is known for being a good ruler, reigning for 44 years until a Communist military coup overthrew him, and also for being revered as TheMessiah and [[{{God}} God incarnate]] by the Rastafarians. While Haile never embraced this worship, he never [[StopWorshippingMe tried to make them stop either]]; his feeling was that he knew he wasn't God, but if somebody else thought he was it was harmless.

* Emperor Karl (or Karl IV in Hungary): Franz Joseph's successor and the last Habsburg monarch. Made attempts at brokering peace while trying to keep his crumbling empire together. Made two (failed) efforts at restoring the throne in Hungary in the 1920s. He would die exiled in Madeira, although his son/heir Otto would live on until [[LongRunners 2011]].

The only references to the monarchy of Sweden in English that most are aware of are the song "Minnie the Moocher" and ''Webcomic/CaseyAndAndy'', in which the man himself was a freeloader who did nothing but sit on the couch all day. The Swedish monarchy was the first to adopt 'Equal' or 'Absolute Primogeniture' in 1980, meaning that the eldest child inherits the throne regardless of their gender. This meant that the, at the time 7 months old, then-Crown Prince Carl Philip was stripped of his status in favour of his older sister Victoria. Crown Princess Victoria was the only direct female heir apparent of a throne in the world for 33 years.

Married to MarieAntoinette, sister of the above Joseph II. He provided important aid to the American colonists during TheAmericanRevolution, sending money, supplies and troops to support the rebels, although this hastened France's eventual bankruptcy and he was unable to fix the failing finances left by his grandfather Louis XV. Unrest erupted throughout the country, resulting in The French Revolution. He was eventually [[OffWithHisHead executed by guillotine]] by French republicans for his alleged crimes.

! Current monarchs and royals:

The proper title is King of the Belgians, making him the only popular monarch left in the world. Philippe took over after his father Albert II [[AbdicateTheThrone abdicated]] in July 2013 (making him the fourth monarch to do so this year after those of the Netherlands, Vatican City and Qatar). There's a lack of clarity about the name of the royal house, since they changed it in WorldWarI for more or less the same reasons as their British cousins the [[HouseOfWindsor Windsors]], but they haven't objected terribly about using the old name since then. The current King is also a first cousin of Grand Duke Henri of Belgium and a first cousin once removed of King Harald V of Norway.