Reign

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A reign is a period of time a person serves as a monarch or pope. No time limit exists on reigns, nor is there a term of office. Thus a reign usually lasts for the remainder of the monarch's life, unless the monarchy itself is abolished or the monarch abdicates.

The term of a reign can be indicated with the abbreviation "r." after a sovereign's name, such as the following:

George VI, King of the Dominion of Canada (r. 1936–1952)

Reigns

Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom reigned from 1837 to 1901.
King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy reigned from 1900 to 1946.
Pope John XXIII reigned from 1958 to 1963.

A reign can be ended in three ways:

death
abdication
abolition of the office

Abdications

Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, King of Lombardy-Venetia (r. 1835-1848) was abdicated due to his disabilities (feeble-mindedness and epilepsy). His successor, Emperor Franz Josef (r. 1848–1916) reigned for 68 years.

King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom reigned from January to December 1936 before he abdicated the throne. After his abdication he became known as the Duke of Windsor. No other monarch of the Kingdom of Great Britain (1707-1800), the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland or the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has ever abdicated, though forced abdications did occur on rare occasions in the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland prior to their merger in 1707.

Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands reigned from 1890 to 1948, before abdicating in favor of her daughter, Queen Juliana. Juliana then reigned until 1980 when she abdicated in favor of her daughter, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.

Abolitions of Monarchies

King Constantine II of Greece reigned from 1963 until the abolition of the Greek monarchy in 1973.

King Humbert II of Italy reigned for only a few weeks in 1946 before the abolition of the Italian Monarchy.

Reign

Reigns

Abdications

Abolitions of Monarchies

See also