A regent is a person selected to act as head of state (ruling or not) because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated.[1] Currently there is only one ruling Regency in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein. The following is a list of regents.
Regents in extant monarchies
Those who held a regency briefly, for example during surgery, are not necessarily listed, particularly if they performed no official acts; this list is also not complete, presumably not even for all monarchies included. The list includes some figures who acted as regent, even if they did not themselves hold the title of regent.
Prince Naif bin Al-Abdullah from 20 July to 5 September 1951, due to the schizophrenia of his brother King Talal, who was in a Swiss mental hospital.
A regency council (Ibrahim Hashem, Suleiman Toukan, Abdul Rahman Rusheidat and chairing Queen Mother Zein al-Sharaf Talal) took over during the king's ailment and continued after the king's forced abdication (on 11 August 1952), serving from 4 June 1952 to 2 May 1953, until King Hussein came of age.
Tengku Muhammad Ismail (eight-years of age at the time), co-reigned with the three-member Regency Advisory Council (Majlis Penasihat Pemangku Raja) from 2006 to 2011. His father, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin the Sultan of Terengganu was elected as 13th King of Malaysia. The Malaysian constitution does not allow a simultaneous reign as both the King of Malaysia and as monarch of the King's native state (deemed absent on the State throne). Sultan Mizan was crowned as King on 13 December 2006 and the prince as the Regent (Pemangku Raja) of Terengganu effective on the same date.
Oman
for the minor Sa`id (II) ibn Sultan (b. 1790 – succeeded 20 November 1804 – d. 19 Oct 1856) : 20 November 1804 – 31 July 1806 Badr ibn Sayf (d. 1806)
for SultanTurki ibn Sa`id (b. 1832 – succeeded 30 January 1871 – died 4 Jun 1888) : August – December 1875 Abdul-Aziz ibn Said – (b. 1850 – d. 1907)
30 March 1964 – 2 November 1964 Crown Prince Faisal (b. 1906 – d. 1975) –Regent for his brother King Saud, and later his successor
1 January 1996 – 21 February 1996 formally, but de facto until 1 August 2005 Crown Prince Abdullah (b. 1924 – d. 2015) –Regent for his brother King Fahd, and later his successor
Crown Prince Olav was regent for his father King Haakon VII in 1945, awaiting his return at end of the Second World War, and during his illness between 1955 and 1957.
Crown Prince Haakon was regent from 25 November 2003 to 12 April 2004, from 29 March to 7 June 2005 and since 3 March 2024 during the illness of his father King Harald V.
Queen Maria Christina of Austria, regent during her pregnancy after her husband's death and then for her son Alfonso XIII from 26 November 1885 – 17 May 1902.
The Caudillo general Francisco Franco, became de facto regent for life in 1947 to 1975, after reinstating the monarchy with a vacant royal throne ultimately filled by Juan Carlos.
Sweden
Duchess Ingeborg (1318–1326) regent for her underage son, King Magnus, in both Sweden and Norway.
Karl Knutsson (Bonde) (1438–1440), during the interregnum following the deposition of the king Eric XIII; later became king as Charles VIII
Bengt Jönsson Oxenstierna (1448; together with his brother Nils Jönsson Oxenstierna), during the interregnum between the death of Christopher of Bavaria and the election of Karl Knutsson (Bonde) as king.
Nils Jönsson Oxenstierna (1448; together with his brother Bengt Jönsson Oxenstierna), during the interregnum between the death of Christopher of Bavaria and the election of Karl Knutsson (Bonde) as king.
Jöns Bengtsson Oxenstierna (1457; together with Erik Axelsson Tott), during the interregnum following the first deposition of King Charles VIII, and again (1465–1466), following his second deposition.
Dowager Queen Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp (1660–1672), during the minority of her son King Charles XI, again (1697–1699), during the minority of her grandson King Charles XII, and finally, de facto, during Charles's absence from Sweden during the early years of the Great Northern War (1700–1713).
Princess Ulrika Eleonora, during the frequent absences of her brother, Charles XII, in the later years of the Great Northern War (1713–1718)
Queen Catherine of Aragon (1513) while Henry VIII was in France. In this time she played a large role in the defeat of the Scots at the Battle of Flodden, and was Queen Regent for several months.
Huo Guang, during the reign of Emperor Xuan of Han, the emperor reaffirmed that all important matters were to be presented to Huo before Huo would present them to the emperor. The source of title of highest imperial nobility of ancient Japan "Kanpaku" (Regent).
Sonin, Suksaha, Ebilun and Oboi during the minority of the Kangxi Emperor from 1661 to their various deaths or downfalls. The last one, Oboi fell from grace in 1669.
Before the 1881 unification, there were essentially four rulers' capitals: Kabul, Herat, Qandahar and Peshawar (the last now in Pakistan); all their rulers belonged to the Abdali tribal group, whose name was changed to Dorrani with Ahmad Shah Abdali. They belong either to the Saddozay segment of the Popalzay clan (typically styled padshah, king) or to the Mohammadzay segment of the Barakzay clan (typically with the style Amir, in full Amir al-Mo´menin "Leader of the Faithful"). The Mohammadzay also furnished the Saddozay kings frequently with top counselors, who served occasionally as (Minister-)regents, identified with the epithet Mohammadzay.
Both before and during the British raj (colonial rule), most of India was ruled by several hundred native princely houses, many of which have known regencies, under the raj subject to British approval
In the short-lived Hashemite kingdom, there were three regencies in the reign of the third and last king Faysal II (b. 1935 – d. 1958; also Head of the 'Arab Union', a federation with the Hashemite sister-kingdom Jordan, from 14 February 1958) :
4 April 1939 – 1 April 1941 Prince 'Abd al-Ilah (1st time) (b. 1913 – d. 1958)
1 April 1941 – 1 June 1941 Sharaf ibn Rajih al-Fawwaz (b. 1880 – d. 1955)
Prince Gyanendra was regent following the murder of his brother King Birendra, during the four-day coma of Birenda's son King Dipendra upon whose death he succeeded as King
The regent Yariri (r.) and his successor Kamani (l.), on a relief from Carchemish. An example of regency from ancient history.
Yariri for the later king Kamani in the Neo-Hittite state of Carchemish located at the present-day border of Turkey and Syria (early to mid 8th century BC).[5]
Kösem Sultan, Naib-i-Sultanat (regent) of the Ottoman Empire during the minority of her son Murad IV (10 September 1623–1632) and her grandson Mehmed IV (8 August 1648 – 2 September 1651)
Lê Hoàn and Empress Dowager Dương Vân Nga during the short reign of her son Emperor Đinh Phế Đế (lit. Deposed Emperor Dinh), after her husband Emperor Đinh Tiên Hoàng was assassinated.
Tafari Makonnen from 1916 to 1931 during the reign of a female, EmpressZewditu (Queen of Kings, Nigiste Negestatt). Upon her death, the regent himself ascended the throne and was crowned as Emperor Haile Selassie I (King of Kings, Negusa Nagast)
John, Prince Regent, was responsible for elevating Brazil to the status of Kingdom in 1815. One year later, he was acclaimed King of Portugal, Brazil and Algarves.
Pedro, Prince Regent, was responsible for declaring the independence of Brazil, in 1822, during his regency (1820–1822), after his father, John VI, returned to Portugal. Some months later, he would be acclaimed Emperor of Brazil.
Permanent Triumviral Regency – from 18 June 1831 to 12 October 1835, comprised Francisco de Lima e Silva as well as José da Costa Carvalho and João Bráulio Muniz.
Diogo Antônio Feijó – from 12 October 1835 to 19 September 1837, during what was considered the advance of the Liberal Party
Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil, was Princess Regent of the Empire of Brazil three times (1871–1872; 1876–1877; 1887–1888) while her father travelled abroad. During her last regency, she signed the abolition of slavery in Brazil (known as the "Lei Áurea", or "Golden Law"), on 13 May 1888, whereby Isabel got the sobriquetIsabel the Redeemer. For the act of signing the Golden Law, she was awarded the Golden Rose by Pope Leo XIII.
For most of the reign of the epileptic and severely disabled Emperor Ferdinand I (1835–1848), Ferdinand's uncle, Archduke Ludwig (from 1836 to 1848), acted as a de facto regent.
Stefan Stambolov, during the absence of Prince Alexander Battenberg from the Bulgarian throne between 28 August 1886 and 3 September 1886 and the vacancy of the throne between 7 September 1886 and 14 August 1887.
After the abdication of Nicholas II of Russia, the throne of the Grand Duke of Finland was vacant and according to the constitution of 1772, a regent was installed by the Finnish Parliament during the first two years of Finnish independence, before the country was declared a republic.
Philip the Tall (1316), during the interregnum between the death of his brother Louis X and the birth of Louis' posthumous son John I, and during the minority of the short-lived John I.
Philip, Count of Valois and Anjou (1328), from the death of his cousin Charles IV until the birth of a posthumous daughter to the late king brought about Valois' own accession to the throne.
Queen Isabella of Bavaria (1417–1420) and then Henry V of England, during the insanity of her husband and his father-in-law, Charles VI; they were opposed by
Charles, the Dauphin (1417–1422), Charles VI's eldest surviving son, who also claimed the regency.
Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (1715–1723), during the minority of Louis XV; often called "the Regent", since he was the last regent of France. **The related era and style are commonly referred to as the Régence (analogous to the British Regency period).
A 136 carat (27.2 g) diamond he acquired in 1717 is known as 'le régent'
Charles-Philippe de France, comte d'Artois, appointed Lieutenant General of the Kingdom by a temporary government from 14 April 1814 until Louis XVIII arrived from England.
Military dictator Colonel Georgios Papadopoulos (1972–1973): then Prime Minister, assumed the additional role of regent until the monarchy was abolished by the junta in 1973.
George, Prince of Wales, later King George IV of the United Kingdom (1815–1823), during the minority of his cousin, Duke Charles II.
Prince Albrecht of Prussia (1885–1906), during the interregnum following the death of Duke Wilhelm in 1884, when the throne could not be filled due to the status of the heir, the Duke of Cumberland, as an enemy of the Reich.
Elizabeth of Bosnia, regent for her daughter Mary between 1382–1385 and in 1386. Had assassinated her daughter's opponent Charles II, but was murdered herself the following year.
João, Mestre de Avis, during the Dynastic Crisis, and before assuming himself the throne as John I (1384–1385). Styled himself Regent and Defender of the Kingdom.
John, Prince Regent, during the incapacity of his mother Mary I, and before assuming himself the throne as John VI, following her death (1792–1816).
Princess Isabel Maria, following her father's (John VI) death, and whilst awaiting the arrival of her brother Peter IV to assume the throne (1826–1828).
Prince Michael, for his niece Mary II, and before usurping the throne for himself as Michael I (1828).
Queen Kaʻahumanu, between 1824 and 1832 during the rule of the infant Kamehameha III; she was also Kuhina Nui (co-ruler), regent, of Kamehameha II
Elizabeth Kīnaʻu, between 5 June 1832 – 17 March 1833 after Kaʻahumanu's death and before Kamehameha III became 20 years old[7]
Notes
^The Oxford English Dictionary defines the term as "A person appointed to administer a State because the Monarch is a minor, is absent or is incapacitated."
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