Editing Abolition of monarchy (section)

=== Imperialism expansion and decolonisation ===

==== Commonwealth of Nations ====

Many monarchies were abolished in the middle of the 20th century or later as part of the process of decolonization. This included several [[Commonwealth realm]]s, which were sovereign states in [[personal union]] with the [[monarchy of the United Kingdom]].

The monarchy of Ireland was not abolished following the [[Irish war of independence]] in the 1920s. The [[Irish Free State]] was created as a separate state from the United Kingdom; it was nominally a monarchy but transitioned towards a more republican form of government throughout its existence. The [[Irish Constitution]] that [[Adoption of the Constitution of Ireland|came into force]] in 1937 [[Irish head of state from 1922 to 1949|left the question of Republic or monarchy vague]], but established a [[President of Ireland]], an office usually absent in monarchies. The monarchy was officially abolished by the [[Republic of Ireland Act]] of 1948, which came into force in 1949.

The monarchies of India, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanganyika, Uganda, Guyana, and Malawi were abolished shortly after they became independent of the United Kingdom, whilst remaining within the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]]. Others waited longer before abolishing their monarchies, such as Pakistan, South Africa, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Malta, Trinidad and Tobago, and Mauritius. The latest country to become a [[republic within the Commonwealth]] was [[Barbados]] in 2021.

With the exceptions of Ireland and India, in each case the deposed monarch was [[Elizabeth II]]. Most realms which abolished their monarchy did so by declaring a new constitution or amending it to remove references to [[the Crown]], with the exception of Fiji, whose monarchy was abolished in 1987 following a [[1987 Fijian coups d'état|series of coups d'état]].

==== Korea ====

In 1910 the last emperor of Korea, [[Emperor Sunjong of the Korean Empire|Sunjong]], lost his throne when the country was annexed by Japan. However, the Korean royal family was mediatized as a puppet family within the Japanese imperial family. Many of the Korean royals were forcibly re-educated in Japan and forced to marry Japanese royalty and aristocrats to meld the ruling families of the two empires. With the abolition of the Japanese aristocracy and cadet branches of the imperial family, the Korean royals officially lost their remaining status.{{Citation needed|date=May 2017}}

==== South Asia ====

The [[independence of India]] from the [[United Kingdom]] in 1947 posed a unique problem. From 1858, when the British government replaced [[Company Rule in India|Company rule]] with direct [[Crown rule in India|Crown rule]], it had been governed as a quasi-federation, with much of the country under the direct rule of the British monarch, who was styled as the [[Emperor of India]]. The remainder of the country, however, was under a form of indirect rule under him through its division into over 500 [[Constituent monarchies|subnational monarchies]], known as [[princely states]]; each was ruled by a prince who acknowledged the suzerainty of the Indian Emperor. The princely states ranged from powerful and largely independent principalities such as Hyderabad or Mysore, with a high level of autonomy, to tiny fiefdoms a few dozen acres (in the low tens of hectares) in size.

In 1947, it was agreed that India would be [[partition of India|partitioned]] into the independent British dominions of [[India]] and [[Pakistan]], with the princely states acceding to one nation or the other. The accession process proceeded smoothly, with the notable exception of four of the most influential principalities. The Muslim ruler of the Hindu-majority state of Junagadh acceded to Pakistan, but his decision was overruled by the Indian government, while Hyderabad chose to be independent, but was forcibly annexed to India in 1948. The Hindu ruler of Jammu and Kashmir, among the largest and most powerful of the principalities, but with a Muslim-majority population, initially held off on a decision. In the autumn of 1947, an invading force from Pakistan frightened the ruler into acceding to India. The ruler of Kalat, in Baluchistan, declared his independence in 1947, after which the state was forcibly merged with Pakistan, resulting in an insurgency persisting to this day. With the promulgation of the Indian constitution in 1950, India abolished its monarchy under the British crown and became a Republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, followed by Pakistan in 1956; as a result of both developments, the majority of the princes formally lost their sovereign rights. A few remaining principalities in Pakistan retained their autonomy until 1969 when they finally acceded to Pakistan. The Indian government formally derecognized its princely families in 1971, followed by Pakistan in 1972.

Finally, in 1975, King [[Palden Thondup Namgyal]] of [[Kingdom of Sikkim|Sikkim]] lost his throne when the country became a state of [[India]] following a [[1975 Sikkimese monarchy referendum|referendum]].