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Personal union

Situation of two states sharing a monarch without merging

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The term was coined by German jurist Johann Stephan Pütter, introducing it into Elementa iuris publici germanici (Elements of German Public Law) of 1760.

Personal unions can arise for several reasons, such as:

They can also be codified (i.e., the constitutions of the states clearly express that they shall share the same person as head of state) or non-codified, in which case they can easily be broken (e.g., by the death of the monarch when the two states have different succession laws).

The concept of a personal union has only very rarely crossed over from monarchies into republics.

There are currently two personal unions in the world: the 15 Commonwealth realms, who share Charles III as their head of state, and one of the co-princes of Andorra being the President of France.

Monarchies in personal union

Africa

Congo Free State and Belgium

  • Personal union with Belgium from 1885 to 1908, when the Congo Free State became a Belgian colony. The only sovereign during this period was Leopold II, who continued as king of Belgium until his death a year later in 1909.

Asia

Near East

  • During the reign of Sargon II and Sennacherib, Babylon and Assyria were two countries connected via the same ruler.

Georgia

  • Kingdom of Iberia and Colchis were connected power of the monarch in the years 300–90 BCE (Pharnavazid dynasty).
  • Kingdom of Pontus and Colchis were connected power of the monarch in 109 BCE-64 CE.
  • 1000–1010 Kingdom of Abkhazia and Iberia ruled by Bagrat III. In 1010 it united (together with the annexed Kakheti kingdom) into a single Kingdom of Georgia.
  • Kingdom of Kakheti and Hereti were connected power of the monarch in 1020s–1104.
  • Principality of Mingrelia and Principality of Abkhazia in the 1557–1660 years under the rule of the House of Dadiani.
  • Kingdom of Kartli and Kingdom of Kakheti united under the rule of a single monarch in 1513–1518 (David X), 1625–1633 (Teimuraz I), 1648–1658 (Rostom), 1723 (Constantine II/III), to finally unite the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti in 1762 under the reign of Heraclius II and his descendants.
  • Kingdom of Imereti and Principality of Guria united under the rule of a single monarch in 1681–1683 (George III Gurieli), 1701–1702, 1713–1714 (Mamia III Gurieli) and 1716 (George IV Gurieli).

Goryeo

  • Personal union with Shenyang in the Mongol Empire (1308–1313; 1345-1351)
    • As King of Goryeo (高麗國王) and Prince/King of Shenyang (瀋陽王) in 1308–1310
    • As King of Goryeo and Prince/King of Shen (瀋王) in 1310–1313, 1345-1351

King Chungseon of Goryeo reigned as King of Goryeo in 1298 and 1308–1313 and as King of Shenyang or King of Shen from 1307 (according to the History of Yuan) or 1308 (according to Goryeosa) to 1316. At that time, Goryeo had already become a vassal of the Mongol Empire and the Mongol imperial family following the Mongol invasions of Korea and the Goryeo royal family had established strong ties by intermarrying with the Mongol imperial family. Because King Chungseon was a very powerful man during the reign of Külüg Khan, Külüg Khan gave him a new title on top of his kingship of Goryeo, the Prince/King of Shenyang, in 1307 or 1308 specifically mentioned as thanks to his efforts of bringing the Khan to power.

However, he lost his power in the Mongol imperial court after the death of the Külüg Khan. Because the Mongol Empire made Chungseon abdicate the crown of the Goryeo in 1313, the personal union was ended. King Chungsuk, Chungseon's eldest son, became the new King of Goryeo. In 1316, the Mongol Empire made Chungseon abdicate the crown of Shen in favour of Wang Ko, one of his nephews, resulting in him becoming the new King of Shen.

Following Wang Ko's death, Chungmok of Goryeo and Chungjeong of Goryeo were also dual rulers of both Goryeo and Shenyang from 1345-1351.

Europe

Albania

Andorra

Due to Andorra's special government form resulting from the Paréage of 1278, it is a diarchy with co-princes. One of them is the Bishop of Urgell; the other was originally the Count of Foix. It is through this feudal co-prince system that the Principality has entered partial personal union with:

In 1607, the feudal co-prince was Henry IV of France, who issued an edict that his position should be held by the French Head of State. While the new government did not take up the title during the French Revolution, all polities of France since 1806 regardless of their government form have accepted that their head of state is an ex officio co-prince. This led to personal unions with:

Austria

  • Personal union with Lands of the Bohemian Crown (1260–1276, 1306–1307, 1438–1439, 1453–1457, and 1526–1918).
  • Personal union with Lands of the Hungarian Crown (1437–1439, 1444–1457, and 1526–1918).

Bohemia

  • Personal union with Poland under Polish occupation (1003–1004).
  • Personal union with Poland (1296–1306) and Hungary (1305).
  • Personal union with Luxembourg (1313–1378, 1383–1388).
  • Personal union with Hungary 1419–1437 (Sigismund of Luxemburg) and 1490–1526 (Jagellon dynasty).
  • Personal union with Austria and Hungary 1438–1439 (Albert II of Germany), 1453–1457 (Ladislaus the Posthumous) and 1526–1918 (disputed during 1619–1620 by Frederick of Palatine and 1741–1743 by Charles Albert).

Brandenburg

Catalonia

Croatia

Denmark

Personal union with:

England

Personal union, as Kingdom of England, with:

1: After 1707, see Great Britain below.

France

Note: The point at issue in the War of the Spanish Succession was the fear that the succession to the Spanish throne dictated by Spanish law, which would devolve on Louis, le Grand Dauphin — already heir to the throne of France — would create a personal union that would upset the European balance of power; France had the most powerful military in Europe at the time, and Spain the largest empire.

Great Britain

Before 1707, see England and Scotland.

After 1801, see United Kingdom below.

Hanover

Holy Roman Empire

Hungary

  • Personal union with Croatia 1102–1918 (see § Croatia above for details).
  • Personal union with Poland and Bohemia 1305.
  • Personal union with Poland from 1370 to 1382 under the reign of Louis the Great. This period in Polish history is sometimes known as the Andegawen Poland. Louis inherited the Polish throne from his maternal uncle Casimir III. After Louis' death the Polish nobles (the szlachta) decided to end the personal union, since they did not want to be governed from Hungary, and chose Louis' younger daughter Jadwiga as their new ruler, while Hungary was inherited by his elder daughter Mary. Personal union with Poland for the second time from 1440 to 1444.
  • Personal union with Naples from 1385 to 1386 under the reign of Charles III of Naples.
  • Personal union with Bohemia, 1419–1439 (with both in interregnum during 1437–1438), 1453–1457 and 1490–1918.
  • Personal union with the Archduchy of Austria, 1437–1439, 1444–1457, and 1526–1806.
  • Personal union with the Holy Roman Empire, 1410–1439, 1556–1608, 1612–1740 and 1780–1806.
  • Real union with Austria, 1867–1918 (the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary) under the reigns of Franz Joseph and Charles IV.

Iceland

  • Personal union with Denmark from 1918 to 1944, when the country became a republic.

Ireland

León, Aragon, and Castile

Lithuania

Luxembourg

  • Personal union with Bohemia (1313–1378 and 1383–1388).
  • Personal union with the Netherlands from 1815 to 1890, when King and Grand Duke William III died leaving only a daughter, Wilhelmina. Since Luxembourg held to Salic Law, Wilhelmina's distant cousin Adolphe succeeded to the Grand Duchy, ending the personal union.

Naples

  • Personal union with France from 1285 to 1328 due to the marriage between Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre and the reign of their three sons, and from 1589 to 1620 due to the accession of Henry IV, after which Navarre was formally integrated into France.

Netherlands

Norway

  • Harald Bluetooth ruled both Norway and Denmark from 970 to 974.
  • Sweyn Forkbeard ruled both Norway and Denmark from 1000 to 1014. He also ruled England from 1013 to 1014.
  • Cnut the Great ruled both England and Denmark from 1018 to 1035. He also ruled Norway from 1028 to 1035.
  • Personal union with Denmark 1042–1047. Magnus I of Norway, who died of unclear circumstances, ruled both Norway and Denmark.
  • Personal union with Sweden (1319-1343/55).
  • Personal union with Sweden (1362-1364).
  • Personal union with Denmark (1380-1389/97).
  • Personal union with Sweden (1449-1450).
  • The Kalmar Union with Denmark and Sweden from 1389/97 to 1521/23 (with interruptions).
  • Personal union with Denmark (1524-1533).
  • Personal union with Denmark (1537-1814), Denmark-Norway.
  • Personal union with Sweden from 1814 (when Norway declared independence from Denmark and was forced into a union with Sweden) to 1905.

Poland

Pomerania

  • Personal union between Pomerania-Stolp and Pomerania-Stargard (1395-1402 and 1403-1478).

Portugal

  • Iberian Union with Spain (1580-1640).
  • Personal union with Brazil, under Peter I of Brazil (Peter IV of Portugal), from 10 March 1826 to 28 May 1826. Peter was the Prince Royal of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves when he declared the independence of Brazil in 1822, becoming its first emperor. When his father (John VI of Portugal) died, Peter became also king of Portugal for only a few weeks, after which he abdicated the Portuguese throne in favor of his older daughter, Princess Maria da Glória.

Prussia

Romania

Russia

Saxe-Coburg and Saxe-Gotha

In 1826, the newly created Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was initially a double duchy, ruled by Duke Ernest I in a personal union. In 1852, the duchies were bound in a political and real union. They were then a quasi-federal unitary state, even though later attempts to merge the duchies failed.

Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach

The duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach were in personal union from 1741, when the ruling house of Saxe-Eisenach died out, until 1809, when they were merged into the single duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.

Schleswig and Holstein

Duchies with peculiar rules for succession. See the Schleswig-Holstein Question.

The kings of Denmark at the same time being dukes of Schleswig and Holstein 1460–1864. (Holstein being part of the Holy Roman Empire, while Schleswig was a part of Denmark). The situation was complicated by the fact that for some time, the Duchies were divided among collateral branches of the House of Oldenburg (the ruling House in Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein). Besides the "main" Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein-Glückstadt, ruled by the Kings of Denmark, there were states encompassing territory in both Duchies. Notably the Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp and the subordinate Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Beck, Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg and Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.

Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen

The duchies of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen were in personal union from 1909, when Prince Günther of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt succeeded also to the throne of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, until 1918, when he (and all the other German monarchs) abdicated.

Scotland

  • Personal union, as Kingdom of Scotland, with the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Ireland (1603–1707) following the accession of James VI, King of Scots, to the joint English and Irish throne. (All monarchs of Scotland were in a personal union with England and Ireland throughout the period 1603–1707, with the exception of Charles II, reigning solely as King of Scots 1649–1651, and the subsequent interregnum between 1651 and restoration of the House of Stuart in 1660)1
  • Personal union, as Kingdom of Scotland, with the Principality of Orange and the Dutch Republic (1689–1702) during the reign of William II of Scotland.

1: After 1707, see Great Britain above. After 1801, see United Kingdom below.

Sicily

Spain

Sweden

United Kingdom

Historically, the Crown of the United Kingdom was considered to be indivisible. However, as the self-governing dominions of the British Commonwealth gained control over the exercise of the royal prerogative in the 1930s, this concept has evolved so that 'the Crown in right of' each realm and territory acts independently of the other realms and territories. The constitutional conventions established in the Statute of Westminster 1931 which required uniformity in the laws of succession, along with a common format for the royal styles and titles, distinguished the Crown of the Commonwealth realms from a personal union, under which there is no alignment between multiple thrones and different laws of succession may exist but subsequent developments have made the situation more ambiguous.

Former dominions and Commonwealth realms
  • Irish Free State (1922–1937) and Ireland (1937–1949), de jure
  • Newfoundland (1907–1934).
  • South Africa (1910–1961).
  • India (1947–1950).
  • Pakistan (1947–1956).
  • Ceylon (now Sri Lanka; 1948–1972).
  • Ghana (1957–1960).
  • Nigeria (1960–1963).
  • Sierra Leone (1961–1971).
  • Tanganyika (now Tanzania; 1961–1962).
  • Trinidad and Tobago (1962–1976).
  • Uganda (1962–1963).
  • Kenya (1963–1964).
  • Malawi (1964–1966).
  • Malta (1964–1974).
  • The Gambia (1965–1970).
  • Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe; 1965–1970), which was not recognized by any other state.
  • Guyana (1966–1970).
  • Barbados (1966–2021).
  • Mauritius (1968–1992).
  • Fiji (1970–1987).
Current Commonwealth realms

Wales

After 1542, see England above.

South America

Brazil

  • Personal union with Portugal, under Pedro I of Brazil (Pedro IV of Portugal), from 10 March to 28 May 1826. Pedro was the Prince Royal of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves when he declared the independence of Brazil in 1822, becoming its first emperor. When his father (John VI of Portugal) died, Pedro also became King of Portugal, but abdicated the Portuguese throne 79 days later in favour of his older child Princess Maria da Glória.

Colombia

  • The Free and Independent State of Cundinamarca (modern-day Colombia) (1810–1813) was in a de iure personal union with Spain, according to the Constitution of Cundinamarca, which was not recognized by the Spanish Crown, which considered these territories to be part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada.

Trinidad and Tobago

Guyana

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