The European Royals Message Board: Queen Christina of Sweden

I'm not sure if her abdication was entirely voluntary: like I said, the line between forced and voluntary abdications is a fine one. Many cases were in between -- and her example might qualify as such.

The fact is that she made herself unpopular in the country with her conversion to Roman Catholicism. This could not but lead many to want her off the throne: the abdication could not have been initiated entirely by herself -- as pressures had mounted for her to step aside in favor of her cousin.

It's difficult to see her case as being remotely comparable to the abdications of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and the Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg, who had served long and wanted to pass thrones to heirs who were waiting and ready.

And one is talking here of heirs who were their CHILDREN -- not siblings, nephews, or cousins. As such, the thrones passed laterally, not collaterally.

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Prior to the modern era there are three notable examples of sovereigns voluntarily stepping aside:

Roman Emperor Diocletian in 305, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1555, Christina of Sweden in 1654.

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I believe that according to the historical record, most cases have been forced, for some reason or another: if not outright coerced, then pressured. Is this correct?

If so, then the line between a sovereign who has abdicated the throne or been deposed is a fine one -- especially if (as just hinted above) it's not always clear as to whether the abdication itself was voluntary or coerced.

It's only in modern history where one has witnessed sovereigns who are aging, or who feel they have served their countries long enough, voluntarily stepping down in favor of their heirs -- believing that the said countries would be better served by younger people. And it seems that many of these monarchies draw upon foreign examples for inspiration.

There simply is NO way NOT to see the Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg acting under the influence of her fellow Benelux colleague, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, when in the 1960's she stepped aside in favor of her son, who thus (like Queen Juliana of the Netherlands) was able to gain the throne early.

Otherwise, Jean would have had to wait until the age of 64 (nearly a senior citizen), before finally becoming the reigning grand duke -- just as his Dutch counterpart would have had to wait until becoming a middle-aged woman of 53, before ascending the throne.

As such, Wilhelmina clearly set the precedent for this practice -- that is, in MODERN royal history (not just in Europe but also in Japan). However, she herself had drawn upon a much earlier example: that of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.

Have there been other examples in the more distant past of abdications which were (entirely) voluntary -- where the sovereigns simply wanted to retire?

This clearly does not characterize the earlier Benelux abdications in history (King Willem I of the Netherlands in 1840, Grand Duchess Marie Adelaide of Luxembourg in 1919, and King Leopold III of the Belgians in 1950).