The Kings who never were: the living heirs of Europe's abolished monarchies

The death of Queen Elizabeth II ended one of the world's longest apprenticeships and saw Charles III ascend to the UK throne. To many outside the country, the focus on the succession of its constitutional monarchy may seem alien. Across the 19th and 20th century, most European countries took steps to abolish their monarchies permanently.

Just 12 nations in Europe retain a form of monarchy to this day. They are Andorra, Belgium, Denmark, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the Vatican and the UK.

In all of the countries with abolished monarchies, there are still descendants of the final monarchs.

These people go about their lives knowing that if the hand of history dealt them different cards, they’d be in a similar position to the newly anointed King Charles III in the UK.

Here’s a list of the European monarchs who never were.

Also, fun fact, almost all of these would-be regents are related to the UK’s Royal Family if you go back far enough.

The last king of Albania was also the second king to some degree. While the medieval Kingdom of Albania did have monarchs, by the 20th century that had been long disestablished.

During the last century, there were two times Albania had a king. The first was just before the First World War after Albania’s independence in 1912 which lasted until 1924.

The second time was when President Zog established himself as king in 1928 which lasted until Italy invaded in 1939.

Today, Zog’s grandson Leka II is the remaining heir to the throne. He has worked as a diplomat and a political advisor to the President.

The dismantling of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918 was the direct result of its loss in the First World War.

After Franz Ferdinand’s assassination in 1914,