European Sovereigns, 2017

Imagine that, miraculously, an overwhelming wave of monarchist sentiment swept Europe, resulting in the restoration of all the monarchies that existed in 1789, as well as those created subsequently in the Low Countries, Germany, the Balkans, and Norway. Here then is what the list of contemporary major European rulers might look like, with seniority dated retroactively to whenever they actually became head of their respective house. Resolution of disputed successions--France, Two Sicilies, Sardinia, Saxony/Poland--is somewhat arbitrary and is not meant to indicate any final judgement on my part.

The Papacy is omitted because, let's face it, most of those who wish there were still a King of France and a Holy Roman Emperor probably also wish the Holy See had a different occupant at present, and it's impossible to imagine the current one ruling the old Papal States. Smaller states are omitted as there would presumably be a lot more than just Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, and Monaco.

The "Imperial Commonwealth" is a new entity distinct from the Holy Roman Empire (whose own modern borders would be roughly those of Germany, Austria, and the Czech lands, with Belgium, Luxembourg, and Slovenia eligible to join if desired), modeled on the [British] Commonwealth of Nations, and meant to include the present states of Austria (including South Tyrol), the Czech lands, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia (including Trieste), Croatia, possibly Bosnia, and perhaps also the old Kingdom of Galicia & Lodomeria if detached from what is now Poland & Ukraine, retaining their separate parliaments and prime ministers but sharing the Habsburg Emperor as head of state. The ancient titles of King of Bohemia and King of Hungary would be retained, with the Emperor being also King of Austria, King of Slovakia, Grand Duke of Slovenia, and King of Croatia, an admittedly unprecedented arrangement designed to reflect modern realities as much as possible.

Admittedly there was never a time when all of these monarchies existed at once, but I think this is more or less the way most monarchists would like things to be. In this scenario, as a demonstration of the spirit of moderation and reasonableness that distinguishes monarchists from republicans, the republics of Iceland, Ireland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Switzerland, and San Marino are permitted to survive, and those of Venice and Genoa would actually be restored! I'm honestly not sure what to do with Belarus and Ukraine, on whose territory Russia, Poland, and the Habsburgs would all have reasonable historic claims. Perhaps Poland could be shifted back east at their expense and to Prussia's benefit, but I'm not sure we really want to go there. "Kaliningrad" would be renamed Königsberg and returned to the Kingdom of Prussia, as an exclave if necessary. Kosovo and perhaps also Macedonia would be returned to the Kingdom of Serbia. Moldova would be returned to the Kingdom of Romania, as compensation for losing Transylvania to the Kingdom of Hungary.

CountrySovereignBornAcceded
BulgariaKing Simeon II16 Jun193728 Aug1943
United KingdomQueen Elizabeth II21 Apr19266 Feb1952
Two SiciliesKing Carlo I16 Jan19383 Feb1964
GreeceKing Constantine II6 Jun19406 Mar1964
SerbiaKing Alexander II17 Jul19453 Nov1970
DenmarkQueen Margrethe II16 Apr194014 Jan1972
SwedenKing Carl XVI Gustaf30 Apr194619 Sep 1973
WürttembergKing Carl II1 Aug193615 Apr1975
PortugalKing Duarte III14 May194524 Dec1976
SardiniaKing Amedeo X27 Sep194318 Mar1983
MontenegroKing Nikola II7 Jul194424 Mar1986
HannoverKing Ernst August V26 Feb19549 Dec1987
FranceKing Louis XX25 Apr197430 Jan1989
NorwayKing Harald V21 Feb193717 Jan1991
RussiaEmpress Maria I23 Dec195321 Apr1992
PrussiaKing Georg Friedrich I10 Jun197625 Sep1994
BavariaKing Franz I14 Jul19338 Jul1996
Holy Roman Empire
Bohemia & Hungary
Imperial Commonwealth
Emperor Karl IX11 Jan19614 Jul2011
AlbaniaKing Leka II26 Mar198230 Nov2011
PolandKing Alexander II12 Feb195423 Jul2012
SaxonyKing Rüdiger I23 Dec19536 Oct2012
Netherlands King Willem IV27 April196730 April2013
BelgiumKing Philippe I15 Apr 196021 Jul2013
SpainKing Felipe VI30 Jan196819 Jun2014
RomaniaQueen Margareta26 Mar19495 Dec2017

Utrecht version (France)

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