Abdication facts for kids

Abdication is the act of resigning from an office (official job), especially from being the leader of a country. The word is normally used for kings and queens who decide to give up their position which brings an end to a reign. The term is also used for popes.

A similar term for an elected or appointed official is resignation.

King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom is an example of a king who abdicated.

Select list of abdications

• Caedwalla of Wessex, 688
• Ine of Wessex, 726
• Pope Benedict IX, 1048
• Stephen II of Hungary, 1131
• Pope Celestine V, 1294
• Richard II of England, 1399
• Pope Gregory XII, 1415.
• Murad II, Ottoman Sultan, 1444-1445
• Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, 1556
• Christina of Sweden, 1654
• James II of England, 1688
• Philip V of Spain, 1724
• Ahmed III, Sultan of Turkey, 1730
• Napoleon I, Emperor of France, 1814 and 1815
• Charles X of France, 1830
• Pedro I of Brazil, 1831
• Miguel of Portugal, 1834
• Louis Philippe I of France, 1848
• Fredrik Kaarle I of Finland, 1918
• Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, 1936
• Pope Benedict XVI, 2013.
• Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, 2013
• King Albert II of Belgium, 2013
• King Juan Carlos I of Spain, 2014
• Emperor Akihito of Japan, 2019

Images for kids

• 

  Napoleon's first abdication, signed at the Palace of Fontainebleau 4 April 1814

• 

  Dom Pedro I, founder and emperor of the Empire of Brazil, delivers his abdication letter on 7 April 1831

• 

  Tomb effigy of heart of King John II Casimir Vasa at Abbaye de Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris, showing removal of the crown

• 

  Queen Christina of Sweden (daughter of Protestant champion Gustav II Adolph) shocked Europe by abdicating to move to Rome and serve the pope.

See also

In Spanish: Abdicación para niños