Apersonal union is a combination of two or moremonarchicalstates that have the samemonarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct.[1] Areal union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent interlinked, such as by sharing some limited governmental institutions. Unlike a personal union, in afederation or aunitary state, a central (federal) government spanning all member states exists, with the degree of self-governance distinguishing the two. The ruler in a personal union does not need to be a hereditary monarch.[note 1]
The term was coined by German juristJohann Stephan Pütter, introducing it intoElementa iuris publici germanici (Elements of German Public Law) of 1760.[2]
Personal unions can arise for several reasons, such as:
decolonization, where ex-colonies install the monarch of the former colonizing power as their own upon becoming independent, e.g., several former members of theBritish Empire (then becomingCommonwealth realms)
They can also becodified (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 differentsuccession laws).
The concept of a personal union has only very rarely crossed over from monarchies intorepublics.
Personal union with Belgium from 1885 to 1908, when theCongo Free State became a Belgian colony. The only sovereign during this period wasLeopold II, who continued as king of Belgium until his death a year later in 1909.
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
KingChungseon 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 theHistory of Yuan) or 1308 (according toGoryeosa) to 1316. At that time, Goryeo had already become a vassal of the Mongol Empire and the Mongol imperial family following theMongol 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 ofKülüg Khan, Külüg Khan gave him a new title on top of his kingship of Goryeo, thePrince/King ofShenyang,[note 2][note 3] in 1307[4] or 1308 specifically mentioned as thanks to his efforts of bringing the Khan to power.[5]
However, he lost his power in the Mongol imperial court after the death of the Külüg Khan. Because theMongol Empire madeChungseon 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 ofWang Ko, one of his nephews, resulting in him becoming the new King of Shen.
Due to Andorra's special government form resulting from theParéage of 1278, it is adiarchy withco-princes. One of them is theBishop of Urgell; the other was originally theCount 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 wasHenry IV of France, who issued an edict that his position should be held by the French Head of State. While thenew government did not take up the title during theFrench 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:
First andSecond French Empires (1806–1814,1815 and 1852–1870).
Note: The point at issue in theWar of the Spanish Succession was the fear that the succession to the Spanish throne dictated by Spanish law, which would devolve onLouis,le Grand Dauphin — already heir to the throne of France — would create a personal union that would upset the Europeanbalance of power; France had the most powerful military in Europe at the time, and Spain the largest empire.
Personal union with Poland from 1370 to 1382 under the reign ofLouis the Great. This period in Polish history is sometimes known as theAndegawen Poland. Louis inherited the Polish throne from his maternal uncleCasimir III. After Louis' death the Polish nobles (theszlachta) decided to end the personal union, since they did not want to be governed from Hungary, and chose Louis' younger daughterJadwiga as their new ruler, while Hungary was inherited by his elder daughterMary. Personal union with Poland for the second time from 1440 to 1444.
Personal union with Naples from 1385 to 1386 under the reign ofCharles 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.
Personal union, asIrish Free State (1922–1937) then asÉire (1937–1949), with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. (The period 1937–1949is disputed).
Personal union withBohemia (1313–1378 and 1383–1388).
Personal union with the Netherlands from 1815 to 1890, whenKing and Grand Duke William III died leaving only a daughter,Wilhelmina. Since Luxembourg held toSalic Law, Wilhelmina's distant cousinAdolphe succeeded to the Grand Duchy, ending the personal union.
Personal union with France from 1285 to 1328 due to the marriage betweenPhilip IV of France andJoan I of Navarre and the reign of their three sons, and from 1589 to 1620 due to the accession ofHenry IV, after whichNavarre was formally integrated into France.
Personal union with Brazil, underPeter I of Brazil (Peter IV of Portugal), from 10 March 1826 to 28 May 1826. Peter was thePrince 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.
Personal union betweenKingdom of Prussia andPrincipality of Neuchâtel, 1707–1806 and 1814–1848. The King of Prussia exchanged territories with France during the 1806–1814 interim.
In 1826, the newly createdDuchy 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.
The duchies ofSaxe-Weimar andSaxe-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 ofSaxe-Weimar-Eisenach.
The kings of Denmark at the same time being dukes of Schleswig and Holstein 1460–1864. (Holstein being part of theHoly 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 ofSchwarzburg-Rudolstadt andSchwarzburg-Sondershausen were in personal union from 1909, whenPrince Günther of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt succeeded also to the throne of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, until 1918, when he (and all the other German monarchs) abdicated.
Personal union, as Kingdom of Scotland, with theKingdom of England andKingdom of Ireland (1603–1707) following the accession ofJames 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 ofCharles II, reigning solely as King of Scots 1649–1651, and the subsequentinterregnum between 1651 and restoration of theHouse of Stuart in 1660)1
Historically,the Crown of the United Kingdom was considered to be indivisible.[6] However, as the self-governingdominions of the British Commonwealth gained control over the exercise of the royal prerogative in the 1930s, this concept has evolved so that 'the Crownin right of' each realm and territory acts independently of the other realms and territories.[7] Theconstitutional conventions established in theStatute 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 theCommonwealth 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.[7]
Because heads of state and government of republics are ordinarily chosen from within the citizens of the state in question, sovereign republics very rarely share common leaders. A few examples are:
Uniquely, thePresident of France isex officio a constitutional monarch (or, more accurately,diarch) in neighboringAndorra, with the title ofCo-Prince. This status was inherited from the role of the French monarchs in Andorra.
During the later stages of theSpanish American Wars of Independence,Simón Bolívar was simultaneously President ofGran Colombia (24 February 1819 - 4 May 1830), President ofPeru (10 February 1824 – 28 January 1827), and President ofBolivia (12 August 1825 - 29 December 1825). Bolívar had, as President and military Commander-in-Chief of Colombia, led a Colombian army to secure Peruvian independence in 1824-25, and was given the office of President by the Patriot republican governments of both Peru and Bolivia (renamed in his honor from "Upper Peru") as an emergency measure to help secure independence from Spain. After the end of the war, Bolívar relinquished his Peruvian and Bolivian offices and returned to Colombia.
^In English, the titlewang (王) can be translated as both "prince" (秦王 or Prince of Qin,Emperor Taizong of Tang's title untilXuanwu Gate Incident) and "king" (魏王 or King ofWei,Cao Cao's title at the time of his death).
Srodecki, Paul; Kersken, Norbert; Petrauskas, Rimvydas, eds. (2023).Unions and Divisions: New Forms of Rule in Medieval and Renaissance Europe (First ed.). London and New York, NY:Routledge.ISBN978-1-032-05750-7.
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