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Royalty

Kings, queens and heirs: successions, murders, abdications, regencies and royal fortunes.

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What do the royalty estate cases show?

An abdication settlement is a contract, and hiding assets during it costs the trust it depends on. A sealed will blocks outsiders, including claimants with no case, from using the estate as evidence.

Stories
45
Years
133 BCE to 2023
Main regions
Europe, Middle East, North America
Legal traditions
Common law, Civil law
Updated
30 October 2026

Every case in royalty, best-known first

Best-known first: cases from 1900 on, then the United States, then Europe, and the people most read about on English Wikipedia each month. Fiction, scripture and legend come last.

Edward VIII: HRH The Prince of Wales No 4 (HS85-10-36416)1972 · Paris, FranceEdward VIII gave up the throne, sold Sandringham and Balmoral to his brother, and hid how much money he hadEdward VIII abdicated on 11 December 1936 to marry Wallis Simpson, an American divorcée. Sandringham and Balmoral were private property, and his father had left him a life interest in them.Wikipedia (English) and 1 morePrincess Margaret: Portrait of Princess Margaret, circa 1950.2002 · King Edward VII's Hospital, LondonA Jersey accountant sued to open Princess Margaret's sealed will to prove he was her secret sonPrincess Margaret died in February 2002 and the Queen Mother in March 2002. Both wills were sealed. Robert Andrew Brown, an accountant living in Jersey, believed he was Margaret's illegitimate son, given up at birth.The National Archives, Find Case Law and 1 moreGeorge V: King George 1923label QS:Len,"King George 1923"1936 · Sandringham House, Norfolk, EnglandGeorge V's doctor injected him with morphine and cocaine so his death would make the morning papersKing George V was dying of heart and lung disease at Sandringham. On the night of 20 January 1936 his physician, Lord Dawson of Penn, injected him with three-quarters of a grain of morphine and one grain of cocaine.The New York Times and 1 moreMako Komuro: Mako Komuro, formely Princess Mako of Akishino (cropped)2021 · Tokyo, Japan; New York, USAJapan's Princess Mako refused a ¥140 million payout to marry a commoner and lost her royal statusUnder Japan's Imperial House Law, a princess who marries a commoner leaves the imperial family; only men inherit the throne. Princess Mako, niece of Emperor Naruhito, announced her engagement to Kei Komuro in 2017.Wikipedia (English) and 1 moreFelipe VI: Daiga Mieriņa tiekas ar Spānijas karali - 53814974005 (cropped)-22014 · Madrid, Spain; Abu Dhabi, UAESpain's King Felipe renounced his father's inheritance after a $100 million Saudi payment came to light, and Juan Carlos left for Abu DhabiJuan Carlos I restored democracy in Spain after Franco. In April 2012 he broke his hip on an elephant hunt in Botswana with Corinna Larsen, a businesswoman. He abdicated in 2014 in favour of his son Felipe.euronews.com and 2 moreAnna Anderson: AnnaAnderson19221984 · Charlottesville, Virginia, USAAnna Anderson claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia for 64 years and fought German courts for 32 years for the Romanov moneyIn February 1920 Berlin police pulled a young woman from the Landwehr Canal after a suicide attempt. In an asylum she came to be identified, and then identified herself, as Anastasia, youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II.Journal article (DOI) and 2 moreThe Queen Mother: Portrait of Queen Elizabeth (1900–2002)2002 · Royal Lodge, Windsor, EnglandThe Queen Mother left her estate to her daughter free of inheritance tax under a 1993 deal between the palace and the TreasuryAfter the 1992 Windsor Castle fire, public anger over who would pay for repairs led the Queen to agree to pay income tax. The 1993 Memorandum of Understanding on Royal Taxation set the terms.GOV.UK and 2 moreNational Palace, Addis Ababa, where the story took place1975 · Jubilee Palace, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaEthiopia's Derg said Haile Selassie died after prostate surgery, and his bones were found under his palace office 16 years laterEmperor Haile Selassie was deposed by the military committee known as the Derg on 12 September 1974 and held in the palace. On 23 November 1974 the Derg executed about 60 former officials without trial.Wikipedia (English) and 1 moreFaisal of Saudi Arabia: King Faisal bin Abdulaziz (cropped)(b)1975 · Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaSaudi King Faisal was shot by his nephew during an audience, and the nephew was beheaded in a Riyadh squareKing Faisal had ruled Saudi Arabia since 1964 and led the 1973 Arab oil embargo.Wikipedia (English) and 1 moreAI illustration: Soldiers storm the Lubiri palace walls in Mengo, Kampala, 19661969 · London, EnglandThe Kabaka of Buganda climbed his palace wall to escape the army, and died in a London flat three years laterSir Edward Mutesa II, Kabaka (king) of Buganda, was also the first President of Uganda from 1963. In 1966 Prime Minister Milton Obote suspended the constitution.Wikipedia (English) and 1 moreHenry VIII: Portrait of Henry VIII1547 · Palace of Whitehall, LondonHenry VIII's will was signed with a stamp, not his hand, and its validity was disputed for 20 yearsParliament's Third Succession Act of 1544 let Henry VIII settle the crown by will, but only by a will signed with his own hand.discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk and 3 moreAI illustration: The golden domes of the Istana Nurul Iman palace, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei1998 · Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei; London; New YorkBrunei accused the sultan's brother of taking billions as finance minister, and the Privy Council ordered him to hand over his hotelsPrince Jefri Bolkiah, youngest brother of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, was Brunei's finance minister and head of the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA) for 13 years.nycourts.gov and 2 moreKoh-i-Noor: Replica of the Koh-i-Noor (cropped)1893 · Paris, FranceA 10-year-old Sikh maharaja signed away the Koh-i-Noor to Queen Victoria, and other countries still claim itDuleep Singh became ruler of the Sikh Empire at five in 1843, the youngest son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who had owned the Koh-i-Noor diamond. After the Second Anglo-Sikh War, the East India Company annexed the Punjab.Wikipedia (English) and 2 moreLouis XIV: French: Portrait de Louis XIV en costume de sacre Portrait of Louis XIVtitle QS:P1476,fr:"Portrait de Louis XIV en costu1715 · Palace of Versailles, FranceLouis XIV's will gave power to his illegitimate son, and the Paris Parlement annulled it the day after he diedLouis XIV outlived his son and grandson. His heir was his five-year-old great-grandson, Louis XV.Wikipedia (English) and 1 moreLiliʻuokalani: Liliuokalani, c. 18911917 · Honolulu, Territory of HawaiiQueen Liliʻuokalani sued the United States for Hawaii's crown lands and lostLiliʻuokalani became Queen of Hawaii in 1891. On 17 January 1893 a group of American and European businessmen, backed by US Marines, overthrew her. She was arrested after a failed royalist uprising in 1895 and signed an abdication.Wikipedia (English) and 2 moreBernice Pauahi Bishop: Bernice Pauahi Bishop, age twenty-three1884 · Honolulu, Kingdom of HawaiiThe last Kamehameha princess left her lands to a school, and a judge removed its trustees for self-dealing 115 years laterBernice Pauahi Bishop was the last direct descendant of Kamehameha I. She refused the throne when King Kamehameha V offered it to her in 1872.archives.starbulletin.com and 3 moreAlexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia: Peter the Great Interrogating the Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich at Peterhoflabel QS:Les,"Pedro el Grande interroga al zarév1718 · St Petersburg, RussiaPeter the Great had his son tortured to death, changed the law so he could pick any heir, and died without naming oneTsarevich Alexei, Peter the Great's son by his first wife, opposed his father's reforms and fled to Austrian protection in 1716. Peter's agents persuaded him to return in 1718 with a promise of pardon.Wikipedia (English) and 1 moreAI illustration: The overgrown Tatoi Palace in the forest north of Athens2023 · Athens, GreeceGreece took its exiled king's palaces without payment, and the European Court ordered €13.7 million in compensationConstantine II became King of the Hellenes in 1964. After a failed counter-coup against the military junta in December 1967 he left for Rome.Wikipedia (English)AI illustration: The Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand, London2019 · High Court, Family Division, LondonA London judge ordered Dubai's ruler to provide £554 million to the ex-wife whose phone he had hackedPrincess Haya bint al-Hussein, half-sister of King Abdullah II of Jordan, married Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai, in 2004. In April 2019 she fled to London with their two children.Al Jazeera and 1 moreMichael I of Romania: Mihai2017 · Aubonne, SwitzerlandRomania's King Michael was forced to sign a pre-typed abdication, and his grandson was later struck from the successionMichael I was king of Romania twice and led the 1944 coup that took Romania out of its alliance with Germany.Wikipedia (English) and 1 moreAI illustration: The Royal Palace of Brussels2013 · Brussels, BelgiumA Belgian court ordered King Albert II to take a DNA test, and his secret daughter became a princess with inheritance rightsDelphine Boël, an artist born in 1968, is the daughter of Baroness Sybille de Sélys Longchamps. A 1999 biography reported that her father was Albert, then Prince of Liège. Albert became king in 1993 and denied paternity.Wikipedia (English) and 1 moreDiana, Princess of Wales: Diana, Princess of Wales 1997 (2)1997 · Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, FrancePrincess Diana's executors changed her will after her death and gave each godchild one item instead of a quarter of her possessionsCharles and Diana separated in 1992 and divorced on 28 August 1996. She received a lump sum reported at about £17 million and lost the style Her Royal Highness. A year later she died in a car crash in Paris.Wikipedia (English) and 1 moreAI illustration: A sealed case of royal jewels on a shelf in a Bank of Italy vault, Rome1983 · Geneva, SwitzerlandItaly's crown jewels have sat in a Bank of Italy vault since 1946, and a Rome court ruled in 2025 they belong to the stateUmberto II reigned for 34 days in 1946 before Italians voted for a republic.wantedinrome.com and 2 moreFarouk of Egypt: Farouk-King-1965 · Rome, ItalyKing Farouk left Egypt on his yacht, and one of his gold coins later sold for $18.9 millionKing Farouk abdicated on 26 July 1952 after the Free Officers' coup and sailed from Alexandria on the royal yacht Mahroussa. His infant son was named King Fuad II until Egypt became a republic in June 1953.Wikipedia (English) and 1 moreHussein of Jordan: 16.09.1963. Le roi de Jordanie à Sud Aviation. (1963)1999 · Amman, JordanKing Hussein of Jordan removed his brother as heir after 34 years, two weeks before he diedPrince Hassan bin Talal was named crown prince of Jordan in 1965 and held the position for 34 years. In January 1999 King Hussein returned from cancer treatment at the Mayo Clinic.Wikipedia (English) and 1 moreLouis XVII: Louis XVII title QS:P1476,en:"Louis XVII "label QS:Len,"Louis XVII "1795 · Temple prison, Paris, FranceA doctor stole the heart of the boy king Louis XVII, and DNA in 2000 ended 200 years of impostorsLouis-Charles, son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, became Louis XVII to royalists when his father was executed in 1793. He was held alone in the Temple prison and died there on 8 June 1795, aged ten, of tuberculosis.Journal article (DOI) and 1 moreAI illustration: Huis Doorn, the Kaiser's house in exile in the Netherlands, 19411941 · Huis Doorn, NetherlandsThe Kaiser's heirs claimed thousands of artworks and compensation, dropped the suits over the Nazi question, and settled after 99 yearsKaiser Wilhelm II abdicated in November 1918 and went into exile at Doorn in the Netherlands. A 1926 agreement between the Prussian state and the Hohenzollerns divided the royal property.preussischer-kulturbesitz.de and 2 morePrince Francis of Teck: Francis of Teck1910 · London and Windsor, EnglandA prince left the family emeralds to his mistress in 1910, and every senior British royal will has been sealed sincePrince Francis of Teck, brother of Queen Mary, died in 1910. His will named his mistress, the Countess of Kilmorey, as sole heir and left her the Cambridge emeralds, family jewels.Courts and Tribunals Judiciary and 4 moreLeopold II of Belgium: Leopold II, King of the Belgians by Alexander Bassano (1889)1909 · Laeken, BelgiumLeopold II owned the Congo personally, married his 26-year-old mistress five days before he died, and his daughters sued for the moneyFrom 1885 to 1908 King Leopold II ruled the Congo Free State as his own property. Forced labour for rubber caused millions of deaths. Under international pressure Belgium annexed the territory in 1908.Wikipedia (English) and 2 moreAI illustration: Soldiers blast open the Qing imperial tombs at the Eastern Qing Tombs, 19281967 · Beijing, ChinaChina's last emperor kept his title and palace after abdicating, and soldiers blew open his ancestors' tombsPuyi became emperor at two in 1908. On 12 February 1912 the Empress Dowager Longyu signed his abdication.Wikipedia (English) and 2 moreAI illustration: The Constitutional Court of South Africa in Johannesburg2021 · Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South AfricaThe Zulu king's widow challenged his will as forged, and his successor's recognition went to South Africa's highest courtKing Goodwill Zwelithini ruled the Zulu nation for 50 years, had six wives and was sole trustee of the Ingonyama Trust, which holds about 2.8 million hectares of KwaZulu-Natal. He died on 12 March 2021.mg.co.za and 2 moreAI illustration: A sealed envelope on a table in a palace hall in Muscat, 20202020 · Muscat, OmanOman's sultan died childless, and his successor's name was read from a sealed envelopeSultan Qaboos bin Said took power in 1970 by deposing his father and ruled Oman for nearly 50 years. A brief marriage in the 1970s produced no children, and he never named an heir in public.Wikipedia (English) and 1 moreAI illustration: The Grand Palace in Bangkok2016 · Bangkok, ThailandThailand's new king changed the law to put the Crown Property Bureau's billions in his own nameFor 80 years the Crown Property Bureau managed the Thai crown's land and shares, including large stakes in Siam Commercial Bank and Siam Cement, under a board chaired by the finance minister.Reuters and 2 moreNarayanhiti Palace Museum, where the story took place2001 · Narayanhiti Palace, Kathmandu, NepalNepal's crown prince shot dead the king, the queen and seven relatives, and was king for three days while in a comaOn 1 June 2001, at a Friday family dinner in the Tribhuvan Sadan wing of Narayanhiti Palace, Crown Prince Dipendra opened fire with automatic weapons.BBC News and 3 moreAI illustration: 650 Fifth Avenue, the New York tower built by the Pahlavi Foundation1980 · Cairo, EgyptIran sued the exiled Shah in New York for billions, lost, and the tower his foundation built ended up paying terror victims $318 millionMohammad Reza Pahlavi left Iran on 16 January 1979 and died in Cairo in July 1980.jta.org and 2 moreAl-Rehab Palace, where the story took place1958 · Rihab Palace, Baghdad, IraqIraq's 23-year-old king and his family were shot in the palace courtyard, and the regent's body was dragged through BaghdadFaisal II became King of Iraq at three, after his father King Ghazi died in a car crash in 1939. His uncle Abd al-Ilah ruled as regent until 1953. In July 1958 Faisal was 23 and engaged to an Egyptian princess.Wikipedia (English) and 2 moreRudolf, Crown Prince of Austria: Rudolf Crown Prince of Austria LOC1889 · Mayerling hunting lodge, Lower AustriaAustria's crown prince shot his 17-year-old lover and himself at Mayerling, and the throne passed to the man killed at SarajevoCrown Prince Rudolf, 30, only son of Emperor Franz Joseph, was found dead at his hunting lodge beside Baroness Mary Vetsera, 17. Rudolf had shot her and then himself. The court first announced heart failure.Wikipedia (English) and 1 morePalais-des-Papes-Avignon-June-2012: View of the Palais des Papes in Avignon, France in June 20121343 · Avignon, France; Naples and Aversa, ItalyKing Robert's will left Naples to Joanna, her husband was strangled, and she sold the city of Avignon to the pope while the murder was examinedRobert of Anjou, king of Naples and count of Provence, signed his will on 16 January 1343 and died on 20 January.Treccani and 3 moreRichard III of England: Richard III portrait1485 · Bosworth Field, Leicestershire, EnglandRichard III's bones were found under a car park, and his distant relatives sued the government over where to bury himRichard III was killed at Bosworth in 1485, the last English king to die in battle, and buried in the Greyfriars church in Leicester. The church was demolished after the Reformation.le.ac.uk and 1 moreGrand Palace, where the story took place1946 · Boromphiman Throne Hall, Grand Palace, Bangkok, ThailandThailand's 20-year-old king was found shot in his bed, and three palace servants were executed nine years laterKing Ananda Mahidol, 20, had returned from Switzerland in December 1945 and was due to go back to his studies. On the morning of 9 June 1946 he was found in bed with a bullet wound to the forehead and his pistol beside him.Wikipedia (English)Mehmed III: Sultan and 92. Caliph of Islam,Mehmet III of the Ottoman Empire (1566–1603)1595 · Topkapı Palace, IstanbulOttoman Sultan Mehmed III had his 19 brothers strangled on the day he took the throneOttoman succession had no rule of primogeniture. Any son of a sultan could claim the throne. Mehmed II's law code in the 15th century allowed a new sultan to put his brothers to death "for the order of the world".Wikipedia (English) and 1 moreCharles II of Spain: Spanish: Carlos II de España Charles II of Spaintitle QS:P1476,es:"Carlos II de España "label QS:Les,"Carlos II de Españ1700 · Madrid, SpainSpain's childless Charles II left his whole empire to a French prince in his will, and Europe went to war for 13 yearsCharles II of Spain, the last Spanish Habsburg, had serious inherited disabilities and no children. His empire included Spain, much of Italy, the Spanish Netherlands and the Americas.Wikipedia (English) and 1 moreNapoleon: The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries label QS:Len,"The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries"labe1821 · Longwood, Saint HelenaNapoleon's will left 10,000 francs to the man who tried to shoot the Duke of WellingtonNapoleon died a British prisoner at Longwood on Saint Helena.napoleon.org and 3 moreAI illustration: Shah Jahan, imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb, looks from Agra Fort at the Taj Mahal1666 · Agra Fort and Delhi, IndiaMughal prince Aurangzeb jailed his father for eight years and executed his brother to take the throneIn 1657 Emperor Shah Jahan, builder of the Taj Mahal, fell ill. His four sons each had an army. The eldest, Dara Shikoh, was his chosen heir.Wikipedia (English) and 1 moreAttalus III: Attalid portrait at the Antikensammlung Berlin133 BCE · Pergamon, Asia Minor (modern Turkey)King Attalus III left his kingdom to Rome in his will, and a man claiming to be a royal bastard fought Rome for itAttalus III, last king of Pergamon, died in 133 BC without children. His will left his kingdom and treasury to the Roman people.University of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 2 more