Personal union
A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interlinked, such as by sharing some limited governmental institutions. In a federation and a unitary state, a central 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.
The term was coined by German jurist Johann Stephan Pütter, introducing it into Elementa iuris publici germanici of 1760.
Personal unions can arise for several reasons, ranging from coincidence to virtual annexation. They can also be codified or non-codified, in which case they can easily be broken.
Because presidents of republics are ordinarily chosen from within the citizens of the state in question, the concept of personal union has almost never crossed over from monarchies into republics, with the rare exception of the president of France being a co-prince of Andorra. In 1860 Marthinus Wessel Pretorius was simultaneously elected as the president of Transvaal and Orange Free State and he tried to unify the two countries but his mission failed and led to the Transvaal Civil War.
Albania
- Personal union with Kingdom of Italy.
Andorra
Austria
- Personal union with Lands of the Bohemian Crown.
- Personal union with Lands of the Hungarian Crown.
- Personal union with Austrian Netherlands.
- Personal union with Spanish Empire.
- Personal union with Kingdom of Naples, Kingdom of Sardinia, Kingdom of Sicily, Duchy of Parma, Venetia and Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia
- Personal union with Kingdom of Slavonia, Kingdom of Serbia, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Duchy of Bukovina, New Galicia, Kingdom of Dalmatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bohemia
- Personal union with Poland 1003–1004
- Personal union with Poland 1300–1306 and Hungary 1301–1305
- Personal union with Luxembourg 1313–1378 and 1383–1388
- Personal union with Hungary 1419–1439 and 1490–1526
- Personal union with Austria and Hungary 1526–1918
Brandenburg
- Personal union with the Principality of Ansbach from 1415–1440 and 1470–1486.
- Personal union with the Duchy of Prussia from 1618, when Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia, died without male heirs and his son-in-law John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, became ruler of both countries. Brandenburg and Prussia maintained separate governments and seats of power in Berlin and Königsberg respectively until 1701, when Frederick I consolidated them into one government.
Brazil
- Personal union with Portugal, under Maria I of Portugal and later John VI of Portugal, from 16 December 1815 to 7 September 1822. Maria was the Queen of Portugal and the Algarves from 1777 to 1815, when Brazil, a Portuguese colony, was ranked Kingdom inside the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. She was succeeded by her older son and Regent in her name since 1792, who become King John VI. He reigned over Brazil until the dissolution of the United Kingdom with the Independence of Brazil.
- Personal union with Portugal, under Pedro I of Brazil, from 10 March to 28 May 1826. Pedro was the Prince Royal of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves when he declared the independence of Brazil in 1822, becoming its first emperor. When his father died, Pedro also became King of Portugal, but abdicated the Portuguese throne 79 days later in favour of his older child Princess Maria da Glória.
Congo Free State and Belgium
- Personal union with Belgium from 1885 to 1908, when the Congo Free State became a Belgian colony. The only sovereign during this period was Leopold II, who continued as king of Belgium until his death a year later in 1909.
Croatia
- Personal union with the Kingdom of Hungary 1102–1918
Denmark
- Personal union with Norway and 1524–1814 ).
- Personal union with England.
- Personal union with Sweden.
- Personal union with Duchy of Schleswig and County/Duchy of Holstein.
- Personal union with Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg
- Personal union with Iceland.
England
- Personal union with Denmark.
- Personal union with Duchy of Normandy.
- Personal union with the County of Anjou.
- Personal union with much of France .
- Personal union with Aquitaine.
- Personal union with the Kingdom of France. See also: Dual monarchy of England and France.
- Personal union with Lordship of Ireland and Kingdom of Ireland.
- Personal union with Kingdom of Scotland.
- Personal union with Dutch Republic.
France
- Personal union with the Kingdom of Naples under the rule of Charles VIII and Louis XII.
- Personal union with the Duchy of Milan under the rule of Louis XII and Francis I.
- Personal union with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth under the rule of Henry III.
- Personal union with the Kingdom of Navarre.
- Partial personal union with Andorra since 1607
- Personal union under Napoleon with Italy and the Confederation of the Rhine.
Georgia
- Kingdom of Iberia and Colchis were connected power of the monarch in 300–90 years BC.
- Kingdom of Pontus and Colchis were connected power of the monarch in 109 BC–64 AD.
- 1000–1010 Kingdom of Abkhazia and Iberia ruled by Bagrat III. In 1010 it united into a single Kingdom of Georgia.
- Kingdom of Kakheti and Hereti were connected power of the monarch in 1020s–1104.
- Principality of Mingrelia and Principality of Abkhazia in the 1557–1660 years under the rule of the House of Dadiani
- Kingdom of Kartli and Kingdom of Kakheti united under the rule of a single monarch in 1513–1520, 1625–1633, 1648–1658, 1660–1664, 1723, to finally unite the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti in 1762 under the reign of Heraclius II and his descendants.
- Kingdom of Imereti and Principality of Guria united under the rule of a single monarch in 1681–1683, 1701–1702, 1713–1714 and 1720.
Goryeo
- Personal union with Shenyang in the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China
- * As King of Goryeo and King of Shenyang in 1308–1310
- * As King of Goryeo and King of Shen in 1310–1313
Great Britain
Before 1707, see England and Scotland.- Personal union with Kingdom of Ireland.
- Personal union with Electorate of Hanover.
Hanover
- Personal union with Great Britain and Ireland from 1714 to 1801.
- Personal union with the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1807 and again from 1814 to 1837, when differing succession laws resulted in Queen Victoria ascending the British throne and her uncle Ernest Augustus that of Hanover.
- The personal union was interrupted from 1807 to 1813 when Hanover was merged into the Kingdom of Westphalia during the Napoleonic Wars. A few months after the Battle of Leipzig, the Kingdom of Hanover was re-established.
Holy Roman Empire
- Personal union with the Kingdom of Sicily from 1194 to 1254 under the Hohenstaufen dynasty.
- Personal union with Spain from 1519 to 1556 under Charles V.
- Personal union with Hungary 1410–1439, 1556–1608, 1612–1740 and 1780–1806.
- Personal union with Kingdom of Naples, Kingdom of Sardinia, Kingdom of Sicily
Hungary
- Personal union with Croatia 1102–1918.
- Personal union with Poland and Bohemia 1301–1305.
- Personal union with Poland from 1370 to 1382 under the reign of Louis the Great. This period in Polish history is sometimes known as the Andegawen Poland. Louis inherited the Polish throne from his maternal uncle Casimir III. After Louis' death the Polish nobles decided to end the personal union, since they did not want to be governed from Hungary, and chose Louis' younger daughter Jadwiga as their new ruler, while Hungary was inherited by his elder daughter Mary. Personal union with Poland for the second time from 1440 to 1444.
- Personal union with Naples from 1385-1386 under the reign of Charles III of Naples.
- Personal union with Bohemia, 1419–1439 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.
- Real union with Austria, 1867–1918 under the reigns of Franz Joseph and Charles IV.
Iceland
- Personal union with Denmark from 1918 to 1944, when the country became a republic.
Ireland
- Kingdom of Ireland in personal union with Kingdom of England 1542–1707, and Kingdom of Great Britain from 1707 to 1801. Formed integral part of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1801–1922, when Irish Free State was formed from most of the island of Ireland.
- Irish Free State in personal union with United Kingdom from 1922 to 1937 or to 1949 when the Free State officially declared itself to became a Republic.
Italy
- Personal union with Kingdom of Albania.
Lithuania
- Personal union with the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland 1386–1401, 1447–1492 and 1501–1569; then transformed into a federation, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Luxembourg
- Personal union with Bohemia, 1313–1378 and 1383–1388.
- Personal union with the Netherlands from 1815 to 1890, when King and Grand Duke William III died leaving only a daughter, Wilhelmina. Since Luxembourg held to Salic Law, Wilhelmina's distant cousin Adolphe succeeded to the Grand Duchy, ending the personal union.
Naples
- Personal union with Kingdom of Hungary from 1385-1386 under the rule of Charles II of Hungary.
- Personal union with Crown of Aragon.
- Personal union with Kingdom of France under the rule of Charles VIII and Louis XII.
- Personal union with Kingdom of Spain.
- Personal union with Holy Roman Empire.
- Personal union with Kingdom of Sicily from 1735 to 1806 under the rule of the House of Bourbon.
Navarre
- Personal union with France from 1285 to 1328 due to the marriage between Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre and the reign of their three sons, and from 1589 to 1620 due to the accession of Henry IV, after which Navarre was formally integrated into France.
Netherlands
- Personal union with England.
- Personal union with Luxembourg from 1815 to 1890.
Norway
- Sweyn Forkbeard ruled both Norway and Denmark from 999 to 1014. He also ruled England from 1013 to 1014.
- Cnut the Great ruled both England and Denmark from 1018 to 1035. He also ruled Norway from 1028 to 1035.
- Personal union with Denmark 1042–1047 Magnus I of Norway who died of unclear circumstances.
- Personal union with Sweden from 1319 to 1343.
- Personal union with Sweden from 1449 to 1450.
- Personal union with Denmark from 1380 to 1389/97.
- The Kalmar Union with Denmark and Sweden from 1389/97 to 1521/23.
- Personal union with Denmark 1523 to 1814.
- Personal union with Sweden from 1814 to 1905.
Poland
- Personal union with the Kingdom of Bohemia from 1300 to 1306.
- Personal union with the Kingdom of Hungary, 1301–1305, 1370–1382 and 1440–1444.
- Personal union with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1386 to 1401, 1447 to 1492, and 1501 to 1569.
- Personal union with the Kingdom of France from 1574 to 1575.
- Personal union with the Kingdom of Sweden from 1592 to 1599.
- Personal union with the Duchy of Ruthenia in 1658.
- Personal union with the Electorate of Saxony, 1697–1706, 1709–1733 and 1734–1763.
- Personal union with the Russian Empire from 1815 to 1831.
Portugal
- Iberian Union with Spain from 1580 to 1640, under Philip II, his son and grandson.
- Personal union with Brazil, under Peter I of Brazil, from 10 March 1826 to 28 May 1826. Peter was the Prince Royal of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves when he declared the independence of Brazil in 1822, becoming its first emperor. When his father 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.
Prussia
- Brandenburg-Prussia: personal union between the Margraviate of Brandenburg and Duchy of Prussia.
- Personal union between Kingdom of Prussia and Duchy of Courland and Semigallia .
- Personal union between Kingdom of Prussia and Principality of Neuchâtel, 1707-1806 and 1814-1848. The King of Prussia exchanged territories with France during the 1806-1814 interim.
Romania
- Personal union between Wallachia and Transylvania from 1599 to 1600 under the rule of Michael the Brave
- Personal union between Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania in 1600 under the rule of Michael the Brave
- Personal union between Wallachia and Moldavia from 1859 to 1862 under the rule of Alexandru Ioan Cuza
Sardinia
- Personal union with Kingdom of Spain.
- Personal union with Holy Roman Empire.
- Personal union with Duchy of Savoy from 1720.
Saxe-Coburg and Saxe-Gotha
Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach
The duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-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 of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.Schleswig and Holstein
Duchies with peculiar rules for succession. See the Schleswig-Holstein Question.- The kings of Denmark at the same time being dukes of Schleswig and Holstein 1460–1864.. The situation was complicated by the fact that for some time, the Duchies were divided among collateral branches of the House of Oldenburg. 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
Scotland
- From the accession in 1603 of James VI, King of Scots, to the thrones of England and Ireland as "King James I", all monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland were thereafter in a personal union with both the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Ireland - with the exception of Charles II, reigning solely as King of Scots 1649-1651.
- After the accession of William of Orange as William II of Scotland, personal union with the Dutch Republic.
Sicily
- Personal union with the Holy Roman Empire from 1194 to 1254 under the rule of the House of Hohenstaufen.
- Personal union with the Crown of Aragon from 1282 to 1285 and 1409 to 1516 under the rule of the House of Barcelona and the House of Trastámara.
- Personal union with the Kingdom of Spain from 1516 to 1713 under the rule of the House of Habsburg and the House of Bourbon.
- Personal union with the Duchy of Savoy from 1713 to 1720 under the rule of Victor Amadeus II of Savoy.
- Personal union with the Holy Roman Empire from 1720 to 1734 under the rule of Charles VI of Habsburg.
- Personal union with the Kingdom of Naples from 1735 to 1806 under the rule of the House of Bourbon.
Spain
- Kingdom of León, Kingdom of Galicia and Kingdom of Asturias.
- Kingdom of León and Crown of Castile.
- Crown of Aragon and Kingdom of Navarre.
- Crown of Aragon and Kingdom of Sicily.
- Crown of Aragon and Kingdom of Naples.
- Crown of Castile and Duchy of Burgundy
- Crown of Castile and Crown of Aragon, resulting in the formation of the Kingdom of Spain under the rule of Charles I
- Personal union with Archduchy of Austria and Austrian dynastic lands.
- Personal union with Holy Roman Empire under Charles I.
- Personal union with Kingdom of Naples, Kingdom of Sardinia, Kingdom of Sicily and Duchy of Milan.
- Personal union with Habsburg Netherlands and Spanish Netherlands.
- Personal union with Kingdom of England.
- Personal union with Kingdom of Portugal.
Sweden
- Personal union with Norway from 1319 to 1343
- Personal union with Scania from 1332 to 1360
- The Kalmar Union with Denmark and Norway from 1389/97 to 1521/23.
- Personal union with Norway from 1449 to 1450
- Personal union with the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland from 1592 to 1599.
- Swedish kings united his kingdom with Estonia, Livonia, Karelia, Scania, Bremen-Verden, Pomerania, Wismar and Ingria.
- Personal union with Norway from 1814 to 1905
United Kingdom
- Personal union with Electorate of Hanover.
- Personal union with the Kingdom of Hanover.
- Personal union with the Irish Free State and Ireland from 1937 to 1949; and the former Commonwealth realms and Dominions of South Africa, India ; Pakistan, Ceylon, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanganyika, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, Malta, The Gambia, Guyana, Mauritius, and Fiji.
- Personal union with the current Commonwealth realms: Canada since 1867, Australia since 1901, New Zealand since 1907, Jamaica since 1962, Barbados since 1966, The Bahamas since 1973, Grenada since 1974, Papua New Guinea since 1975, Solomon Islands since 1978, Tuvalu since 1978, Saint Lucia since 1979, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines since 1979, Antigua and Barbuda since 1981, Belize since 1981, and Saint Kitts and Nevis since 1983.