You may have noticed we use a variety of colors for our charts. We use different colors help to show the different reigns with-in a Monarchy.
Each reign gets a color, and the colors rotate in the same pattern.
We use three main colors: Red → Green → Blue.
When we started our blog in 2015, Europe had a mix of long reigning monarchs, and recent accessions. We wanted reigns of the same generation to have the same color. (This is not always possible as reign’s don’t line up).
We began by assigning Red to all monarchs reigning as of December 31st, 2012. This helps us group the old generations of current Monarchs together. And the newer monarchs from the wave of abdications in 2013-2014, would be group together with blue charts.
We then assigned colors to earlier monarch and any new monarchs following the same Red → Green → Blue rotation.
There are a few exceptional cases, such as long regencies or very short reigns. Those special notes are listed at the bottom of the page.
We list the colors we use for each of the European Monarchies below. We initial started by listing all the Monarchs back to the end of WWII (Sept 1945). Tables will go back further if we have chats on our blog that cover those monarchs.
Belgium
| Blue | Red | Green |
|---|---|---|
| – | – |
Leopold III (1934–1951) |
|
Baudouin (1951 – 1993) |
Albert II (1993–2013) |
Philippe (2013–Present) |
Denmark
| Blue | Red | Green |
|---|---|---|
| – | – |
Christian X (1912–1947) |
|
Frederick IX (1947–1972) |
Margrethe II (1972–2024) |
Frederik X (2024–Present) |
Liechtenstein
| Blue | Red | Green |
|---|---|---|
| – |
Franz Joseph II (Monarch, Pre-Regency) (1938–1984) |
Hans Adams II (as Regent) (1984–1989) |
|
Hans Adams II (Monarch, Pre-Regency) (1989–2004) |
Alois (as Regent) (2004–Present) |
– |
Luxembourg
| Blue | Red | Green |
|---|---|---|
| – |
Charlotte (Monarch, Pre-Lieutenancy) (1919–1961) |
Charlotte (Monarch), Jean (as Lieutenant Representative) (1961–1964) |
|
Jean (1964–2000) — Including Henri, as Lieutenant Representative (1998–2000) |
Henri (2000–2025) — Including Guillaume, as Lieutenant Representative (2024–2025) |
Guillaume (2025–Present) |
Monaco
| Blue | Red | Green |
|---|---|---|
| – | – |
Louis II (1922–1949) |
|
Rainier (1949–2005) |
Albert II (2005–Present) |
– |
Netherlands
| Blue | Red | Green |
|---|---|---|
| – | – |
Wilhelmina (1890–1948) |
|
Juliana (1948–1980) |
Beatrix (1980–2013) |
Willem-Alexander (2013–Present) |
Norway
| Blue | Red | Green |
|---|---|---|
|
Haakon VII (1905–1957) |
||
|
Olav V (1957–1991) |
Harald V (1991–2026) |
Haakon VIII (2026-Present) |
Spain
| Blue | Red | Green | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Maria Christina as Regent (1886–1902) |
||||
|
Alfonso XIII (1886–1931) |
Second Spanish Republic (1931–1939) |
Juan Carlos (1975–2014) |
Felipe VI (2014–Present) |
|
|
Franco Dictatorship (1939–1975) |
||||
Sweden
| Blue | Red | Green |
|---|---|---|
| – | – |
Gustaf V (1907–1950) |
|
Gustaf VI Adolf (1950–1973) |
Carl XVI Gustaf (1973–Present) |
– |
United Kingdom
| Blue | Red | Green |
|---|---|---|
|
Edward VII (1901–1910) |
George V (1910–1936) |
Edward VIII (1936) |
|
George VI (1936–1952) |
Elizabeth II (1952–2022) |
Charles III (2022–Present) |
| – | – | – |
Special Circumstances:
Regencies/Lieutenancy:
Normally, one color is used for the entirety of a reign. However, if a regent, lieutenant representative, etc. serves for a significant period, it makes sense to distinguish between the two periods.
If a regent or lieutenant representative serves for 3 or more consecutive years, we will split the reign. For example: Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein’s reign from 1989 to the present is divided into two:
- Hans-Adam (Monarch, Pre-Regency)
- Alois (as Regent)
Breaks in Monarchy/Reign
Where there is a significant period of between two monarch’s reign (interregnum), we will mark that period with grey (E.g. Spain from 1931-1975). The next monarch will use the next color in the cycle.
Extremely Short Reigns:
New reigns will automatically be given the next color in the cycle. However, if the reign ends before 60 days, the color will be changed to grey. The next monarch after the short reign will be given the next color in the cycle, as if the short reign did not take place.
We have chosen to do this as extremely short reigns, are too short to even appear on most things we chart (Annual events, Christmas/New years addresses, etc.).
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