No more reigning Queens

I must say that I was intrigued when reading that, after the abdication of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark on 14 January 2024, the world doesn’t have a single reigning queen anymore. There are several Crown Princesses in Europe, but there is not a single woman anymore sitting on a real throne, which is really a unique situation in these modern times. A quick Wikipedia search learns that the only queens alive are reigning in parts of African countries, so not in official countries. When was the last time that the world didn’t have a single female monarch? Some online said 1837, others talked about the 18th century. Well, let’s have a look (if I missed someone, let me know).

So we get back all the way to 1730. So let’s see how long we have to wait for the next abdication or death of a male monarch with a female heir to the throne. Even before 1730 the gaps without a female monarch were never very long. However female rulers become less frequent further back in time. Some female monarchs were disputed, and some were only ruling together with a male monarch.