Personal unions can arise for very different reasons, ranging from near coincidence (a princess who is already married to a king becomes pregnant, and their child inherits the crown of both countries) to virtual Annexation (where a personal union sometimes was seen as a means of preventing uprisings). They can also be Codified (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 different succession rules).
Because President s of Republic s are ordinarily chosen from within the Citizen s of the state in question, personal unions are almost entirely a phenomenon of Monarchies , and sometimes the term ''dual monarchy'' is used to signify a personal union between two monarchies. With the decline of monarchies during the 20th Century , personal unions have become quite uncommon. Where they do exist is most notably between the Commonwealth Realm s12, where, beyond the United Kingdom , the Governor-General is the Vice-regal representative of the Monarch.
There is a somewhat grey area between personal unions and federations, and the first has regularly grown into the second. This article is an attempt at listing some historical and contemporary personal unions.
- ''Partial'' personal union with France since 1607 (the French president, and formerly the king of France, is one of the Heads of State in Andorra, the other co-head of state is the Bishop of La Seu d'Urgell, Catalonia , Spain .)
- Personal union with Poland 1003 - 1004 (Bohemia occupied by Poles)
- Personal union with Poland 1300 - 1306 and Hungary 1301 - 1305 (Wenceslas II and Wenceslas III)
- Personal union with Luxembourg 1313 - 1378 and 1383 - 1388
- Personal union with Hungary 1419-1439 (Sigismund of Luxemburg and his son in law) and 1490 - 1526 (Jagellon dynasty)
- Personal union with Austria and Hungary 1526 - 1918 (except years 1619 - 1620)
The assumption is made in this section that Commonwealth realms came into personal union with the United Kingdom at the time they were given complete freedom to legislate for themselves.
Other possible dates that personal union could claim to have come about are:
- when colonies were granted Dominion status: Canada in 1867, Australia in 1901, New Zealand in 1907, South Africa in 1910
- when the Governor became a Governor-General: as above for all except New Zealand (1917)
- informally, as a result of the Balfour Declaration 1926
- implicitly, as a result of the Royal And Parliamentary Titles Act 1927
- when a High Commissioner was appointed to represent the British Government instead of the Governor or Governor-General {Link without Title} : Canada 1928, South Africa 1930, Australia 1931-6, New Zealand 1939, Irish Free State 1939. It Appears that the Governor-General of the Irish Free State stopped representing the British government in 1928 but that an alternative official was not appointed until 1939.
- with the Statute Of Westminster 1931
- when it was inadvertently demonstrated by the Irish Free State that succession laws could be different in each dominion (the Abdication Of Edward VIII , 1936)
- when a country gained both the power to make laws with extraterritorial effect and the power to change their constitution (this is the assumption used below): South Africa and the Irish Free State with the Statute of Westminster, New Zealand in 1947, Canada in 1982, Australia in 1986
- when the power of the Parliament Of The United Kingdom to make laws for the Commonwealth realm in question was removed: Canada in 1982, Australia in 1986, New Zealand in 1986
- when the right of appeal to the Judicial Committee Of The Privy Council was removed: Canada in 1949, Australia in 1986, New Zealand (but not the Cook Islands, Niue or Tokelau) in 2004
- Since 1941 , upon the ratification of the Westminster Statute in 1942 - which ended the British Parliament 's ability to legislate for Australia. The Australia Act of 1986, amongst other things, removed the Privy Council as the last court of Appeal in the Australian Judicial System. Elizabeth II Of The United Kingdom serves, independently, as Queen of Australia, through her Vice-Regal Representative, the Governor-General, nominated by the Prime Minister.
- Personal union with Belgium from 1885 to 1908 , when it became a Belgian colony.
- Personal union with the Duchy of Brittany from 1491 , when Duchess Anne Of Brittany married King Charles VIII Of France under duress, to 1532 when the Duchy of Brittany was formally annexed to the Kingdom of France.
- Personal union with Navarre from 1589 to 1620 , when Navarre was formally integrated into France.
- ''Partial'' personal union with Andorra since 1607 (the French president is one of the Heads of State in Andorra)
Note: The point at issue in the War Of The Spanish Succession was the fear that the succession to the Spanish throne dictated by Spanish law, which would devolve on Louis, ''le Grand Dauphin'' — already heir to the throne of France — would create a personal union that would upset the European Balance Of Power (France had the most powerful military in Europe at the time, and Spain the largest empire).
- Personal union with Croatia from 1102 to 1918 .
- 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 (the '' Szlachta '') decided to end the personal union, since they didn't 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 in the second time from 1440 to 1444.
- Personal union with Bohemia from 1419 to 1439 and from 1490 to 1918
- Personal union with the Holy Roman Empire from 1410 to 1439 and from 1526 to 1806 (except 1608-1612)
- Personal union with Austria from 1867 to 1918 (the '' Dual Monarchy '' of Austria-Hungary ) under the reigns of Franz Joseph and Charles IV (in fact it was rather a dynastic union, not a personal union.)
- Personal union with Denmark from 1918 to 1944 when the country became republic.
- Personal union with France from 1589 to 1620 , when Navarre was formally integrated into France.
''Duchies with peculiar rules for Succession .''
''Main article: Unions Of Sweden ''
- Technically speaking, the Vatican City and the Holy See form a personal union in the sense that they are two separate sovereign entities under international law and administered by separate organs, with the Pope as the head of both. For the Vatican City , it is governed by the Pope through the Governor Of Vatican City appointed by him.
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