Prince Philip

Born into the Greek and Danish royal families, Prince Philip renounced his original titles and converted to Anglicanism to marry Princess Elizabeth in 1947. He became the Duke of Edinburgh and adopted the surname Mountbatten, later serving as Queen Elizabeth II’s Prince Consort.

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands

Queen Beatrix abdicated in 2013 after 33 years on the throne, passing power to her son, King Willem-Alexander. Her decision followed a family tradition — both her mother, Juliana, and grandmother, Wilhelmina, had abdicated before her.

Emperor Akihito of Japan

Emperor Akihito, who began his reign in 1989, became Japan’s first monarch in over two centuries to abdicate when he stepped down in 2019 due to health issues. His son, Emperor Naruhito, succeeded him.

Diana, Princess of Wales

After her 1996 divorce from then-Prince Charles, Diana lost her HRH title and became simply Diana, Princess of Wales. Though discussions later arose about restoring her royal style posthumously, her family declined, believing she would not have wanted it.

Princess Ayako of Japan

Before Princess Mako, her cousin Princess Ayako gave up her title in 2018 to marry commoner Kei Moriya, a shipping executive. She now goes by Ayako Moriya.

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark

In 2024, after 52 years as monarch, Queen Margrethe abdicated in favour of her son, King Frederik X. “Such an amount of time leaves its mark on anyone — also on me,” she said in her announcement.

Prince Michael of Kent

Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin lost his place in the line of succession when he married Roman Catholic Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz in 1978. The Succession to the Crown Act 2013 later restored his position, though he remains far from the throne.

Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall

Princess Anne declined royal titles for her children so they could live more normal lives. Zara Tindall later said, “I was very lucky that my mother didn’t give us any titles.”

Sweden’s Royal Grandchildren

In 2019, King Carl XVI Gustaf removed royal house status from most of his grandchildren to allow them greater personal freedom, though they retained their prince and princess titles. Only Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar, children of Crown Princess Victoria, remain expected to serve as working royals.

King Juan Carlos I of Spain

King Juan Carlos abdicated in 2014 in favour of his son, King Felipe VI, after nearly 40 years on the throne. He later retired from public life and temporarily lived in the UAE following corruption allegations, which were ultimately dropped.

From abdications and divorces to love stories that defied royal convention, these examples show that stepping away from royal duty — whether by choice or consequence — has long been part of monarchy’s complicated history.