Regency council

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16th century Swedish regent Stenonis Sture and wife Christina Gyllenstierna who both operated in strong resistance to Danish rule during the Kalmar Union
The oath of the provisional triumviral regents of the Empire of Brazil on behalf of the 5-year-old Emperor Pedro II in 1831, at the beginning of the Regency period.

In a monarchy, a regent (from Latin regens[1] 'ruling, governing')[2][3] is a person appointed to execute the office of a monarch temporarily, essentially as a substitute ruler. Regencies may arise for a number of reasons, including the monarch being a minor, ill, absent from the country, or otherwise unavailable. A regent may also be appointed in cases where the throne is vacant, or the identity of the legitimate monarch is disputed.[2][4] The rule of a regent or regents is called a regency.

Examples

A regent may also be appointed to govern, sometimes for an extended period of time, when there is no established ruling house. This was the case in the Kingdom of Hungary in the aftermath of World War I, where the royal line was considered extinct.[5]

Another notable regency period includes that of the Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, giving rise to many terms such as Regency era and Regency architecture. Strictly, this period lasted from 1811 to 1820, when his father George III was considered insane.[6]

Europe

Regentesses of the Old Men's Almshouse in Haarlem, Frans Hals, 1664

In the Dutch Republic, the members of the ruling class, not formally hereditary but forming a de facto patrician class, were informally known collectively as regenten (the Dutch plural for regent) because they typically held positions as "regent" on the boards of town councils, as well as charitable and civic institutions.[7][8] The regents group portrait, regentenstuk or regentessenstuk for female boards in Dutch, literally "regents' piece", is a group portrait of the board of trustees, called regents or regentesses, of a charitable organization or guild. This type of group portrait was popular in Dutch Golden Age painting during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Initially, King Henry II allowed Catherine almost no political influence as queen.[9] Although she sometimes acted as regent during his absences from France, her formal powers were strictly nominal.[10] Henry even gave the Château of Chenonceau, which Catherine had wanted for herself, to his mistress Diane de Poitiers instead, who took her place at the center of power, dispensing patronage and accepting favors. The imperial ambassador reported that in the presence of guests, Henry would sit on Diane's lap and play the guitar, chat about politics, or fondle her breasts.[11] Diane never regarded Catherine as a threat. She even encouraged the king to spend more time with Catherine and sire more children.[12] When Henry II died, Francis II, Catherine's 15 year old son, became king, but was beset with health issues. When Catherine realized Francis was eventually going to die, she made a pact with Antoine de Bourbon by which he would renounce his right to the regency of the future king, Charles IX, in return for the release of his brother Condé.[13] As a result, when Francis died on 5 December 1560, the Privy Council appointed Catherine as governor of France (gouvernante de France), with sweeping powers. She wrote to her daughter Elisabeth: "My principal aim is to have the honour of God before my eyes in all things and to preserve my authority, not for myself, but for the conservation of this kingdom and for the good of all your brothers".[14]

Asia

During the Western Zhou period, Duke Dan of Zhou served as regent for King Cheng of Zhou when his reign was just beginning due to his young age, and He, Earl of Gong did the same for King Xuan of Zhou after the exile of King Li of Zhou. The act of doing so was known as she (攝), though this could also refer to being in charge in general.[15][16]

In 2016, Prem Tinsulanonda became regent the age of 96.[17] He became the regent for Rama X of Thailand, who chose not to formally accede to the throne until the end of the mourning period for his father.[17] Similarly, Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria, was 91 at the end of his regency.[18]

Africa

In Eswatini, where succession to the throne is not immediate, the Ndlovukati (similar to a queen mother) rules as regent until the new king is determined.[19]

Other uses

The term “regent” may also refer to positions lower than that of a state’s ruler. The term may be used in the governance of organisations, typically as an equivalent of "director", and held by all members of a governing board rather than just the equivalent of the chief executive.[20] Some university managers in North America are called regents, and a management board for a college or university may be titled the "Board of Regents".[21]

See also

References

  1. Harper, Douglas. "regency". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2014-08-18. "early 15c., "government by regents," from Medieval Latin regentia, from Latin regens (see regent). Notable instances were: France 1715–1723 (under Philip, Duke of Orleans), Britain 1811–1820 (under George, Prince of Wales, Prince Regent)..."
  2. Rees, Abraham (1819). The cyclopaedia; or, Universal dictionary of arts, sciences, and literature. Vol. 29. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown. REGENT.
  3. Johnson, Samuel (1828). A Dictionary of the English Language ... Abstracted from the folio edition of the author ... Fourteenth edition, corrected, etc. London: A & H Spottiswoode. REGENT. Archived from the original on 2021-07-23. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
  4. Oxford English Dictionary
  5. "History of Hungary - Revolution, counterrevolution, and the regency, 1918–45 | Britannica". Encyclopedia Britannica.
  6. "Regency Era | History | Research Starters". Ebcsco.com.
  7. J. L. Price. "Holland and the Dutch Republic in the Seventeenth Century: The Politics of Particularism". Academic.oup.com. Retrieved Jun 22, 2026.
  8. Israel, J.I. (1995), The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness and Fall, 1477-1806, Oxford University Press,ISBN 0-19-873072-1 hardback, ISBN 0-19-820734-4
  9. Morris, 247
  10. Knecht, Catherine de' Medici, 42–43.
  11. Knecht, Catherine de' Medici, 38.
  12. Wellman, Kathleen Anne (2013). Queens and mistresses of Renaissance France. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 200. ISBN 978-0-300-17885-2.
  13. Pettegree, 154; Hoogvliet, 105. The regency was traditionally the preserve of the princes of the blood.
  14. Knecht, Catherine de' Medici, 73.
  15. Kroll, Paul W.; Baxter, William H.; Boltz, William G.; Knechtges, David R.; Lien, Y. Edmund; Richter, Antje; Richter, Matthias L.; Warner, Ding Xiang (2017). A student's dictionary of classical and medieval Chinese (Revised ed.). Leiden Boston: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-32513-5.
  16. Sima, Q. (1975). 史記 [Shǐjì] (Y. Pei, Z. Sima, & S. Zhang, Eds; 7th ed., Vol. 1). 中華書局出版 [Zhonghua Book Company].
  17. "Thailand picks ex-PM as caretaker after king's death".
  18. "PRINCE REGENT OF BAVARIA DIES AT 91; Luitpold, Oldest Ruling Prince in Europe in Point of Years, Victim of Catarrh". The New York Times. 13 December 1912.
  19. A. D. C. (2019-02-09). "All About Eswatini/Swaziland – Africa.com". www.africa.com. Archived from the original on 2022-02-22. Retrieved 2022-02-22.
  20. "Definition of REGENT". Merriam-webster.com.
  21. "Board of Regents". The Free Dictionary. Archived from the original on 14 December 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.