Situation of two states sharing a monarch without merging
This article is about the political arrangement. For the Christian theological teaching, see Hypostatic union and Prosopon.
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A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct.[1] A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent interlinked, such as by sharing some limited governmental institutions. Unlike a personal union, in a federation or a unitary state, a central (federal) government spanning all member states exists, with the degree of self-governance distinguishing the two. The ruler in a personal union does not need to be a hereditary monarch.[note 1]
The term was coined by German jurist Johann Stephan Pütter, introducing it into Elementa iuris publici germanici (Elements of German Public Law) of 1760.[2]
Personal unions can arise for several reasons, such as:
inheritance through a dynastic union, e.g. Louis X of France inherited France from his father and Navarre from his mother
decolonization, where ex-colonies install the monarch of the former colonizing power as their own upon becoming independent, e.g. several former members of the British Empire (then becoming Commonwealth realms)
autonomization, e.g. instead of annexing Finland into the Russian Empire, Alexander I of Russia organized Finland as an autonomous grand duchy and acted as its head of state[3]
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 the death of the monarch when the two states have different succession laws).
The concept of a personal union has only very rarely crossed over from monarchies into republics.
There are currently two personal unions in the world: the Commonwealth realms, who share Charles III as their head of state, and one of the Co-Princes of Andorra being the President of France.
^Oppenheim, Lassa; Roxbrough, Ronald (2005). International Law: A Treatise. The Lawbook Exchange. ISBN 978-1584776093. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
^Harding, Nick (2007). Hanover and the British Empire, 1700–1837. Boydell & Brewer. ISBN 978-1843833000.
^Gadolin, A. De (2012). The Solution of the Karelian Refugee Problem in Finland. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 2. ISBN 978-9401179645. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).
A personalunion is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct...
zemlja; Hungarian: Horvát királyság; Latin: Regnum Croatiae) entered a personalunion with the Kingdom of Hungary in 1102, after a period of rule of kings...
The personalunion between Great Britain and Hanover existed from 1714 to 1837. During this time, the Elector of Braunschweig-Lüneburg or King of Hanover...
Ireland in a personalunion, although the three kingdoms remained separate states. On 12 April 1606, a new flag to represent this regal union between England...
Real union is a union of two or more states, which share some state institutions in contrast to personalunions; however, they are not as unified as states...
dynasty with the acclamation of John IV as the new King of Portugal. As a personalunion, the Kingdom of Portugal, the Crown of Castile and the states of the...
the political union of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland on 1 May 1707. England and Scotland had been in personalunion since 24 March...
The Council of Chalcedon in 451 issued a formulation of the hypostatic union of the two natures of Christ, one human and one divine, "united with neither...
Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland (previously in personalunion) to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The flag...
fifteen Commonwealth realms are, with respect to their monarch, in personalunion. In the uncodified Constitution of the United Kingdom, the monarch (exclusively...
Union (Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish: Kalmarunionen; Finnish: Kalmarin unioni; Icelandic: Kalmarsambandið; Latin: Unio Calmariensis) was a personal union...
a form of association looser than a personalunion, when several states share the same monarch, and a real union, when they have common institutions in...
time. It replaced the personalunion of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with a real union and an elective monarchy...
The personalunion of Poland and Saxony, or Saxony-Poland, was the personalunion that existed from 1697 to 1706 and from 1709 to 1763 between the Electorate...
the Kingdom of Scotland—which at the time were separate states in a personalunion—were, in the words of the Treaty, "United into One Kingdom by the Name...
and dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg, informally, Electors of Hanover (cf. personalunion). They served as dual monarchs of Britain and Hanover, maintaining control...
their own parliaments, judiciaries, and laws, both ruled by James in personalunion. He was the longest-reigning monarch of the Kingdom of Scotland. James...
Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland (previously in personalunion) to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The acts...
and Ireland in a personalunion. The Union of the Crowns in 1603 expanded the personalunion to include Scotland. The personalunion between England and...
Frederick III) Elector of Brandenburg (1688–1713) and Duke of Prussia in personalunion (Brandenburg-Prussia). The latter function he upgraded to royalty, becoming...
Britain", considering that it had been created by the Union of the Crowns. However, despite the personalunion which he represented, in practice England and Scotland...
The union of Hungary and Romania comprises proposed unsuccessful 20th-century, mostly interbellum, attempts to unite the Kingdom or Republic of Hungary...
law—remained in use. The formerly separate kingdoms had been in personalunion since the 1603 "Union of the Crowns" when James VI of Scotland became King of England...
svensk-norske union(en)), officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, and known as the United Kingdoms, was a personalunion of the separate...
the kingdom became part of the North Sea Empire of Cnut the Great, a personalunion between England, Denmark and Norway. The Norman Conquest of England...
to 1397) Personalunion of Denmark and Norway (1380–1397) The Kalmar Union (1397–1536) Union of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (1397–1523) Union of Denmark...
A personal computer, often referred to as a PC, is a computer designed for individual use. It is typically used for tasks such as word processing, internet...