With his capital city in the hands of rebels, tsar Nicholas II abdicates

Tsar Nicholas II and his wife and children are murdered by the Bolsheviks at Ekaterinburg

The Kaiser appoints a new chancellor, Prince Max von Baden, to negotiate an end to the war

Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates and goes into exile in the Netherlands

The deposition of the emperor Charles I by the Austrian government brings to a formal end the empire of Austria-Hungary and more than six centuries of Habsburg rule

A national congress in Damascus proclaims Faisal king of an independent Syria

French intervention in Syria forces Faisal off the throne and out of the country

Abdullah ibn Hussein, of the Hashemite family, becomes emir of the new province of Transjordan

Faisal, having lost Syria, is given the throne in the British mandated territory of Iraq

25-year-old Hirohito succeeds to the imperial throne of Japan after five years as prince regent

The regent Ras Tafari becomes emperor of Ethiopia and takes the name Haile Selassie

George V reads on radio a Christmas address (written by Rudyard Kipling), beginning an annual royal tradition

After gaining control of most of the Arabian peninsula, Ibn Saud gives his kingdom a new name, Saudi Arabia

Fulgencio Batista, as army chief of staff, begins a long career running the affairs of Cuba

George V dies and is succeeded on the British throne by his eldest son Edward VIII

On the death of his father, Fuad I, the 16-year-old Farouk becomes king of Egypt

Wallis Simpson wins a decree nisi against her second husband and is therefore free to marry Edward VIII

Edward VIII informs Baldwin, the UK prime minister, that he intends to marry the American divorcée Wallis Simpson

Edward VIII, forced to choose between the British throne and Wallis Simpson, opts for the path of love and abdicates

Edward VIII is succeeded on the British throne by his brother, as George VI

British and USSR troops invade Iran to depose the oil-rich Reza Shah, fearing that he may take the side of the Germans

With British and Russian support, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi succeeds his deposed father as shah of Iran

The emperor Hirohito, on the first occasion that his people have heard his voce, declares on radio that defeat must be accepted

Victor Emmanuel III abdicates in favour of his son a month before a referendum on the Italian monarchy

The Japanese emperor Hirohito renounces his traditional divine status and declares that he is mortal