The British government bans hereditary ruler Seretse Khama from Bechuanaland because he has married a white woman

George VI dies and is succeeded by his elder daughter as Elizabeth II

A group of officers led by Gamal Abdel Nasser depose Egypt's king, Farouk, and send him into exile

King Adbullah's grandson Hussein (who was with him when he was assassinated in 1951) becomes king of Jordan

The new queen of the United Kingdom, Elizabeth II, is crowned like all her predecessors since 1066 in Westminster Abbey

Norodom Sihanouk abdicates as king of Cambodia and becomes the country's prime minister

Hassan II begins a 38-year reign as the king of Morocco

Idris I, king of Libya, is deposed in a bloodless coup led by Muammar al-Gaddafi

Qaboos bin Sa'id seizes the throne from his father, Sultan Sa'id, in a palace coup in Oman

A military coup deposes Zahir Shah and brings to an end the hereditary monarchy in Afghanistan

An uprising organized in Ethiopia by the Dergue results in the arrest of Haile Selassie and his murder a year later

Franco dies and is succeeded as Spanish head of state by Juan Carlos, heir to the Bourbon throne

Prince Charles marries Diana Spencer in St Paul's Cathedral in London

Charles and Diana, the Prince and Princess of Wales, announce that they have agreed to separate

The divorce is finalized of Charles and Diana, the Prince and Princess of Wales

Diana, the Princess of Wales, and her friend Dodi Fayed die after a car crash in Paris

King Hussein of Jordan dies and is succeeded by his son as Abdullah II

Crown Prince Dipendra kills nine members of his own royal family at the court of Nepal

Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, widow of the British king George VI, dies at the age of 102

Fifty years after her accession to the throne, the British queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Golden Jubilee

The Prince of Wales marries Camilla Parker Bowles, subsequently to be known as the Duchess of Cornwall

Joseph Ratzinger is elected pope and takes the name Benedict XVI