Violence escalated through this week. The US and Iran rained missiles even as they held talks to end the three-month war. Both Russia and Ukraine braced for a longer war, now into its fourth year. Russia will task bankers who dispense money to shoot down Ukrainian drones. Israel launched a full-scale war in southern Lebanon even as it ordered its armed forces to occupy 70 per cent of Gaza. Hezbollah has retaliated with attacks on northern Israel. Pakistan and Afghanistan continued to attack each other even as Islamist militants gain strength on both sides.
Mindless violence is rising. More of it is feared as the US announces $1.5 trillion investment in defence, as part of “a historic expansion” of America’s military-industrial base. It wants its allies to spend at least 3.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence.
Ironically, this comes at the Shangri La Dialogue. Is the world really heading towards a “Shangri La”, an imaginary, beautiful place of perfect peace, harmony, and happiness?
Meanwhile, hark back to the past — from Lord Ram to Reza Pahlavi.
Whatever shape the US-Iran deal takes to end the Gulf war, and whenever it is reached, regime change in Tehran does not seem likely. That gambit has failed, even though a considerable part of the top Iranian leadership was eliminated in the first week.
A swift regime change was presumed and planned, like in Venezuela earlier this year.
Long before the current conflict, Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the last monarch, who was deposed in 1979, was projected as the likely new ruler. Now, he stays put in the US with his family.
While the world believed that Reza was the choice, The New York Times has said President Donald Trump “mused publicly” that it would be best if “someone from within” Iran took over the country. He wanted Iran’s former President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, known for anti-Israel and anti-American views. Most analysts find the choice bizarre.
Earlier, “Economist’ magazine wrote that the Crown Prince is seen more as “Clown Prince”. Trump, who said he was “a nice man,” had brushed aside his request for a meeting.
Pahlavi himself nursed royal ambitions. “This regime is on the verge of collapse. And what it’s doing right now is a last-gasp effort to intimidate,” he told the magazine.
The US cannot install Reza or Ahmadinejad, and declare ‘victory’.
This brings us to past exiled kings and princes. It also tempts us to include the epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, about Ram leaving Ayodhya to keep his father’s vow and the Pandavas, banished from Hastinapur for 14 years. But these stories are too well-known.
In history, many former monarchs and their families have spent their lives in exile after losing in a battle or being deposed. Their children often carry on defunct dynastic lines. Some pursue careers in diplomacy, business, or politics in their host countries.
We have examples of Mughal king Humayun, who reclaimed his throne, but Mewar’s Maharana Pratap could not return to Chittorgarh. The last Mughal King, Bahadur Shah Zafar, was exiled to Rangoon; the same Britons exiled Burmese King Thibaw to Ratnagiri, India. The kings died in exile.
The two World Wars, freedom movements and military coups in the last century saw many royals being dispossessed. In extreme cases, like the Romanovs in Russia or Louis XVI in France, the families were killed following revolutions.
Simeon II of Bulgaria was exiled as a boy in 1946 when the monarchy was abolished during the Soviet era. He later returned to Bulgaria and was its democratically elected Prime Minister (2001–2005).
Zog I of Albania was exiled in 1939 following the Italian invasion. His grandson, Leka II, has served as a diplomat and political advisor to the President of Albania. When the Austro-Hungarian Empire ended after World War I, Emperor Karl I went into exile. His son Otto von Habsburg was a long-time member of the European Parliament. King Constantine II of Greece went into exile in 1967 following a military coup.
When a monarchy is abolished, families typically take one of three paths. Exile is the most common outcome, where the family is stripped of titles. Some became private citizens and were allowed to retain their personal wealth or palaces.
Ethiopia’s Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie, grandson of Haile Selassie, remains active in 2026 as the President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia in exile. In the Central African Empire, Jean-Bédel Bokassa Jr. (Bokassa II) is recognised as the heir apparent to his father, Bokassa I. The Empire stands defunct.
On gaining independence, India had perhaps the largest number, over 560, of princely states, but there were few exiles. The 1947 Indian Independence Act ended British suzerainty, theoretically leaving princely states free to join India or Pakistan, or remain independent.
Most states were integrated into the newly formed Union of India. Their rulers negotiated a peaceful transition in exchange for annual payments known as the privy purses and were allowed to keep their vast properties.
Of the notable deposed and exiled rulers, Maharaja Hari Singh (Jammu and Kashmir) was reluctant to join either India or Pakistan. He signed the Instrument of Accession in October 1947 only after Pakistani tribesmen invaded. He was later banished from his kingdom and died in Bombay (Mumbai) in 1961. His son, Karan Singh, was appointed Regent of the state and later became a prominent political figure also known for his erudition.
Nawab Muhammad Mahabat Khanji III (Junagadh) chose to accede to Pakistan. Following public unrest and an Indian blockade, the Nawab and his family fled to Pakistan. His family lives in Karachi.
Nizam Osman Ali Khan, ruler of the largest and richest princely state, initially refused to join India. Hyderabad was forcibly annexed following “Operation Polo”, a five-day military police action by the Indian government.
The most poignant story is that of Dalip Singh, the minor son of Punjab’s Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Deposed in 1849 by the British following the Anglo-Sikh Wars, he was exiled to England. And forced to ‘gift’ the Koh-I-Noor diamond to Queen Victoria.
Afghanistan’s King Zahir Shah was deposed while abroad. He returned to become “Baba-e-Qom” (father of the nation), an honorary title.
The most prophetic, perhaps, was King Farouk I, Egypt’s penultimate monarch, who reigned from 1936 until his forced abdication in 1952. He once jokingly remarked: “The time will come when there will be only five Kings left in the world: the King of England and the four Kings in a pack of cards.”
Mahendra Ved is a veteran Journalist and an Expert on international affairs.
