A kingdom without a king: the strange reality of Hungary's interwar regency

Countries & Cities · Published 29 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Between 1920 and 1946, Hungary was a kingdom that lacked a monarch. Ruled by Admiral Miklós Horthy, the nation functioned as a conservative, nationalist regency. Despite its formal title, the state was a rump territory defined by the loss of its historical lands and a deep, persistent resentment.

Following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and a brief communist interlude, Hungary was restored as a constitutional monarchy in 1920. However, the Allies blocked any return of the Habsburgs, leading to the appointment of Miklós Horthy as Regent. Horthy, the former commander of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, wielded powers akin to an absolute monarch, including the ability to dissolve parliament and appoint prime ministers. Although he officially represented the monarchy, he actively prevented King Charles IV from reclaiming the throne in 1921, eventually nullifying the Habsburgs' rights entirely.

The regime was defined by its 'nationalist Christian' ideology, which prioritized social status and traditionalism while fiercely opposing liberalism, socialism, and modernity. This created a stark divide between the sophisticated, urban life of Budapest and the extreme poverty of the rural countryside. While the government glorified the past, it was also obsessed with revising the 1920 Treaty of Trianon, which had stripped Hungary of 72% of its territory and 58% of its population. This revisionist foreign policy eventually aligned the country with Nazi Germany, leading to its participation as an Axis power in World War II.

Internal politics were marred by antisemitism and authoritarianism. The 1920 numerus clausus law restricted Jewish university enrollment, and later 'Jewish Laws' scapegoated the community for economic failures. By 1944, as the tide of war turned, Horthy attempted to negotiate with the Allies, resulting in a German occupation and the installation of the extremist Arrow Cross Party. The kingdom effectively became a puppet state until the Soviet Union arrived, leading to the proclamation of a republic in 1946. Throughout this era, the country remained a society obsessed with rank, where the nobility and civil servants maintained a rigid, semi-feudal order that struggled to reconcile its imperial past with its diminished reality.

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