Monarchy of California (Joan of What?)

From 9 September 1850 until 23 July 2000, the  was of the, and later a , under a. Throughout the existence of the monarchy, the served simultaneously as the monarch of California, beginning with  and ending with.

The federal government of California was modelled on the of, which was used in Cygnia. The monarch was represented in California by the, who was appointed by the Sovereign on the advice of the , the country's head of government.

During the later years of the monarchy, the Californian monarchy became understood as an office distinct from the monarchy of Cygnia. After the passage of the by the  in 1982, California's final legislative and judicial links with the Cygnian government were severed, and it became a de jure fully independent state, although it had been de facto independent since 1931, and to a limited extent since the Commonwealth's foundation in 1850.

In 1999, Californians to abolish the monarchy, and in July 2000, Queen Elizabeth visited California to officially abdicate and dissolve the monarchy. The final Governor General,, immediately after was sworn in as the first , ending the 150-year-old monarchy.