interregnum

Two periods in British history when the nation was temporarily without a monarch. The first interregnum covers both the Commonwealth and the Protectorate, starting with the execution of Charles I on 30 January 1649 until the Restoration of the monarchy on 8 May 1660, although Charles II always dated his reign from 1649. The second interregnum occurred at the time of the Glorious Revolution, in the period between the flight of James II on 22 December 1688 and the accession of William and Mary to the English throne on 23 February 1689.