Who would be Queen of Afghanistan today?

The Kingdom of Afghanistan existed between 1926 and 1973. Amanullah Khan was first Emir of Afghanistan from 1919 and then the first King of Afghanistan. The Kingdom operated under Salic law, which barred women from inheriting the throne. Thus, the Queens mentioned will always be Queen consorts. Any titles mentioned after the end of the monarchy are titular.

One of his wives, Soraya Tarzi, was thus the first Queen of Afghanistan. They had married on 30 August 1913 and had four sons and six daughters together. Her husband reigned as King from 1926 until he fled to India during the Afghan Civil War in 1929. They would spend the rest of their lives in exile.

Amanullah Khan was briefly succeeded by his brother. His wife was Khairiya Khanum Effendi, with whom he had several children. He abdicated after just three days and was airlifted out of Kabul to spend the rest of his life in exile.

He was followed by two contesting Kings. Habibullāh Kalakāni had fought against the previous two Kings during the Afghan Civil War. He remained King until 13 October 1929, when he was deposed. He was executed on 1 November 1929. He was unmarried and thus had no Queen. The other King was Ali Ahmad Khan, who was declared King twice in 1929 by influential clerics. He was married to Amanullah Khan’s sister, Princess Sahira Begum Siraj Al Banat, who was thus one of the queens of Afghanistan. Ali Ahmad Khan was defeated by his enemy Habibullāh Kalakāni and deposed on 3 July 1929. He was executed on 11 July 1929. It is unclear what happened to his wife.

Following the deposition of Habibullāh Kalakāni,  Mohammad Nadir Shah, who had led the forces against him, was hailed as the new King of Afghanistan. He was married to Mah Parwar Begum, and they had at least seven children together. Mohammad Nadir Shah reigned for four years. He was assassinated on 8 November 1933 at the age of 50. Mohammad Nadir Shah was succeeded by his 19-year-old son, Mohammad Zahir Shah.

Mohammad Zahir Shah had married Humaira Begum in 1931; she was also his first cousin. The couple went on to have eight children, although their eldest son died at the age of 9. Mohammad Zahir Shah managed to have a much longer reign than his predecessors. While he was away for medical treatment in 1973, his cousin Mohammad Daoud Khan staged a coup d’état, which established a republican government. He and his family would spend many years in exile. He was allowed to return to Afghanistan in 2002, but the monarchy was never reinstated. This means his wife, Humaira Begum, was the last Queen (consort) of Afghanistan.

The former King died in Kabul on 23 July 2007. His claim to the throne passed to his eldest surviving son, Ahmad Shah Khan, Crown Prince of Afghanistan. He had married Princess Khatul Begum, a granddaughter of Mohammad Nadir Shah, on 22 November 1961. They had two sons and a daughter together. They lived in relative obscurity in the United States. Princess Khatul Begum was thus the first titular Queen of Afghanistan. Her husband died on 4 June 2024.

His claim passed to his eldest son, Prince Muhammad Zahir Khan, who was born on 26 May 1964. He married Princess Oshila Begum and the couple has one daughter together, Princess Roxanne Khanum. This makes Princess Oshila Begum the current titular Queen of Afghanistan. As they have no son, his claim will eventually pass to his younger brother, Prince Muhammad Emel Khan, who is currently unmarried.