Abdication

The abdication of the sovereign is the formal renunciation of the throne. It typically takes place in the spring and is usually only performed by graduating or leaving sovereigns because the tenure of the Crown lasts from election until the termination of undergraduate studies.

There are two main types of abdication: ceremonial abdication, and unplanned abdications.

Ceremonial Abdications
Ceremonial abdications occur in the spring semester, and are planned events surrounding the final academic term of a sovereign or sovereigns. Ceremonial abdications involve the passing on of administrative duties to regents during a period called an interregnum, or ''regency. ''During this time, the sovereigns continue to retain dance and peerage duties until the Coronation, when all royal authority is transferred to their successors for the year in which they will no longer be present in the undergraduate community.

Unplanned Abdications
All other abdications are considered unplanned abdications. If a sovereign abdicates for any reason in a manner outside the expected ceremonial abdication, an interregnum is initiated and preparations for the election and coronation of a successor are made immediately. These "emergency" coronations are typically of far less grandeur and pomp than a planned coronation, but hold the same constitutional significance. The constitutional procedure and timeline mirror that of ceremonial abdications.