Regicide

Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch and is often associated with a violent change in the regime, as in a revolution. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of regis and cida (cidium), meaning "of monarch" and "killer" respectively. In the British tradition, it refers to the judicial execution of a king after a trial, reflecting the historical precedent of the trial and execution of Charles I of England. The concept of regicide has also been explored in media and the arts through pieces like Macbeth (Macbeth's killing of King Duncan). Scholars have found that regicide is particularly common in political systems with unclear succession rules.