Abdication

The abdication of Napoleon Bonaparte occurred in 1814.

Abdication is like retirement.

The royal who wasn’t supposed to become queen at all, sat on the throne for 70 years following the death in 1952 of her father, George VI, who himself assumed the throne only because of the abdication by his brother, King Edward VIII in 1936.

The monarch's abdication was a shock to the nation.

abdication of the throne, government, power, authority

the king’s abdication

So yes: the abdication was when the Windsors opened the gate. After that it was – and will be – whack-a-mole. Every crisis will draw significant numbers of people out who would ask why you couldn’t cut off whoever was displeasing them in that moment.