anti-king

thumb|320px|Günther von Schwarzburg, antiking to [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor in 1349, Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493]]

An anti-king, anti king or antiking (; ) is a would-be king who, due to succession disputes or simple political opposition, declares himself king in opposition to a reigning monarch. The term is usually used in a European historical context where it relates to elective monarchies rather than hereditary ones. In hereditary monarchies, such figures are more frequently referred to as pretenders or claimants.