What is the title of the final volume of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings?

The final volume of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is titled The Return of the King.

The book was published in 1955 as the third volume of the work, following The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. Its story covers the final struggle against Sauron, the destruction of the One Ring, Aragorn’s accession and the closing stages of the War of the Ring.

The title primarily refers to Aragorn, the heir of Isildur, who returns to claim the throne of Gondor. Tolkien originally considered different arrangements for publishing the work, and he viewed The Lord of the Rings as one long novel rather than three independent novels.

The title can cause a minor bibliographic confusion: some editions divide the complete narrative differently, and the book contains multiple appendices after the main story. Nevertheless, The Return of the King is the standard title of the third volume.