{{Short description|Title given to a male monarch}} {{Other uses}} {{pp-semi-indef}} [[File:Aachen Domschatz Bueste1.jpg|alt=|thumb|341x341px|Charlemagne or Charles the Great (748–814) was King of the Franks, King of the Lombards, and the first Holy Roman Emperor. Due to his military accomplishments and conquests, he has been called the "Father of Europe".]] {{Ranks of Nobility}}
'''King''' is a royal title given to a male monarch.<ref>The definition of [https://www.oed.com/dictionary/king_n?tl=true King] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250619125431/https://www.oed.com/dictionary/king_n?tl=true |date=2025-06-19 }} from the OED</ref> A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. In a modern context, the title may refer to the ruler of one of a number of modern monarchies (either absolute or constitutional).<ref>{{cite book | last1=Bogdanor | first1=Vernon | title=The Monarchy and the Constitution | date=1995 | publisher=Clarendon Press | isbn=978-0-19-829334-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mN6SzMefot4C&dq=monarchy&pg=PA1 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1=Kimizuka | first1=Naotaka | title=Constitutional Monarchy of the Twenty-First Century | date=July 2024 | publisher=Springer | isbn=978-981-97-4327-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3JUREQAAQBAJ&dq=constitutional+monarchies&pg=PA8 }}</ref> The title of ''king'' is used alongside other titles for monarchs: in the West, emperor, grand prince, prince, archduke, duke or grand duke, and in the Islamic world, malik, sultan, emir or hakim, among others.<ref name="pine">{{cite book | title=Titles: How the King became His Majesty | publisher=Barnes & Noble | author-link=L.G. Pine | last=Pine | first=L.G. | year=1992 | location=New York | page=[https://archive.org/details/titleshowkingbec0000pine/page/86 86] | isbn=978-1-56619-085-5 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/titleshowkingbec0000pine/page/86 }}</ref>
The term ''king'' may also refer to a king consort, a title that is sometimes given to the husband of a queen regnant, but the title of prince consort is more common.
==Etymology== {{Further|Rex (title)|Knyaz}} The word king traces back to late Old English ''cyning'', meaning “ruler” or “leader,” derived from Proto-Germanic ''kuningaz''. This root also gave rise to similar terms across other Germanic languages, such as Dutch ''koning'', Old Norse ''konungr'', Danish ''konge'', and German ''König''. The precise origin of "kuningaz" remains uncertain, but it may be linked to Old English cynn (“family, race”), suggesting that a king was originally viewed as the “leader of the kin” or “head of the people.” Another theory proposes that the term referred to one “of noble descent,” connecting kingship with divine or aristocratic lineage. Linguists and historians have long debated the social and ideological meanings behind this relationship between king and kin, though the linguistic connection is widely accepted.<ref>{{cite web | title=Search 'king' on etymonline | url=https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=king | access-date=2025-11-07 | archive-date=2025-11-03 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251103193922/https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=king | url-status=live }}</ref>
==Current kings== {{Further|List of current sovereign monarchs|List of current reigning monarchies|List of current constituent monarchs}} {{Monarchism}} Currently ({{as of|2023|lc=y}}), eighteen kings are recognized as the heads of state of sovereign states. Most of these kings serve as heads of state in constitutional monarchies. However, those ruling over absolute monarchies include the King of Saudi Arabia and the King of Eswatini.<ref>{{cite web | title=Saudi Arabia: Country Profile | url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/saudi-arabia | access-date=2025-12-10 | archive-date=2012-01-23 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120123035653/https://freedomhouse.org/country/saudi-arabia | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Africa's Eswatini, one of the last absolute monarchies, holds an election without political parties | website=Associated Press News | date=29 September 2023 | url=https://apnews.com/article/eswatini-elections-monarchy-king-democracy-dca9dc8e32bbd59cc908122c86814b8b }}</ref>{{sticky header}} {| class="wikitable sortable sticky-header" |- ! Sovereign state !Portrait !King !! Title !! House !Since !Monarchy |- | {{flag|Antigua and Barbuda}} | rowspan="15" |center|100px | rowspan="15" |Charles III (b. 14 November 1948) | {{lang|en|King}} | rowspan="15" |{{ubl|Windsor (official)|Glücksburg (agnatic)}} | rowspan="15" |8 September 2022 | rowspan="15" |Hereditary, constitutional |- | {{flag|Australia}} | {{lang|en|King}} |- | data-sort-value="Bahamas"|{{flag|The Bahamas}} | {{lang|en|King}} |- | {{flag|Belize}} | {{lang|en|King}} |- | {{flag|Canada}} | {{lang|en|King}}, {{lang|fr|Roi}} |- | {{flag|Grenada}} | {{lang|en|King}} |- | {{flag|Jamaica}} | {{lang|en|King}} |- | {{flag|Realm of New Zealand|name=New Zealand}} | {{lang|en|King}}, {{lang|mi|Kīngi}} |- | {{flag|Papua New Guinea}} | {{lang|en|King}} |- | {{flag|Saint Kitts and Nevis}} | {{lang|en|King}} |- | {{flag|Saint Lucia}} | {{lang|en|King}} |- | {{flag|Saint Vincent and the Grenadines}} | {{lang|en|King}} |- | {{flag|Solomon Islands}} | {{lang|en|King}} |- | {{flag|Tuvalu}} | {{lang|en|King}} |- | {{flag|United Kingdom}}|| {{lang|en|King}} |- | {{flagcountry|Bahrain}} | center|100px |Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa (b. 28 January 1950) || {{lang|ar|ملك}} ({{transliteration|ar|malik}}) || Khalifa |14 February 2002 |Hereditary, semi-constitutional |- | {{flagcountry|Belgium}} | center|100px |Philippe || {{lang|nl|Koning}}, {{lang|fr|Roi}}, {{lang|de|König}}|| Saxe-Coburg and Gotha |21 July 2013 |Hereditary, constitutional |- | {{flagcountry|Bhutan}} | center|100px |Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck || {{lang|dz|འབྲུག་རྒྱལ་པོ་}} ({{transliteration|dz|druk gyalpo}}) || Wangchuck |9 December 2006 |Hereditary, constitutional |- | {{flagcountry|Cambodia}} | center|100px |Norodom Sihamoni || {{lang|km|ស្ដេច}} ({{transliteration|km|sdac}}) || Norodom |14 October 2004 |Elective, constitutional |- | {{flagcountry|Danish Realm}} | center|100px |Frederik X |{{lang|da|Konge}} |{{ubl|Glücksburg (official)|Monpezat (agnatic)}} |14 January 2024 |Hereditary, constitutional |- | {{flagcountry|Eswatini}} | center|100px |Mswati III || {{lang|ss|Ngwenyama}}|| Dlamini |25 April 1986 |Hereditary, absolute |- | {{flagcountry|Jordan}} | center|100px |Abdullah II || {{lang|ar|ملك}} ({{transliteration|ar|malik}}) || Hashim |7 February 1999 |Hereditary, semi-constitutional |- | {{flagcountry|Lesotho}} | center|100px |Letsie III || {{lang|st|Morena}}, {{lang|en|King}}|| Moshesh |7 February 1996 |Hereditary, constitutional |- | {{flagcountry|Malaysia}} | center|100px |Ibrahim Iskandar |{{lang|zsm|Yang di-Pertuan Agong}} ({{Lang|zsm-Arab|يڠ دڤرتوان اݢوڠ}}) |Temenggong |31 January 2024 |Elective, constitutional |- | {{flagcountry|Morocco}} | center|100px |Mohammed VI || {{lang|ar|ملك}} ({{transliteration|ar|malik}}), {{lang|zgh|ⴰⴳⵍⵍⵉⴷ}} ({{transliteration|zgh|agllid}}) || Alawi |23 July 1999 |Hereditary, semi-constitutional |- | {{flagcountry|Kingdom of the Netherlands}} | center|133x133px |Willem-Alexander || {{lang|nl|Koning}}|| {{ubl|Orange-Nassau (official)|Amsberg (agnatic)}} |30 April 2013 |Hereditary, constitutional |- | {{flagcountry|Norway}} | center|100px |Harald V||{{lang|no|Konge}}|| Glücksburg |17 January 1991 |Hereditary, constitutional |- | {{flagcountry|Saudi Arabia}} | center|100px |Salman || {{lang|ar|ملك}} ({{transliteration|ar|malik}}) || Saud |23 January 2015 |Hereditary, absolute |- | {{flagcountry|Spain}} | center|100px |Felipe VI|| {{lang|es|Rey}} || Bourbon |19 June 2014 |Hereditary, constitutional |- | {{flagcountry|Sweden}} | center|100px |Carl XVI Gustaf|| {{lang|sv|Konung}}|| Bernadotte |15 September 1973 |Hereditary, constitutional |- | {{flagcountry|Thailand}} | center|100px |Vajiralongkorn (Rama X) || {{lang|th|กษัตริย์}} ({{transliteration|th|kasat}}) || Chakri |13 October 2016 |Hereditary, constitutional |- | {{flagcountry|Tonga}} | center|100px |Tupou VI || {{lang|to|Tu{{fakau'a}}i}}, {{lang|en|King}}|| Tupou |18 March 2012 |Hereditary, constitutional |}
==See also== <!-- Do not, under any circumstances, add more links to this list. It is large enough already and any subsequent edits will be reverted. --> {{div col|colwidth=10em}} *Anointing *Big man (anthropology) *Buddhist kingship *Client king *Coronation *Designation *Divine right of kings *Germanic kingship *Great King *High King *King consort *King of Kings *Petty king *Queen *Royal and noble ranks *Royal family *Sacred king *Tribal kingship *Khan *Archon *Basileus *{{Lang|sux|Lugal|italic=no}} *Kabaka *Mepe (title) *Malik/Melekh *Mwami *Negus *Oba *Raja *Yang di-Pertuan Agong *Rex (king) *Rí *Tlatoani *Shah *Tagavor {{div col end}}
==Notes== {{Reflist}}
==References== *{{cite book|editor-last1=Cannadine|editor-first1=David|editor-link1=David Cannadine|editor-last2=Price|editor-first2=Simon|editor-link2=Simon Price (classicist)|year=1987|title=Rituals of Royalty: Power and Ceremonial in Traditional Societies|url=https://archive.org/details/ritualsofroyalty0000unse|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-33513-2|lccn=86-29881}} *{{Cite book|last=Craughwell|first=Thomas J.|year=2009|title=5,000 Years of Royalty: Kings, Queens, Princes, Emperors & Tsars|url=https://archive.org/details/5000yearsofroyal0000crau|publisher=Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers|isbn=978-1-60376-189-5}} *{{cite book|last=Hani|first=Jean|author-link=Jean Hani|year=2011|title=Sacred Royalty: From the Pharaoh to the Most Christian King|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Joqu8GJsVbcC|publisher=The Matheson Trust|isbn=978-1-908092-05-2}}
==External links== {{Wiktionary|cyning}} *{{commons category-inline|Kings}} {{wikiquote}} *{{cite EB1911 |last=Phillip |first=Walter Alison |wstitle=King|author-link=Walter Alison Phillips|volume=15 |pages=805–806 |short=x}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Royal titles Category:Kings Category:Gendered occupations