Monarchy

{{Short description|Form of government ruled by a monarch, or a polity with this form of government}} {{Other uses}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2016}} {{CS1 config|mode=cs1}} {{Monarchism}}

A '''monarchy''' is a hereditary form of government in which political power is legally passed on to the family members of the monarch, a head of state who rules for life.<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=Spellman | first1=W. M. | title=Monarchies 1000-2000 | date=2001 | publisher=Reaktion Books | isbn=978-1-86189-087-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MRbExiEuYPsC&q=hereditary&pg=PA15 }}</ref> While monarchs gain their power depending on specific succession laws, they can also gain their authority via election.<ref>{{Cite episode | title = The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0010f8z | access-date = 29 March 2023 | series = In Our Time | series-link = In Our Time (radio series) | network = BBC Radio 4 | date = 14 October 2021}}</ref>

Monarchies have historically been a common form of government. Nearly half of all independent states at the start of the 19th century were monarchies.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Inata |first=Kana |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/61528/chapter/536674476 |title=Monarchies in the Contemporary World: Born to Rule or Bound to Fade? |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2025 |chapter=2. What Do We Know about Monarchies?}}</ref> After reaching a peak in the middle of the 19th century, the proportion of monarchies in the world has steadily declined.<ref name=":4" /> Republics replaced many monarchies, notably at the end of World War I and World War II.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{cite book | title=Political Systems, Structures, and Functions | date=June 2012 | publisher=Britannica Educational | isbn=978-1-61530-747-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3fScAAAAQBAJ&dq=%22decline%20of%20monarchies%22%20%2219th%20and%2020th%22&pg=PP1 }}</ref><ref name="Kimizuka">{{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>

There are conventionally two types of monarchy: absolute monarchy and constitutional monarchy.<ref name=":4" /> Absolute monarchies, of which there are approximately twelve, are governed as autocracies.<ref name=":4" /> Most of the modern monarchies are constitutional monarchies, retaining under a constitution unique legal and ceremonial roles for monarchs exercising limited or no political power, similar to heads of state in a parliamentary republic.<ref name="Kimizuka" />

{{As of | 2025}}, forty-three sovereign nations in the world have a monarch, including fifteen Commonwealth realms that share King Charles III as their head of state. Other than that, there is a range of sub-national monarchical entities.

==Etymology== {{further|King (title)|Rex (title)|Realm}} The word ''monarch'' first appeared in English in the mid-15th century as monark, meaning "a supreme governor for life, a sole or autocratic ruler of a state." It comes from the Old French monarche (14th century, Modern French monarque) and directly from the Late Latin monarcha, which in turn derives from the Greek monarkhēs, meaning "one who rules alone" (see monarchy).<ref>{{cite web | title=Search 'monarch' on etymonline | url=https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=monarch |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251227222523/https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=monarch |archive-date=2025-12-27}}</ref> The term ''monarchy'' dates back to the mid-14th century, when it referred to a kingdom or territory ruled by a monarch, and by the late 14th century it also meant rule by a single person with supreme power. It comes from Old French monarchie (13th century), meaning "sovereignty" or "absolute power," which was borrowed from Late Latin monarchia and ultimately from Greek monarkhia, "absolute rule," literally "ruling of one," from monos ("alone") and arkhein ("to rule").<ref>{{cite web | title=Monarchy - Etymology, Origin & Meaning | url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/monarchy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251228053727/https://www.etymonline.com/word/monarchy |archive-date=2025-12-28}}</ref>

==History== [[File:Sumerian King List, 1800 BC, Larsa, Iraq.jpg|thumb|upright|The Weld-Blundell Prism, inscribed with the Sumerian King List]] The similar form of societal hierarchy known as chiefdom or tribal kingship is prehistoric. Chiefdoms provided the concept of state formation, which started with civilizations such as Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt and the Indus Valley civilization.<ref name="Kottak1991">{{cite book|author=Conrad Phillip Kottak|title=Cultural Anthropology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_NLtAAAAMAAJ|year=1991|publisher=McGraw-Hill|isbn=978-0-07-035615-3|page=124}}</ref> In some parts of the world, chiefdoms became monarchies.<ref name="BoahenAjayi1986">{{cite book|author1=A. Adu Boahen|author2=J. F. Ade Ajayi|author3=Michael Tidy|title=Topics in West African History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xLoKAQAAIAAJ|year=1986|publisher=Longman Group|isbn=978-0-582-58504-1|page=19}}</ref> Some of the oldest recorded and evidenced monarchies were those of Narmer, Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt {{Circa|3100 BCE}}, and Enmebaragesi, a Sumerian King of Kish {{Circa|2600 BCE}}.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Bunson | first1=Margaret | title=Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt | date=May 14, 2014 | publisher=Infobase | isbn=978-1-4381-0997-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-6EJ0G-4jyoC&dq=narmer+egypt&pg=PA262 }}</ref><ref> Jacobsen The Sumerian King List pp. 82-85</ref>

From the earliest records, monarchs could be directly hereditary, while others were elected from among eligible members. With the Egyptian, Chinese, Indian,<ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=t6A4DwAAQBAJ Political Violence in Ancient India]'', p.23, "In later Vedic texts, the frequency of the word "dharma" decreased and its connotations shrank; it came to be especially connected with kingship and with the royal consecration ritual known as the rājasūya."</ref> Mesopotamian, Sudanic,<ref>{{cite book|title=Traditions and encounters|quote=By about 5000 b.c.e. many Sudanic peoples had formed small monarchies ruled by kings who were viewed as divine or semidivine beings.|page=63|publisher=McGraw–Hill Education}}</ref> reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion, but not others, the monarch held sacral functions directly connected to sacrifice and was sometimes identified with having divine ancestry, possibly establishing a notion of the divine right of kings.

Polybius identified monarchy as one of three "benign" basic forms of government (monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy), opposed to the three "malignant" basic forms of government (tyranny, oligarchy, and ochlocracy). The monarch in classical antiquity is often identified as "king" or "ruler" (translating ''archon'', ''basileus'', ''rex'', ''tyrannos'', etc.) or as "queen" (''basilinna'', ''basilissa'', ''basileia'' or ''basilis'';<ref>Liddell & Scott</ref> ''regina''). Polybius originally understood monarchy as a component of republics, but since antiquity monarchy has contrasted with forms of republic, where executive power is wielded by free citizens and their assemblies.<ref>{{cite web | title=Polybius • Histories — Book 5 | url=http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/roman/texts/polybius/5*.html }}</ref> The 4th-century BCE Hindu text ''Arthasastra'' laid out the ethics of monarchism.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Arthasastra: Selections from the Classic Indian Work on Statecraft|date=September 15, 2012|publisher=Hackett Publishing|isbn=9781603849029}}</ref> In antiquity, some monarchies were abolished in favour of such assemblies in Rome (Roman Republic, 509 BCE), and Athens (Athenian democracy, 500 BCE). thumb|left|Map of monarchies and republics in Europe, 1648 By the 17th century, monarchy was challenged by evolving parliamentarism e.g. through regional assemblies (such as the Icelandic Commonwealth, the Swiss ''Landsgemeinde'' and later ''Tagsatzung'', and the High Medieval communal movement linked to the rise of medieval town privileges) and by modern anti-monarchism e.g. of the temporary overthrow of the English monarchy by the Parliament of England in 1649, the American Revolution of 1776 and the French Revolution of 1789. One of many opponents of that trend was Elizabeth Dawbarn, whose anonymous ''Dialogue between Clara Neville and Louisa Mills, on Loyalty'' (1794) features "silly Louisa, who admires liberty, Tom Paine and the US, [who is] lectured by Clara on God's approval of monarchy" and on the influence women can exert on men.<ref>''The Feminist Companion to Literature in English'', ed. Virginia Blain, Patricia Clements and Isobel Grundy, (London: Batsford, 1990), p. 272.</ref>

Since then advocacy of the abolition of a monarchy or respectively of republics has been called republicanism, while the advocacy of monarchies is called monarchism. As such republics have become the opposing and alternative form of government to monarchy,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UTkBAAAAYAAJ&q=%22res%20publica%22%20republic%20democracy%20monarch&pg=PA640|title=The Standard Library Cyclopedia of Political, Constitutional, Statistical and Forensic Knowledge|last=Bohn|first=H. G.|year=1849|pages=640|language=en|quote=A ''republic'', according to the modern usage of the word, signifies a political community which is not under monarchical government ... in which one person does not possess the entire sovereign power.}}</ref><ref name="M-W">{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/republic|title=Definition of Republic|website=Merriam-Webster Dictionary|language=en-US|access-date=2017-02-18|quote=a government having a chief of state who is not a monarch ... a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dictionary.com/browse/republic|title=The definition of republic|website=Dictionary.com|access-date=2017-02-18|quote=a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them. ... a state in which the head of government is not a monarch or other hereditary head of state.}}</ref> despite some having seen infringements through lifelong or even hereditary heads of state, such as in North Korea.<ref name="Hermit">{{cite web|url=http://nautilus.org/publications/books/dprkbb/negotiating/dprk-briefing-book-korean-monarch-kim-jong-il-technocrat-ruler-of-the-hermit-kingdom-facing-the-challenge-of-modernity/ |title=Korean Monarch Kim Jong Il: Technocrat Ruler of the Hermit Kingdom Facing the Challenge of Modernity |publisher=The Nautilus Institute |access-date=18 December 2007 |last=Mansourov |first=Alexandre |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130922040313/http://nautilus.org/publications/books/dprkbb/negotiating/dprk-briefing-book-korean-monarch-kim-jong-il-technocrat-ruler-of-the-hermit-kingdom-facing-the-challenge-of-modernity/ |archive-date=22 September 2013 }}</ref> Historically there have also been monarchical republics, such as the Dutch Republic, and republican monarchies, such as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden during the Age of Liberty (1719–1772).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nordin |first=Jonas |title=Monarchy in the Age of Liberty: Royal power and public life in eighteenth-century Sweden |publisher=Lund University Press |year=2026 |isbn=978-91-98740-4-4-8 |pages=2–6 |doi=10.7765/9789198740448}}</ref>

With the rise of republicanism, a diverse division between republicanism developed in the 19th-century politics (such as anti-monarchist radicalism) and conservative or even reactionary monarchism. In the following 20th century many countries abolished the monarchy and became republics, especially in the wake of World War I and World War II.

Today forty-three sovereign nations in the world have a monarch, including fifteen Commonwealth realms that have Charles III as the head of state. Most modern monarchs are constitutional monarchs, who retain a unique legal and ceremonial role but exercise limited or no political power under a constitution. Many are so-called crowned republics, surviving particularly in small states.<ref>W. Veenendaal, "Monarchy and Democracy in Small States: An Ambiguous Symbiosis," in S. Wolf, ed., ''State Size Matters: Politik und Recht I'm Kontext von Kleinstaatlichkeit und Monarchie'' (Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 2016), pp. 183–198, {{doi|10.1007/978-3-658-07725-9_9}}, {{ISBN|978-3-658-07724-2|}}.</ref>

In some nations, however, such as Morocco, Qatar, Liechtenstein, and Thailand, the hereditary monarch has more political influence than any other single source of authority in the state.<ref>{{cite web | title=Seven myths about democracy in Morocco | url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/north-africa-west-asia/seven-myths-about-democracy-in-morocco/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260109051547/https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/north-africa-west-asia/seven-myths-about-democracy-in-morocco/ |archive-date=2026-01-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=Thailand's king seeks to bring back absolute monarchy | newspaper=The Economist | url=https://www.economist.com/briefing/2020/10/14/thailands-king-seeks-to-bring-back-absolute-monarchy }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title=Qatar - Politics, Economy, Society | Britannica | encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica | url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Qatar/Government-and-society }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last1=Bertolini | first1=Elisa | editor-first1=Laura | editor-last1=Hood | title=Europe's microstates: The medieval monarchies that survive in our midst | date=December 23, 2024 | doi=10.64628/AB.qaqpc5xh5 | url=https://theconversation.com/europes-microstates-the-medieval-monarchies-that-survive-in-our-midst-245328 }}</ref>

According to a 2020 study, monarchy arose as a system of governance because of an efficiency in governing large populations and expansive territories during periods when coordinating such populations was difficult. The authors argue that monarchy declined as an efficient regime type with innovations in communications and transportation technology, as the efficiency of monarchy relative to other regime types declined.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gerring |first1=John |last2=Wig |first2=Tore |last3=Veenendaal |first3=Wouter |last4=Weitzel |first4=Daniel |last5=Teorell |first5=Jan |last6=Kikuta |first6=Kyosuke |date=2020 |title=Why Monarchy? The Rise and Demise of a Regime Type |url=http://urn.nb.no/URN:NBN:no-87297 |journal=Comparative Political Studies |language=en |volume=54 |issue=3–4 |pages=585–622 |doi=10.1177/0010414020938090 |issn=0010-4140 |s2cid=225612565 |hdl-access=free |hdl=10852/84589}}</ref>

According to a 2023 study, monarchy has persisted as a regime type because it can accommodate demands for democratization better than other forms of autocratic rule: "Monarchies can democratize without destabilizing the leadership through transitioning to a democratic constitutional monarchy. The prospect of retaining the ruler appeals to opposition groups who value both democracy and stability, but it also has implications for their ability to organize and sustain mass protest."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lawrence |first=Adria |date=2023 |title=Why Monarchies Still Reign |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/886932 |journal=Journal of Democracy |language=en |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=47–61 |doi=10.1353/jod.2023.0017 |s2cid=258184108 |issn=1086-3214|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Characteristics and role== [[File:Allan Ramsay - King George III in coronation robes - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright|King George III of the United Kingdom, coronation portrait by Allan Ramsay, 1762]] Monarchies are associated with hereditary reign, in which monarchs reign for life and the responsibilities and power of the position pass to their child or another member of their family when they die. Most monarchs, both historically and in the modern-day, have been born and brought up within a royal family, the centre of the royal household and court. Growing up in a royal family (called a dynasty when it continues for several generations), future monarchs are often trained for their expected future responsibilities as monarch.<ref>{{Cite web |last=UCL |date=2021-11-08 |title=What is the role of the monarchy? |url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/explainers/what-role-monarchy |access-date=2023-02-28 |website=The Constitution Unit |language=en}}</ref>

Different systems of hereditary succession have been used, such as proximity of blood, primogeniture, and agnatic seniority (Salic law). While most monarchs in history have been male, many female monarchs also have reigned.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Beemer |first=Cristy |date=2011 |title=The Female Monarchy: A Rhetorical Strategy of Early Modern Rule |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23064026 |journal=Rhetoric Review |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=258–274 |doi=10.1080/07350198.2011.581937 |jstor=23064026 |s2cid=144455583 |issn=0735-0198|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The term "queen regnant" refers to a ruling monarch, while "queen consort" refers to the wife of a reigning king. Rule may be hereditary in practice without being considered a monarchy: there have been some family dictatorships (and also political families) in many democracies.

Some monarchies are not hereditary. In an elective monarchy, monarchs are elected or appointed by some body (an electoral college) for life or a defined period. Four elective monarchies exist today: Cambodia, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates are 20th-century creations, while one (the papacy) is ancient.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Definition of an Elective Monarchy|url=https://www.theclassroom.com/definition-elective-monarchy-5221.html|access-date=2021-08-30|website=The Classroom {{!}} Empowering Students in Their College Journey|language=en}}</ref>

A self-proclaimed monarchy is established when a person claims the monarchy without any historical ties to a previous dynasty. There are examples of republican leaders who have proclaimed themselves monarchs: Napoleon I of France declared himself Emperor of the French and ruled the First French Empire after having held the title of First Consul of the French Republic for five years from his seizing power in the coup of 18 Brumaire. President Jean-Bédel Bokassa of the Central African Republic declared himself Emperor of the Central African Empire in 1976.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/the-central-african-republic-where-emperor-bokassa-ruled-with-violence-and-greed-1.1750805|title=The Central African Republic, where Emperor Bokassa ruled with violence and greed|last=Marlowe|first=Lara|newspaper=The Irish Times|language=en|access-date=2019-02-05}}</ref> Yuan Shikai, the first formal President of the Republic of China, crowned himself Emperor of the short-lived "Empire of China" a few years after the Republic of China was founded.<ref>Spence, Jonathan D. (1999) ''The Search for Modern China'', W.W. Norton and Company. p. 274. {{ISBN|0-393-97351-4}}.</ref>

===Powers of the monarch=== [[File:Salman of Saudi Arabia - 2020 (49563590728) (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|King Salman of Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarch.]] * In an absolute monarchy, the monarch rules with absolute power over the state and government.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Konnert | first1=Mark | title=Early Modern Europe: The Age of Religious War, 1559-1715 | date=23 August 2008 | publisher=University of Toronto Press | isbn=978-1-4426-0004-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t6TXB9RbwbYC&dq=absolute%20monarchy&pg=PA165 }}</ref> * In a constitutional monarchy, the monarch's power is subject to a constitution. In most current constitutional monarchies, the monarch is mainly a ceremonial figurehead symbol of national unity and state continuity. ** Semi-constitutional monarchies exhibit fewer parliamentary powers or simply monarchs with more authority.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ecpr.eu/Events/PaperDetails.aspx?PaperID=30190&EventID=95 |title=Semi presidential systems and semi constitutional monarchies: A historical assessment of executive power-sharing |last1=Anckar|first1=Carsten|last2=Akademi|first2=Åbo |date=2016|publisher=European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) |access-date=2019-08-14}}</ref> The term "parliamentary monarchy" may be used to differentiate from semi-constitutional monarchies.

==Succession== ===Hereditary monarchies=== [[File:European monarchies by succession.svg|thumb|alt=Political Map of Europe with Monarchical states colour-coded |Current European monarchies by succession method: {{legend|#018571|Absolute primogeniture|size=94%}} {{legend|#dfc27d|Male-preference cognatic primogeniture, to be changed to absolute primogeniture|size=94%}} {{legend|#a6611a|Male-preference cognatic primogeniture|size=94%}} {{legend|#000000|Agnatic primogeniture|size=94%}} {{legend|#f5f5f5|Elective|size=94%}}]] In a hereditary monarchy, the position of monarch is inherited according to a statutory or customary order of succession, usually within one royal family tracing its origin through a historical dynasty or bloodline. This usually means that the heir to the throne is known well in advance of becoming monarch to ensure a smooth succession.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kurrild-Klitgaard|first=Peter|date=2000|title=The constitutional economics of autocratic succession|journal=Public Choice|volume=103|issue=1/2|pages=63–84|doi=10.1023/A:1005078532251|s2cid=154097838|issn=0048-5829}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Kurrild-Klitgaard|first=Peter|title=The Encyclopedia of Public Choice |chapter=Autocratic Succession |date=2004|volume=103|pages=358–362|doi=10.1007/978-0-306-47828-4_39|isbn=978-0-306-47828-4}}</ref>

Primogeniture, in which the eldest child of the monarch is first in line to become monarch, is the most common system in hereditary monarchy. The order of succession is usually affected by rules on gender. Historically "agnatic primogeniture" or "patrilineal primogeniture" was favoured, that is inheritance according to seniority of birth among the sons of a monarch or head of family, with sons and their male issue inheriting before brothers and their male issue, to the total exclusion of females and descendants through females from succession.<ref name="NF T">[https://runeberg.org/nfcj/0023.html Tronföljd], ''Nordisk familjebok'', vol. 30 (1920)</ref> This complete exclusion of females from dynastic succession is commonly referred to as application of the Salic law. Another variation on agnatic primogeniture was the so-called semi-Salic law, or "agnatic-cognatic primogeniture", which allowed women to succeed only at the extinction of all the male descendants in the male line of the particular legislator.<ref name="NF T">[https://runeberg.org/nfcj/0023.html Tronföljd], ''Nordisk familjebok'', vol. 30 (1920)</ref><ref>SOU 1977:5 ''Kvinnlig tronföljd'', p. 16.</ref>

Before primogeniture was enshrined in European law and tradition, kings would often secure the succession by having their successor (usually their eldest son) crowned during their own lifetime, so for a time there would be two kings in coregency—a senior king and a junior king. Examples were Henry the Young King of England and the early Direct Capetians in France. Sometimes, however, primogeniture can operate through the female line. [[File:NICAISE Leopold ANV.jpg|left|thumb|upright|King Leopold I, an elected founder of the hereditary monarchy of Belgium]] In 1980, Sweden became the first monarchy to declare equal (full cognatic) primogeniture, meaning that the eldest child of the monarch, whether female or male, ascends to the throne.<ref>SOU 1977:5 ''Kvinnlig tronföljd'', p. 16.</ref> Other kingdoms (such as the Netherlands in 1983, Norway in 1990, Belgium in 1991, Denmark in 2009, and Luxembourg<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-15489544 "Overturning Centuries of Royal Rules"] (2011-10-28). ''BBC.com''. Retrieved 2018-11-02.</ref> in 2011) have since followed suit. The United Kingdom adopted absolute (equal) primogeniture (subject to the claims of existing heirs) on April 25, 2013, following agreement by the prime ministers of the sixteen Commonwealth Realms at the 22nd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-32073399|title=New rules on royal succession come into effect|work=BBC News|date=March 26, 2015|access-date=1 August 2019}}</ref>

Other hereditary systems of succession included tanistry, which is semi-elective and gives weight to merit and Agnatic seniority. In some monarchies, such as Saudi Arabia, succession to the throne first passes to the monarch's next eldest brother, and only after that to the monarch's children (agnatic seniority). On June 21, 2017, King Salman of Saudi Arabia revolted against this style of monarchy and elected his son to inherit the throne.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Chara|first=Jihan|date=2018-10-01|title=Saudi Arabia: A prince's revolution|journal=European View|language=en|volume=17|issue=2|pages=227–234|doi=10.1177/1781685818803525|issn=1781-6858|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Is Power Trumping Legitimacy in Saudi Arabia? | date=April 20, 2022 | url=https://arabcenterdc.org/resource/is-power-trumping-legitimacy-in-saudi-arabia/ }}</ref>

===Elective monarchies===

{{see also|Jure uxoris}} [[File:Pope Francis Korea Haemi Castle 19.jpg|thumb|Pope Francis, Sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2013 to 2025]] In an elective monarchy, monarchs are elected or appointed by somebody (an electoral college) for life or a defined period, but then reign like any other monarch. There is no popular vote involved in elective monarchies, as the elective body usually consists of a small number of eligible people. Historical examples of elective monarchy are the Holy Roman Emperors (chosen by prince-electors but often coming from the same dynasty) and the free election of kings of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. For example, Pepin the Short (father of Charlemagne) was elected King of the Franks by an assembly of Frankish leading men;<ref>{{Cite book |first=John |last=Middleton |title=World monarchies and dynasties |date=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-7656-8050-1 |oclc=920786632}}</ref> nobleman Stanisław August Poniatowski of Poland was an elected king, as was Frederick I of Denmark. Gallic and Germanic peoples also had elective monarchies.

The Pope of the Roman Catholic Church (who rules as Sovereign of the Vatican City State) is elected for life by the College of Cardinals.<ref>{{cite web | title=How is a New Pope Chosen? | USCCB | url=https://www.usccb.org/offices/public-affairs/how-new-pope-chosen }}</ref> In the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, the Prince and Grand Master is elected for life tenure by the Council Complete of State from within its members. In Malaysia, the federal king, called the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or Paramount Ruler, is elected for a five-year term from among and by the hereditary rulers (mostly sultans) of nine of the federation's constitutive states, all on the Malay peninsula.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Nohlen | first1=Dieter | last2=Grotz | first2=Florian | last3=Hartmann | first3=Christof | title=Elections in Asia and the Pacific : A Data Handbook: Volume II: South East Asia, East Asia, and the South Pacific | date=November 15, 2001 | publisher=Oxford University Press | isbn=978-0-19-153042-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qQ1REAAAQBAJ&dq=yang%20di%20pertuan%20agong%20election&pg=PA149 }}</ref> The United Arab Emirates also chooses its federal leaders from among emirs of the federated states. Furthermore, Andorra has a unique constitutional arrangement as one of its heads of state is the President of the French Republic in the form of a Co-Prince.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Gendźwiłł | first1=Adam | last2=Kjaer | first2=Ulrik | last3=Steyvers | first3=Kristof | title=The Routledge Handbook of Local Elections and Voting in Europe | date=February 27, 2022 | publisher=Routledge | isbn=978-1-000-53122-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hLdZEAAAQBAJ&dq=andorra+king+election&pg=PT240 }}</ref> In New Zealand, the Maori King, head of the Kingitanga Movement, is elected by a council of Maori elders at the funeral of their predecessor, which is also where their coronation takes place. All of the Heads of the Maori King Movement have been descendants of the first Maori King, Potatau Te Wherowhero, who was elected and became King in June 1858.

===Usurpation=== {{main|Usurper}}

Another way monarchs have historically gained royal power is by seizing it, either by force or other illegitimate measures. Historically usurpation has usually happened via a coup or by fraudulently claiming be a descendant of a ruler that they may or may not be related to. According to Herodotus, this was done by someone impersonating Smerdis in order to seize the throne of Cyrus the Great after his death.<ref>Herodotus, ''The Histories'' Book 3, [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Herodotus/3c*.html 61–79]</ref>

===Other ways of succession=== {{see also|Order of succession|Self-proclaimed monarchy|Legitimacy (political)}}

====By accession==== {{See also|Enthronement}} The legitimacy and authorities of monarchs are often proclaimed and recognized through occupying and being invested with insignia, seats, deeds and titles, like in the course of coronations.

This is especially employed to legitimize and settle disputed successions, changes in ways of succession, status of a monarch (e.g. as in the case of the ''privilegium maius'' deed) or new monarchies altogether (e.g. as in the case of the coronation of Napoleon I).

====Succession crisis==== {{Main|Succession crisis}}

In cases of succession challenges, it can be instrumental for pretenders to secure or install legitimacy through the above, for example proof of accession like insignia, through treaties or a claim of a divine mandate to rule (e.g. by Hong Xiuquan and his Taiping Heavenly Kingdom).

== Current monarchies == {{Main article|List of current monarchs of sovereign states}}

Currently, there are several countries in the world with a monarch as head of state. They fall roughly into the following categories:

=== Commonwealth realms === King Charles III is, separately, monarch of fifteen Commonwealth realms (Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Australia, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland). They evolved out of the British Empire into fully independent states within the Commonwealth of Nations that retain the King as head of state.<ref>{{cite web | title=Realms and Commonwealth | website=The Royal Family | url=https://www.royal.uk/clarencehouse/features/realms-and-commonwealth }}</ref>

=== Other European constitutional monarchies === The Principality of Andorra, the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Norway, the Kingdom of Spain, and the Kingdom of Sweden are fully democratic states in which the monarch has a limited or largely ceremonial role.<ref name="FH">{{cite web | title=Andorra: Freedom in the World 2024 Country Report | url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/andorra/freedom-world/2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Belgium – EU country profile | European Union | url=https://european-union.europa.eu/principles-countries-history/eu-countries/belgium_en }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title=Denmark - Politics, Constitution, Monarchy | Britannica | encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica | url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Denmark/Political-process }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title=Spain | History, Map, Flag, Population, Currency, Climate, & Facts | Britannica | encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica | url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Spain }}</ref>

Andorra is unique among all existing monarchies, as it is a diarchy, with the co-princes being shared by the president of France and the bishop of Urgell.<ref name="FH"/>

===European semi-constitutional monarchies=== A semi-constitutional monarchy is a monarchy where the monarch rules according to a democratic constitution but still retains substantial powers. The Principality of Liechtenstein and the Principality of Monaco are European semi-constitutional monarchies.<ref>Bertolini, E. (2024, December 23). Europe’s microstates: The medieval monarchies that survive in our midst. The Conversation.</ref> For example, the 2003 Constitution referendum gave the Prince of Liechtenstein the power to veto any law that the ''Landtag'' (parliament) proposes, while the Landtag can veto any law that the Prince tries to pass.<ref>Bertolini, E. (2024, December 23). Europe’s microstates: The medieval monarchies that survive in our midst. The Conversation.</ref> The prince can appoint or dismiss any elective member or government employee. The prince of Monaco has simpler powers; he cannot appoint or dismiss any elective member or government employee to or from his or her post, but he can elect the minister of state, government council and judges.<ref>Bertolini, E. (2024, December 23). Europe’s microstates: The medieval monarchies that survive in our midst. The Conversation.</ref>

===Monarchies in the Muslim world=== The monarchies of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Brunei Darussalam, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the State of Kuwait, Malaysia, the Kingdom of Morocco, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates generally retain far more powers than their European or Commonwealth counterparts.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Jung | first1=Dietrich | title=Muslim History and Social Theory: A Global Sociology of Modernity | date=March 24, 2017 | publisher=Springer | isbn=978-3-319-52608-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aqR6DgAAQBAJ&dq=muslim%20monarchies&pg=PA40 }}</ref> Brunei, Oman, and Saudi Arabia are absolute monarchies;<ref>{{cite web | title=Not all monarchs have lost power. Here are a few countries where royals really rule | website=Los Angeles Times | date=May 4, 2019 | url=https://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-countries-where-monarchs-still-rule-20190503-story.html }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=A Visitor's Guide to Oman, the Middle East's Most Welcoming Absolute Monarchy | website=Vanity Fair | date=May 5, 2014 | url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/politics/2014/05/extremism-free-middle-east-oman }}</ref> Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and United Arab Emirates are classified as mixed, meaning there are representative bodies but the monarch retains most of his powers. Jordan, Malaysia, and Morocco are constitutional monarchies.

===East and Southeast Asian constitutional monarchies=== The Kingdom of Bhutan, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Kingdom of Thailand, and Japan are constitutional monarchies where the monarch has a limited or merely ceremonial role. Bhutan made the change in 2008.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Xavier |first=Constantino |date=2020-07-08 |title=Bhutan's democratic transition and ties to India |url=https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/07/08/bhutans-democratic-transition-and-ties-to-india/ |access-date=2022-04-16 |website=Brookings |language=en-US}}</ref> Cambodia had its own monarchy after independence from the French colonial empire, but it was deposed after the Khmer Rouge came into power. The monarchy was subsequently restored in the peace agreement of 1993. Thailand transitioned into a constitutional monarchy over the course of the 20th century. Japan has had a monarchy, an emperor, according to legend, since Emperor Jimmu (reigned 660–585 BCE), making it the world's oldest existing monarchy.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Cartwright |first1=Mark |title=Emperor of Japan |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Emperor_of_Japan/ |access-date=2022-04-16 |website=World History Encyclopedia |date=July 10, 2019 |language=en}}</ref> After their defeat in the Second World War, Japan was forced into limiting the power of the Emperor, giving almost all of it to the National Diet.

===Other monarchies=== Eswatini is unique among these monarchies, often being considered a diarchy: the King, or Ngwenyama, rules alongside his mother, the Ndlovukati, as dual heads of state.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1999-02-22 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/arbp.1999.36.issue-1 |journal=Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series |volume=36 |issue=1 |doi=10.1111/arbp.1999.36.issue-1 |issn=0001-9844|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=BTI 2022 Eswatini Country Report |url=https://bti-project.org/en/reports/country-report?isocode=SWZ&cHash=146c71974628ab13a493684f16c20c20 |access-date=2023-11-12 |website=BTI 2022 |language=en}}</ref> This was originally intended to provide a check on political power. The Ngwenyama, however, is considered the administrative head of state, while the Ndlovukati is considered the spiritual and national head of state, a position which more or less has become symbolic in recent years.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Thom |first1=Liezl |title=Princess Sikhanyiso Dlamini of Eswatini is looking to the future while embracing her roots |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/princess-sikhanyiso-dlamini-eswatini-future-embracing-roots/story?id=77224505 |access-date=8 August 2021 |work=ABC News |date=28 April 2021}}</ref>

The Pope is the absolute monarch of the Vatican City State (a separate entity from the Holy See) by virtue of his position as head of the Roman Catholic Church and Bishop of Rome; he is an elected rather than a hereditary ruler, and does not have to be a citizen of the territory prior to his election by the cardinals.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Marans |first=Noam E. |date=2015-04-09 |title=The Pope Francis Effect and Catholic-Jewish Relations |journal=Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations |volume=10 |issue=1 |doi=10.6017/scjr.v10i1.8659 |issn=1930-3777|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=Holy See (Vatican City) |date=2023-11-01 |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/holy-see-vatican-city/#government |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231102144936/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/holy-see-vatican-city/#government |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 2, 2023 |work=The World Factbook |access-date=2023-11-12 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en}}</ref>

In Samoa, the position of head of state is described in Part III of the 1960 Samoan constitution. At the time the constitution was adopted, it was anticipated that future heads of state would be chosen from among the four Tama a 'Aiga "royal" paramount chiefs. However, this is not required by the constitution, and, for this reason, Samoa can be considered a parliamentary republic rather than a constitutional monarchy. However, each member of the Samoan parliament, except for the two seats reserved for non-Samoans, must be a ''matai'', a member of the hereditary political system known as the Faʻamatai.<ref name="usp">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZUpmpeJz-8gC |title=New Politics in the South pacific |first= Jean |last=Drage |page=162 |year=1994 |publisher=Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific |isbn=9789820201156 |access-date=11 April 2010 }}</ref>

The ruling Kim family in North Korea (Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un) has been described as a ''de facto'' absolute monarchy<ref name=":0">Young W. Kihl, Hong Nack Kim. ''North Korea: The Politics of Regime Survival''. Armonk, New York, USA: M. E. Sharpe, Inc., 2006. Pp 56.</ref><ref name=":1">Robert A. Scalapino, Chong-Sik Lee. ''The Society''. University of California Press, 1972. Pp. 689.</ref><ref name=":2">Bong Youn Choy. A history of the Korean reunification movement: its issues and prospects. Research Committee on Korean Reunification, Institute of International Studies, Bradley University, 1984. Pp. 117.</ref> or a "hereditary dictatorship".<ref name="DPRKMonarch">{{Cite news |last=Sheridan |first=Michael |date=16 September 2007 |title=A tale of two dictatorships: The links between North Korea and Syria |work=The Times |location=London |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2452356.ece |url-status=dead |access-date=9 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080219000655/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2452356.ece |archive-date=19 February 2008}}</ref> In 2013, Clause 2 of Article 10 of the new edited Ten Fundamental Principles of the Korean Workers' Party states that the party and revolution must be carried "eternally" by the "Baekdu (Kim's) bloodline".<ref name=":3">[http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2013/08/13/2013081301558.html The Twisted Logic of the N.Korean Regime], Chosun Ilbo, 2013-08-13, Accessed date: 2017-01-11</ref> This though does not mean it is a ''de jure'' absolute monarchy, as the country's official name is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The al-Assad family, which ruled Syria from 1971 to 2024, was similarly categorised as such.<ref name="DPRKMonarch" />

== References == {{Reflist|30em}}

== External links == {{wiktionary|monarchy}} {{wiktionary|royalty}} {{commons category|Monarchy}} {{wikiquote}} {{Wikivoyage|Monarchies|Monarchies|travel information}} * [http://www.monarchy.net/ The Constitutional Monarchy Association] in the UK * {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Monarchy|short=x}} {{Wikivoyage|Kings and queens}} {{Monarchies}} {{Crowns}} {{Political philosophy}}

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