Monarchy

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. While monarchs gain their power depending on specific succession laws, they can also gain their authority via election.

thumb|300px|right|Diachronic map of the different empires of the modern era, during their existence.

official who holds the highest-ranked protocol position in a sovereign state

type of monarchy in which power is restricted by a constitution

thumb|St Edward's Crown (1661), used for the coronation of English monarchs and, from 1707, British monarchs, to the present day. A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, particularly in Commonwealth countries, as an abstract name for the monarchy itself (and, by extension, the state of which said monarch is head) as distinct from the individual who inhabits it (that is, The Crown). A specific type of cro

A monarch () is a head of state for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch usually exercises the highest authority and power in the state. Usually, a monarch either personally inherits the lawful right to exercise the state's sovereign rights (often referred to as the throne or the crown) or is selected by an established process from a family or cohort eligible to provide the nation's monarch. Alternatively, an individual may proclaim oneself monarch, or even usurp power, as many Ancient Greek tyrants did. If a young child is crowned the monarch, the

thumb|upright=1.2|Family photograph of the Imperial House of Japan, the world's oldest continuous royal dynasty since at least the [[5th century, with three generations (from left): Empress Michiko, Emperor Akihito, their son Emperor Naruhito and his consort Empress Masako, Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Akishino, and behind them their children (2021)|300x300px]]

ruler in Mongol and Turkic cultures, variously describing kings, princes, and governors

form of government in which the monarch has absolute power

thumb|233x233px|Pol Pot, leader of the [[Khmer Rouge, is widely regarded as one of the most brutal despots of the 20th century, responsible for the deaths of an estimated quarter of Cambodia's population.]] thumb|233x233px|Suharto, who ruled [[Indonesia from 1967 to 1998 under the 'New Order' regime, is regarded as a despot whose rise to power followed the 1965–66 anti-communist purges, during which an estimated half a million people were killed, and whose rule was marked by authoritarianism, repression, and endemic corruption.]]

An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalent to a principality in non-Muslim contexts.

monarchy in Europe (1282–1918)

A principality (or sometimes princedom) is a type of monarchical state or feudal territory ruled by a prince or princess. It can be either a sovereign state or a constituent part of a larger political entity. The term "principality" is often used to describe small monarchies, particularly those in Europe, where the ruler holds the title of prince or an equivalent.

thumb|A drawing of a throne, on a dais under a [[baldachin]] A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign (or viceroy) on state occasions; or the seat occupied by a pope or bishop on ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the monarchy itself, an instance of metonymy, and is also used in many expressions such as "the power behind the throne".

thumb|King Jie of Xia holding a Ji polearm and sitting on two ladies. thumb|Killing No Murder, cover page, 18th century reprint of 17th century English pamphlet written to inspire and Tyrannicide|make righteous the act of assassinating Oliver Cromwell

A dominion was a self-governing country within the British Empire and then the British Commonwealth of Nations, primarily in the first half of the 20th century. The dominions in 1926 were Australia, Canada, the Irish Free State, New Zealand, Newfoundland, and South Africa; in 1948 Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), and in 1947 India and Pakistan. In the years following the Second World War, the British Empire was refashioned into the more modern (and more post-colonial) Commonwealth of Nations (after which the former dominions were often referred to as the Old Commonwealth). By the time this transition w

upright=1.35|thumb|16th century Swedish regent Sten Sture the Younger|Stenonis Sture and wife [[Christina Gyllenstierna who both operated in strong resistance to Danish rule during the Kalmar Union]] upright=1.35|thumb|The oath of the provisional triumvirate|triumviral regents of the [[Empire of Brazil on behalf of the 5-year-old Emperor Pedro II in 1831, at the beginning of the Regency period.]] In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to execute the office of a monarch temporarily, essentially as a substitute ruler. Regencies may arise for a number of reasons, including the monarch b

thumb|upright=1.3|The coronation of Charles VII of France (1429), detail of the painting (1886–1890) by [[Jules Eugène Lenepveu]] thumb|The coronation of Charles XIV John|Charles XIV John of Sweden, by Evangelical-Lutheran archbishop [[Jacob Axelsson Lindblom (1818); detail of the painting by Per Krafft the Younger]] A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special vows by the new monarch, the investing

The Tetrarchy was the system instituted by Roman emperor Diocletian to govern the ancient Roman Empire by dividing it between two emperors, the augusti, and their junior colleagues and designated successors, the caesares. It was kept in place between AD 293 and 324.

A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess. In Western European tradition, the title of duke ranked among the highest nobility, generally just below the monarch and above counts or earls.

form of government

Padishah (; ) is a superlative sovereign title of Persian origin.

political and religious doctrine of the Emperor of China

An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next (coming from Latin inter-, "between" and rēgnum, "reign" [from rex, rēgis, "king"]), and the concepts of interregnum and regency therefore overlap. Historically, longer and heavier interregna have been typically accompanied by widespread unrest, civil and succession wars between warlords, and power vacuums filled by foreign invasions or the emergence of a new power.

marriage between people of unequal social rank, which prevents the passage of the husband's titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage

form of absolute monarchy or despotism inspired by the Enlightenment

political and religious doctrine of the legitimacy of monarchs

monarchy ruled by an elected monarch

A realm is a community or territory over which a sovereign rules. The term is commonly used to describe a monarchical or dynastic state. A realm may also be a subdivision within an empire, if it has its own monarch, e.g. the German Empire.

An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was common in much of Europe.

ordered list of individuals in line to take on a given position should the office become vacant

person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by death or a change in the rules of succession

legislative enactment

thumbnail|John Bull farts on an image of [[George III. 1798 print by the English caricaturist Richard Newton.]]

thumb|17th-century depiction of tlahtoāni Nezahualpiltzintli of Texcoco from the [[Codex Ixtlilxochitl.]]

in Commonwealth realms, corporation sole of the head of state

thumb|Equestrian portrait of Duke de Olivares|Equestrian portrait of the Count-Duke of Olivares by [[Diego Velázquez ()]]

country or territory whose official head of state or ruler is a monarch bearing the title of grand duke or grand duchess

body that advises the head of state

thumb|The Execution of Lady Jane Grey Delaroche detail

federation of states with a single main monarch and different leaders in the states of the federation

traditional proclamation to announce the accession of a new monarch

name chosen by a reigning monarch, different from their original secular name

Ethnarch (pronounced , also ethnarches, ) is a term that refers generally to political leadership over a common ethnic group or homogeneous kingdom. The word is derived from the Greek words (ethnos, "tribe/nation") and (archon, "leader/ruler"). ''Strong's Concordance'' gives the definition of 'ethnarch' as "the governor (not king) of a district".

person entitled to inherit a honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question

delivered by a monarch (or representative) outlining his government's agenda

imperial title used in China and Vietnam, initially for the king but later for the crown prince

monarchy over two kingdoms

thumb|Enthronement of the Japanese emperor [[Naruhito (2019).]] An enthronement is a ceremony of inauguration, involving a person—usually a monarch or religious leader—being formally seated for the first time upon their throne. Enthronements may also feature as part of a larger coronation rite.

Persian-derived term for a formal meeting where the ruler held discussions regarding the state

agnatic seniority is the showing preference of the male bloodline, specifically for the younger son in the selection of a new ruler

kind of federation with only two different states that are governed by the same dynasty, while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct

cabinet of the Ottoman Empire

A viceroyalty was an entity headed by a viceroy. It dates back to the administration of the Spanish-held territories in Southern Italy from the early fifteenth century onwards, most notably by the year 1428, the term “vice rex” was used to refer the Viceroy of Sicily in the official documents of the Crown of Aragon, which in the sixteenth century it passed through Catalan as “visrei” to later pass to Spanish as “visorey”.

thumb|right|300px|The Manikongo giving audience to his subjects and Portuguese visitors

Sahib or Saheb () is a term of address originating from Arabic (). As a loanword, Sahib has passed into several languages, including Persian, Kurdish, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Uzbek, Turkmen, Tajik, Crimean Tatar, Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, Pashto, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Rohingya and Somali. During medieval times, it was used either as an official title or an honorific. Now, in South and Central Asia, it is almost exclusively used to give respect to someone higher or lower. The honorific has largely been replaced with sir. In the Tibeto-Burman language of Mizo, it is shortened as sâp, ref

thumb|right|Pharaoh Cleopatra VII and her eldest son and co-regent [[Ptolemy XV, carving on temple at Dendera|upright]]

practice of members of ruling dynasties marrying into other reigning families

a crown used for the coronation of emperors