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King, or King Regnant is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant,^[1] while the title of queen on its own usually refers to the consort of a king.

In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the title may refer to tribal kingship. Germanic kingship is cognate with Indo-European traditions of tribal rulership (c.f. Indic rājan, Gothic reiks, and Old Irish rí, etc.).
In the context of classical antiquity, king may translate in Latin as rex and in Greek as archon or basileus.
In classical European feudalism, the title of king as the ruler of a kingdom is understood to be the highest rank in the feudal order, potentially subject, at least nominally, only to an emperor (harking back to the client kings of the Roman Empire).^[2]
In a modern context, the title may refer to the ruler of one of a number of modern monarchies (either absolute or constitutional). The title of king is used alongside other titles for monarchs: in the West, prince, emperor, archduke, duke or grand duke, and in the Middle East, sultan or emir, etc.^[3]

The term king may also refer to a king consort, a title that is sometimes given to the husband of a ruling queen, but the title of prince consort is sometimes granted instead. A king dowager is the widower of a queen. A king father is a king dowager who is also the father of the reigning sovereign.

Etymology

The English term king is derived from the Anglo-Saxon cyning, which in turn is derived from the Common Germanic *kuningaz. The Common Germanic term was borrowed into Estonian and Finnish at an early time, surviving in these languages as kuningas. The English term "King" translates, and is considered equivalent to, Latin rēx and its equivalents in the various European languages. The Germanic term is notably different from the word for "King" in other Indo-European languages (*rēks "ruler"; Latin rēx, Sanskrit rājan and Irish ríg, but see Gothic reiks and, e.g., modern German Reich and modern Dutch rijk). It is a derivation from the term *kunjom "kin" (Old English cynn) by the -inga- suffix. The literal meaning is that of a "scion of the [noble] kin", or perhaps "son or descendant of one of noble birth" (OED).

English Queen translates Latin regina; it is from Old English cwen "Queen, noble woman, wife" from the PIE word for "woman" (*gwen-). The Germanic term for "wife" appears to have been specialized to "wife of a King"; in Old Norse, the cognate kvan still mostly refers to a wife generally. Scandinavian drottning, dronning is a feminine derivation from *druhtinaz "Lord". The Norse Rígsþula ends with the emergence of Kón as a Grand son of Rig, resulting from a threesome between the mythological characters Father and Mother, and Rig, through Jarl and his wife Erna. Kon is the twelfth son of Jarl and Erna, and the his progeny are the Konungs, litteraly, the younglings of Kon; from which the name King comes, according to this tradition.

History

The English word is of Germanic origin, and historically refers to Germanic kingship, in the pre-Christian period a type of tribal kingship. The monarchies of Europe in the Christian Middle Ages derived their claim from Christianisation and the divine right of kings, partly influenced by the notion of sacral kingship inherited from Germanic antiquity.

The Early Middle Ages begin with a fragmentation of the former Western Roman Empire into barbarian kingdoms. In Western Europe, the kingdom of the Franks developed into the Carolingian Empire by the 8th century, and the kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England were unified into the kingdom of England by the 10th century.

With the breakup of the Carolingian Empire in the 9th century, the system of feudalism places kings at the head of a pyramid of relationships between liege lords and vassals, dependent on the regional rule of barons, and the intermediate positions of counts (or earls) and dukes. The core of European feudal manorialism in the High Middle Ages were the territories of the kingdom of France, the Holy Roman Empire (centered on the nominal kingdoms of Germany and Italy) and the kingdoms of England and Scotland.

In the course of the European Middle Ages, the European kingdoms underwent a general trend of centralisation of power, so that by the Late Middle Ages there were a number of large and powerful kingdoms in Europe, which would develop into the great powers of Europe in the Early Modern period.

In the Iberian Peninsula, the remnants of the Visigothic Kingdom, the petty kingdoms of Asturias and Pamplona, expanded into the kingdom of Portugal, the Crown of Castile and the Crown of Aragon with the ongoing Reconquista.
In southern Europe, the kingdom of Sicily was established following the Norman conquest of southern Italy. The Kingdom of Sardinia was claimed as a separate title held by the Crown of Aragon in 1324. In the Balkans, the Kingdom of Serbia was established in 1217.
In eastern-central Europe, the Kingdom of Hungary was established in AD 1000 following the Christianisation of the Magyars. The kingdoms of Poland and Bohemia were established within the Holy Roman Empire in 1025 and 1198, respectively. In Eastern Europe, the Kievan Rus' consolidated into the Grand Duchy of Moscow, which did not technically claim the status of kingdom until the early modern Tsardom of Russia.
In northern Europe, the tribal kingdoms of the Viking Age by the 11th century expanded into the North Sea Empire under Cnut the Great, king of Denmark, England and Norway. The Christianization of Scandinavia resulted in "consolidated" kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, and by the end of the medieval period the pan-Scandinavian Kalmar Union.

Contemporary kings

Currently (as of 2016^[update]), fifteen kings and two queens regnant are recognized as the heads of state of sovereign states (i.e. English king or queen is used as official translation of the respective native titles held by the monarchs).

Most of these are heads of state of constitutional monarchies; kings ruling over absolute monarchies are the King of Saudi Arabia, the King of Bahrain and the King of Swaziland.^[4]

Monarch	House	Title	Kingdom	est.
Elizabeth II Queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms	Windsor	queen	United Kingdom and Commonwealth realms	1707 / 9th c.
Margrethe II Queen of Denmark	Glücksburg	dronning	Kingdom of Denmark	10th c.
Harald V King of Norway	Glücksburg	konge	Kingdom of Norway	11th c.
Carl XVI Gustaf King of Sweden	Bernadotte	konung	Kingdom of Sweden	12th c.
Felipe VI King of Spain	Bourbon	rey	Kingdom of Spain	1978 / 1479
Willem-Alexander King of the Netherlands	Amsberg	koning	Kingdom of the Netherlands	1815
Philippe King of the Belgians	Saxe-Coburg and Gotha	koning / roi	Kingdom of Belgium	1830
Salman King of Saudi Arabia	Saud	ملك malik	Kingdom of Saudi Arabia	1932
Abdullah II King of Jordan	Hashim	ملك malik	Kingdom of Jordan	1946
Mohammed VI King of Morocco	Alaoui	ملك malik	Kingdom of Morocco	1956
Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa King of Bahrain	Khalifa	ملك malik	Kingdom of Bahrain	1971
Vajiralongkorn King of Thailand	Chakri	กษัตริย์ kasat	Kingdom of Thailand	1782
Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck King of Bhutan	Wangchuck	འབྲུག་རྒྱལ་པོ་ druk gyalpo	Kingdom of Bhutan	1907
Norodom Sihamoni King of Cambodia	Norodom	ស្ដេច sdac	Kingdom of Cambodia	1993 / 1953
Tupou VI King of Tonga	Tupou	king	Kingdom of Tonga	1970
Letsie III King of Lesotho	Moshesh	king / morena	Kingdom of Lesotho	1966
Mswati III King of Swaziland	Dlamini	ngwenyama	Kingdom of Swaziland	1968

Notes

^ There have been rare exceptions, most notably Jadwiga of Poland and Mary, Queen of Hungary, who were crowned as King of Poland and King of Hungary respectively during the 1380s.
^ The notion of a king being below an emperor in the feudal order, just as a duke is the rank below a king, is more theoretical than historical. The only kingdom title held within the Holy Roman Empire was the Kingdom of Bohemia, with the Kingdoms of Germany, Italy and Burgundy/Arles being nominal realms. The titles of King of the Germans and King of the Romans were non-landed titles held by the Emperor-elect (sometimes during the lifetime of the previous Emperor, sometimes not), although there were anti-Kings at various points; Arles and Italy were either held directly by the Emperor or not at all. The Austrian and Austro-Hungarian Empires technically contained various Kingdoms (Hungary, Bohemia, Dalmatia, Illyria, Lombardy–Venetia and Galicia and Lodomeria, as well as the Kingdoms of Croatia and Slavonia which were themselves subordinate titles to the Hungarian Kingdom and which were merged as Croatia-Slavonia in 1868), but the Emperor and the King were the same person. The Russian Empire did not include any kingdoms. The short-lived First French Empire (1804–1814/5) did include a number of client kingdoms under Napoleon I, such as the Kingdom of Italy, the Kingdom of Westphalia, the Kingdom of Etruria, the Kingdom of Württemberg, the Kingdom of Bavaria, the Kingdom of Saxony and the Kingdom of Holland. The German Empire (1871-1918) included the Kingdoms of Prussia, Bavaria, Württemberg and Saxony, with the Prussian King also holding the Imperial title.
^ Pine, L.G. (1992). Titles: How the King became His Majesty. New York: Barnes & Noble. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-56619-085-5.
^ The distinction of the title of "king" from "sultan" or "emir" in oriental monarchies is largely stylistics; the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar, the State of Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates are also categorised as absolute monarchies.

References

Thomas J. Craughwell, 5,000 Years of Royalty: Kings, Queens, Princes, Emperors & Tsars (2009).
David Cannadine, Simon Price (eds.), Rituals of Royalty: Power and Ceremonial in Traditional Societies (1992).
Jean Hani, Sacred Royalty: From the Pharaoh to the Most Christian King (2011).

External links

Media related to Kings at Wikimedia Commons
Phillip, Walter Alison (1911). "King" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). pp. 805–806.

[1] There have been rare exceptions, most notably Jadwiga of Poland and Mary, Queen of Hungary, who were crowned as King of Poland and King of Hungary respectively during the 1380s.

[2] The notion of a king being below an emperor in the feudal order, just as a duke is the rank below a king, is more theoretical than historical. The only kingdom title held within the Holy Roman Empire was the Kingdom of Bohemia, with the Kingdoms of Germany, Italy and Burgundy/Arles being nominal realms. The titles of King of the Germans and King of the Romans were non-landed titles held by the Emperor-elect (sometimes during the lifetime of the previous Emperor, sometimes not), although there were anti-Kings at various points; Arles and Italy were either held directly by the Emperor or not at all. The Austrian and Austro-Hungarian Empires technically contained various Kingdoms (Hungary, Bohemia, Dalmatia, Illyria, Lombardy–Venetia and Galicia and Lodomeria, as well as the Kingdoms of Croatia and Slavonia which were themselves subordinate titles to the Hungarian Kingdom and which were merged as Croatia-Slavonia in 1868), but the Emperor and the King were the same person. The Russian Empire did not include any kingdoms. The short-lived First French Empire (1804–1814/5) did include a number of client kingdoms under Napoleon I, such as the Kingdom of Italy, the Kingdom of Westphalia, the Kingdom of Etruria, the Kingdom of Württemberg, the Kingdom of Bavaria, the Kingdom of Saxony and the Kingdom of Holland. The German Empire (1871-1918) included the Kingdoms of Prussia, Bavaria, Württemberg and Saxony, with the Prussian King also holding the Imperial title.

[pine-3] Pine, L.G. (1992). Titles: How the King became His Majesty. New York: Barnes & Noble. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-56619-085-5.

[4] The distinction of the title of "king" from "sultan" or "emir" in oriental monarchies is largely stylistics; the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar, the State of Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates are also categorised as absolute monarchies.

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@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 The [[Austrian Empire|Austrian]] and [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian Empire]]s technically contained various Kingdoms ([[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungary]], [[Kingdom of Bohemia|Bohemia]], [[Kingdom of Dalmatia|Dalmatia]], [[Kingdom of Illyria (1816–49)|Illyria]], [[Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia|Lombardy–Venetia]] and [[Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria|Galicia and Lodomeria]], as well as the Kingdoms of [[Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg)|Croatia]] and [[Kingdom of Slavonia|Slavonia]] which were themselves subordinate titles to the Hungarian Kingdom and which were merged as [[Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia|Croatia-Slavonia]] in 1868), but the Emperor and the King were the same person. The [[Russian Empire]] did not include any kingdoms. The short-lived [[First French Empire]] (1804–1814/5) did include a number of [[client state|client]] kingdoms under [[Napoleon I]], such as the [[Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)|Kingdom of Italy]], the [[Kingdom of Westphalia]], the [[Kingdom of Etruria]], the [[Kingdom of Württemberg]], the [[Kingdom of Bavaria]], the [[Kingdom of Saxony]] and the [[Kingdom of Holland]]. The [[German Empire]] (1871-1918) included the Kingdoms of [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]], Bavaria, Württemberg and Saxony, with the Prussian King also holding the Imperial title.</ref>
 *In a modern context, the title may refer to the ruler of one of a number of modern monarchies (either absolute or constitutional). The title of ''king'' is used alongside other titles for monarchs: in the West, [[prince]], [[emperor]], [[archduke]], [[duke]] or [[grand duke]], and in the Middle East, [[sultan]] or [[emir]], etc.<ref name="pine">{{cite book | title=Titles: How the King became His Majesty | publisher=Barnes & Noble | authorlink=L.G. Pine|last=Pine|first=L.G. | year=1992 | location=New York | page=86 | isbn=978-1-56619-085-5}}</ref>
-The term ''king'' may also refer to a [[king consort]], a title that is sometimes given to the husband of a [[Queen regnant|ruling queen]], but the title of [[prince consort]] is sometimes granted instead. A king dowager is the widower of a queen. A king father is the king dowager who is also the father of the reigning sovereign.
+The term ''king'' may also refer to a [[king consort]], a title that is sometimes given to the husband of a [[Queen regnant|ruling queen]], but the title of [[prince consort]] is sometimes granted instead. A king dowager is the widower of a queen. A king father is a king dowager who is also the father of the reigning sovereign.
 ==Etymology==