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Monarch

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For other uses, see Monarch (disambiguation).
"King" redirects here. For other uses, see King (disambiguation).
Elizabeth I, monarch of England from 1558 to 1603
Tigranes the Great, monarch of Armenia from 95 BCE to 55 BCE

A monarch (see sovereignty) is a type of ruler or head of state. Monarchs almost always inherit their titles and are rulers for life; that is, they have no term limit. Historically monarchs have been more or less absolute rulers. Modern monarchs are often figureheads who either have power, but do not exercise it personally or, have little power (Constitutional Monarchy, i.e Australia). However, there are others with substantial or absolute power. Monarchs usually represent a larger monarchical system which has established rules and customs regarding succession, duties, and powers. A nation ruled by a monarch is called a monarchy.

The word "monarch" derives from Greek monos archein, meaning "one ruler," which referred to an absolute ruler in ancient Greece. With time, the word has been succeeded in this meaning by others, such as autocrat or dictator, and the word monarch in modern usage almost always refers to a traditional system of hereditary rulership, however, see the discussion on elective monarchies below.

  • Exceptions to this include the French co-prince of Andorra, who is not appointed for life (he is the French President, elected for a five year period by the French people), but generally still considered a monarch because of the use of a traditionally monarchical title. (Although, a purist might regard Andorra as a diarchy.) Similarly, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) of Malaysia is considered a monarch although only holding the office for five years at a time. On the other hand, several life-time dictators around the world have not been considered monarchs.
  • Most monarchs are raised within a royal family where they are taught to expect and obey their future duties, and they are, formally or informally, succeeded upon their death or abdication by members of their own family, usually their eldest child. As a result, most stable monarchies have a long legacy of rule by a single family or bloodline.
  • Elective monarchies, such as Malaysia, are exceptions, as is the Vatican City (the Pope bears the title "Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City"). Also, the practice is not totally uncommon in systems which are not considered monarchical, such as family dictatorships. It also is arguable by this definition, that the Supreme Leader of Iran could be considered an elected absolute monarch. Historical elective monarchs include the Polish king and the Holy Roman Emperor.
  • Most monarchs hold titles that are traditional among monarchs (see below). While this is a fairly arbitrary characteristic, it just might be the best distinction between monarchs and non-monarchs at the moment.

European monarchical titles

In Europe, a monarch traditionally may bear any of several titles. Each of these titles has a female and male version (except the pope). The female versions are used not only in the case that the monarch is female, but also for wives of monarchs (when there is need to distinguish between the two cases, terms such as Queen regnant and Queen consort may be used). The converse is not true however: the husband of a queen regnant is not automatically a king (e.g. the current Duke of Edinburgh is not King Philip of the United Kingdom although he is married to Queen Elizabeth II).

There is a misconception that female rulers are a peculiarly modern phenomenon and that this has led to more frequent use of the gender-neutral word monarch. In fact, the historical record and also known facts about many pre-historical cases show that there have been many female rulers throughout the past in a wide variety of cultures. Some pre-historical agricultural societies appear to have started with female monarchs and only later changed to succession by males. Women were monarchs, as pharaohs, among the earliest of dynasties known in Ancient Egypt, where the earliest historical records exist. Although there more male pharaohs—sometimes exclusively in some dynasties—the royal lineage was carried by the royal women.

The normal monarch title in Europe – i.e., the one used if the monarch has no higher title – is prince or Princess, by convention. Prince was a common title within the Holy Roman Empire, along with a number of higher titles listed below. Such titles were granted by the Emperor, while the titulation of rulers of sovereign states was generally left to their own discretion, most often choosing Queen or King. Such titulations could cause diplomatic problems, and especially the elevation to Empress or Emperor was seen as an offensive action. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries most small monarchies in Europe disappeared, merging to form larger entities, and so Queen has become the most common title today for female rulers and King the most common title for male rulers.

Female version Male version Realm Adjective Latin Examples
Pope* Pope Papacy papal Papa Monarch of the Papal States and later Sovereign of the State of Vatican City
Empress Emperor Empire imperial Imperator Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Ottoman Empire, Holy Roman Empire, Bulgaria (Tsarina, Tsar), Russia (Tsarina Tsar), Serbia (Tsarina Tsar), France, Austria, Mexico, Brazil, German Empire (none left in Europe after 1918), Empress of India (ceased to be used after 1947 when India was granted independence from the British Empire)
Queen King Kingdom royal Rex (Regina) Common in larger sovereign states
Vicereine Viceroy Viceroyalty Proconsul Historical: Spanish Empire (Peru, New Spain, Rio de la Plata, New Granada), Portuguese Empire, (India, Brazil), British Empire
Grand Duchess Grand Duke Grand duchy Magnus Dux Today: Luxembourg; historical: Lithuania, Baden, Finland, Tuscany et al
Archduchess Archduke Archduchy archducal Arci Dux Historical: Unique only in Austria, Archduchy of Austria; title used for member of the Habsburg dynasty
Princess Prince Principality, Princely state Princeps Today: Monaco, Liechtenstein, Wales[1]; Andorra(Co-Princes). Historical: Albania, Serbia
Duchess Duke Duchy ducal Dux  
Countess Count County Comes Most common in the Holy Roman Empire, translated in German as Graf; historical: Barcelona, Brandenburg, Baden, numerous others
Baroness Baron Barony Baro There are normal baronies and sovereign baronies, a sovereign barony can be compared with a principality, however, this is an historical exception; sovereign barons no longer have a sovereign barony, but only the title and style
Marchioness Marquess Marquesate Marchio The British equivalent of marquis
Countess Earl County Comes The British equivalent of count

*The pope is the Bishop of Rome (currently a celibate office forbidden to women), in English however, reports of female popes such as Pope Joan) refer to them as pope and Popess is used, among other things, for the second trump in the Tarot deck; some European languages also have a feminine form of the word pope, such as the Italian papessa, the French papesse, and the German Päpstin

Note that some of these titles have several meanings and do not necessarily designate a monarch. A Prince may be a person of royal blood (some languages uphold this distinction, see Fürst). A Duke may be a British peer. In Imperial Russia, a Grand Duke was a son or grand-son of the Tsarina or Tsar. Holders of titles in these alternative meanings did not enjoy the same status as the monarchs of the same title.

Within the Holy Roman Empire, there were even more titles that were used occasionally for monarchs although they were normally noble; Margrave, Count Palatine, and Landgrave. A monarch with such a low title still was regarded as more important than a noble Duke.

Today, there are seven kingdoms, one grand duchy, one duchy (Normandy - channel islands), one papacy, and two principalities in Europe (Liechtenstein and Monaco), excluding the peculiar case of Andorra and one "Lord of Mann"—the title for the monarch of Isle of Man.

Monarchical titles in use by non-monarchs

It is not uncommon that people who are not generally seen as monarchs nevertheless use monarchical titles. There are four cases of this:

  • Claiming an existing title, challenging the current holder. This has been very common historically. For centuries, the British monarch used, among his other titles, the title King of France, despite the fact that he had had no authority over French territory since the fifteenth century. Such as any one of the numerous antipopes who have claimed the Holy See.
  • Retaining the title of an extinct monarchy. This can be coupled with a claim that the monarchy was in fact never, or should never have been, extinct. An example of the first case is the Prince of Seborga. Examples of the second case are several deposed monarchs or otherwise pretenders to thrones of abolished monarchies, e.g., Leka, Crown Prince of Albania who is styled by some as the "King of The Albanians." Retaining the title of an extinct monarchy can, however, be totally free of claims of sovereignty, for example it was customary of numerous European Monarchies to include "King of Jerusalem" in their full titles. When it comes to deposed monarchs, it is customary to continue the usage of their monarchical title (e.g., Constantine II, King of the Hellenes) as a courtesy title, not a constitutional office, for the duration of their lifetime. However the title then dies with them and cannot be used by anyone else unless the crown is restored constitutionally. (Some republicans take offense at this custom, in spite of the fact that the same courtesy is often given to former republican heads of state too – a former U.S. president is usually styled "Mr. President" for the rest of his life.) Monarchs who have freely abdicated lose their right to use their former title. However where a monarch abdicated under duress (e.g., Michael I of Romania), it is customary to see the abdication as invalid and to treat them as deposed monarchs entitled to use their monarchical style for their lifetime.
  • Inventing a new title. This is common by founders of micronations, and also may or may not come with a claim of sovereignty. When it does, it is disregarded by state leaders. A notable example is Paddy Roy Bates, styling himself the "Prince of Sealand," but not recognized as such by any national government, thus failing at least the constitutive condition for statehood (see Sealand for a fuller discussion of his claims).

Monarchical titles in the Americas

The concept of monarchy existed in the Americas long before the arrival of European colonialists.[2][3] When the Europeans arrived they referred to these tracts of land within territories of different aboriginal groups to be kingdoms, and the leaders of these groups were often referred to by the Europeans as Kings, particularly hereditary leaders.[4] Many of the leaders were queens, but this was not understood by the Europeans, who had no knowledge of the indigenous history or languages, much less an understanding of matrilineality

Pre-colonial titles that were used included:

The first local monarch to emerge in North America after colonization was Augustin I, who declared himself Emperor of Mexico in 1822. Mexico again had an emperor, Maximilian I from 1863 to 1867. In South America, Brazil had an European royal house ruling as emperor between 1822 and 1889, under Emperors Pedro I and Pedro II.

These American emperors were deposed due to complex issues, including pressure from the highly republican United States, which had declared itself independent of the British monarch in 1776. The British, worried about US colonial expansion, invasion following the American Civil War, and the fact that the US had aided the Mexican republican rebels in overthrowing Maximilian I, pushed for the union of the Canadian provinces into a country in 1867. With Confederation, Canada became a self-governing nation which was considered a kingdom in its own right,[5] though it remained subordinate to the United Kingdom; thus, Victoria was monarch of Canada, but not sovereign of it. It was not until the passing of the Statute of Westminster that Canada was considered to be under a distinct Canadian Crown, separate to that the British, and not until 1953 that the Canadian monarch, at the time Elizabeth II, was titled by Canadian law as Queen of Canada.

Between 1931 and 1983 nine other previous British colonies attained independence as kingdoms, all, including Canada, in a personal union relationship under a shared monarch. Therefore, though today there are legally ten American monarchs, one person occupies each distinct position.

Female Title Male Title Realm Latin Examples
Queen King Kingdom Regina, Rex Canada, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Saint Kitts and Nevis
Empress Emperor Empire Imperator Brazil, Mexico, Sapa Inca

Other monarchical titles

In China, "king" is the usual translation for the term wang 王, which designated the sovereign before the Qin dynasty and during the Ten Kingdoms period. During the early Han dynasty, China had a number of small kingdoms, each about the size of a county and subordinate to the Empress or Emperor of China.

When a difference exists below, male titles are placed to the left and female titles are placed to the right of the slash.

By region

General monarch titles

Succession

Succession from one monarch to another varies from country to country. Traditionally, hereditary succession within members of one family has been most common. The usual hereditary succession is based on some cognatic principles and on seniority, though sometimes merit has played a part. Thus, the most common hereditary system in feudal Europe was based on cognatic primogeniture, where a lord was succeeded by his eldest son, and failing sons, by either daughters or by sons of daughters. The system of tanistry was semi-elective and gave weight also to merits and capability. The Quasi-Salic succession provided firstly for male members of the family to succeed, and secondarily males descended from female lines. In most feudal fiefs, females (such as daughters and sisters) were allowed to succeed, should the male line fail, but usually the husband of the heiress became the real lord and most often also received the title, jure uxoris. Great Britain and Spain today continue this model of succession law, in the form of cognatic primogeniture. In more complex medieval cases, the sometimes conflicting principles of proximity and primogeniture battled, and outcomes could have been idiosyncratic.

As the average life span among the nobility increased (thanks to lords limiting their personal participation in dangerous battles, and generally improved sustenance and living conditions among the wealthy), an eldest son was more likely to reach majority age before the death of his father, and primogeniture became increasingly favoured over proximity, tanistry, seniority and election.

Later, when lands were strictly divided among noble families and tended to remain fixed, agnatic primogeniture (practically the same as Salic Law) became more usual: the succession would go to the eldest son of the monarch, or, if the monarch had no sons, the throne would pass to the nearest male relative through the male line, to the total exclusion of females.

In some countries however, inheritance through the female line was never wholly abandoned, so that if the monarch had no sons, the throne would pass to the eldest daughter and to her posterity. (This, cognatic primogeniture, was the rule that let Elizabeth II become Queen.)

In 1980, Sweden became the first monarchy to declare equal primogeniture or full cognatic primogeniture, meaning that the eldest child of the monarch, whether female or male, ascends to the throne. [6] Other kingdoms (the Netherlands in 1983, Norway in 1990, and Belgium in 1991) have since followed suit.

In some monarchies, such as Saudi Arabia, succession to the throne usually first passes to the monarch's next eldest brother, and only after that to the monarch's children (agnatic seniority). In some other monarchies (e.g. Jordan), the monarch chooses who will be his successor, who need not necessarily be his eldest son.

Current monarchs

NOTE: The table comprises all sovereign monarchs of the world today, but is severely incomplete with regard to the non-sovereign monarchs.

Name Born Title Since Royal House Succession Heir
Bhumibol Adulyadej 1927 King of Thailand 1946 Chakri Maha Vajiralongkorn
Elizabeth II 1926 Queen of Antigua and Barbuda
Queen of Australia
Queen of the Bahamas
Queen of Barbados
Queen of Belize
Queen of Canada
Queen of Grenada
Queen of Jamaica
Queen of New Zealand
Queen of Papua New Guinea
Queen of Saint Kitts and Nevis
Queen of Saint Lucia
Queen of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Queen of the Solomon Islands
Queen of Tuvalu
Queen of the United Kingdom 		1952 Windsor Cognatic primogeniture The Prince of Wales
Hassanal Bolkiah 1946 Sultan of Brunei 1967 Bolkiah Agnatic primogeniture Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah
Goodwill Zwelethini 1948 King of the Zulus (in South Africa) 1968
Qaboos 1940 Sultan of Oman 1970 Sa'id Hereditary
Margrethe II 1940 Queen of Denmark 1972 Glucksburg Cognatic primogeniture Crown Prince Frederik
Carl XVI Gustaf 1946 King of Sweden 1973 Bernadotte Equal primogeniture Crown Princess Victoria
Ahmad Shah 1930 Sultan of Pahang (in Malaysia) 1974 Hereditary
Shaikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi 1949 Emir of Fujairah (one of the United Arab Emirates) 1974
Juan Carlos I 1938 King of Spain 1975 Bourbon Cognatic primogeniture The Prince of Asturias
Ismail Petra Sultan of Kelantan (in Malaysia) 1979 Hereditary
Beatrix 1938 Queen of the Kingdom of the Netherlands 1980 Orange-Nassau Equal primogeniture The Prince of Orange
Alhaji Muhammadu Kabir Usman Emir of Katsina (in Nigeria) 1981
Rashid ibn Ahmad Al Mu'alla 1930 Emir of Umm al-Qaiwain (one of the United Arab Emirates) 1981
Iskandar 1932 Sultan of Johor (in Malaysia) 1981 Hereditary
Humayd ibn Rashid Al Nuaimi 1931 Emir of Ajman (one of the United Arab Emirates) 1981
Mswati III 1968 King of Swaziland 1986 Dlamini
Sultan ibn Muhammad Al-Qasimi 1939 Emir of Sharjah (one of the United Arab Emirates) 1987
Andrew Bertie 1929 Prince Great Master of the Sovereign Order of Malta 1988 Election by a council
Hans-Adam II 1945 Prince of Liechtenstein 1989 Liechtenstein Agnatic-cognatic primogeniture Hereditary Prince Alois
Akihito 1933 Emperor of Japan 1989 Agnatic primogeniture Crown Prince Naruhito
Harald V 1937 King of Norway 1991 Oldenburg Equal primogeniture Crown Prince Haakon
Muwenda Mutebi II 1955 King of Buganda (in Uganda) 1993
Albert II 1934 King of the Belgians 1993 Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Equal primogeniture The Duke of Brabant
Solomon Gafabusa Iguru 1949 King of Bunyoro-Kitara (in Uganda) 1994
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani 1950 Emir of Qatar 1995 Al-Thani Appointed from within Royal Family Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani
Letsie III 1963 King of Lesotho 1996 Seeiso Appointment by College of Chiefs
Abdullah II 1962 King of Jordan 1999 Hashemite Choice by predecessor Prince Hussein
Mohammed VI 1963 King of Morocco 1999 Alaouite Agnatic primogeniture Prince Moulay Hassan
Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin 1943 Raja of Perlis (in Malaysia) 2000 Hereditary
Henri 1955 Grand Duke of Luxembourg 2000 Bourbon-Parma Cognatic primogeniture Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume
Sharafuddin Idris Shah Al-Haj Sultan of Selangor (in Malaysia) 2001 Hereditary
Gyanendra 1947 King of Nepal 2001 Shah Agnatic primogeniture Crown Prince Paras
Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifah 1950 King of Bahrain 1999 Al-Khalifa Agnatic primogeniture Crown Prince Salman
Soane Patita Maituku 1947 King of Alo (in Wallis and Futuna, a French territory in the Pacific Ocean) 2002 Chosen by tribe commission
Joan Enric Vives Sicília 1949 Episcopal Co-prince of Andorra 2003 Appointed
Visesio Moeliku King of Sigave (in Wallis and Futuna) 2004 Chosen by tribe commission
Norodom Sihamoni 1953 King of Cambodia 2004 Norodom Election by 9-member "throne council"
Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahayan 1948 Emir of Abu Dhabi, President and Sheikh of United Arab Emirates 2004
Albert II 1958 Prince of Monaco 2005 Grimaldi Cognatic primogeniture Hereditary Princess Caroline
Benedict XVI 1927 Pope of the Catholic Church (Sovereign of the State of Vatican City) 2005 Election by College of Cardinals Election by College of Cardinals upon death
Abdullah 1924 King of Saudi Arabia 2005 Saud Election by family Crown Prince Sultan
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum 1949 Emir of Dubai (one of the United Arab Emirates) 2006
Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah 1929 Emir of Kuwait 2006 Al-Sabah Appointment by Emir Sheikh Nawaf
George Tupou V 1948 King of Tonga 2006 Tupou Cognatic primogeniture 'Aho'eitu 'Unuaki'otonga Tuku'aho
Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck 1980 King of Bhutan 2006 Cognatic primogeniture Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck
Mizan Zainal Abidin 1962 Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King of Malaysia) 2006 Election among local monarchs
Sultan of Terengganu (in Malaysia) 1998 Hereditary
Nicolas Sarkozy 1955 French Co-prince of Andorra 2007 Election by the French people (term ends in 2012)

Etymology

The word king cames from the Old English cyning; cyn- people, ing -son of[1]. The Anglo-Saxon king was elected from people, he was therefore, the king of the people. He was the chosen of the people, the child, not the father. It is possible that cyning came from the cynetes that named the River Kennet and constructed Stonehendge.

See also

Look up monarch or kingship in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

References

  1. ^ Prince of Wales is a courtesy title given to the eldest son (if there is one) of the King/Queen of Great Britain and N. Ireland - he is not a monarch in his own right
  2. ^ Canada: History
  3. ^ Ferguson, Will; The Lost Kingdom; Macleans, October 27, 2003
  4. ^ The Four Indian Kings
  5. ^ The Crown in Canada
  6. ^ SOU 1977:5 Kvinnlig tronföljd, p.16.
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