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Monarch

*** Shopping-Tip: Monarch
:''For other senses, see monarch (disambiguation).'' {{wiktionary|monarch}} A '''monarch''' (see #Different types of monarchs sovereign) is a type of ruler or head of state. Monarchs almost always Inheritance inherit their titles and are rulers for life, that is, they have no term limit. Historically monarchs have been more or less Political absolutism absolute rulers. Modern monarchs are often Figurehead (political) figureheads with little power. 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 language Greek ''monos archein'', meaning "one ruler," and referred to an absolute ruler in ancient Greece. With time, the word has been succeeded in this meaning by others, like ''autocrat'' or ''dictator'', and the word ''monarch'' in modern usage almost always refers to a traditional system of hereditary rulership (but see the discussion on Elective monarchy elective monarchies below).

Possible definitions of the term
Which rulers are considered monarchs today is partially a matter of tradition, so there are no hard and fast rules. There are, however, a number of characteristics that are commonly, though not universally, distinguishing for monarchs: * Most monarchs hold their office for life, while most other rulers do not. A monarch may chose to resign his position through abdication, though this is a rare and dramatic practice. ** Exceptions to this include the French List of Co-Princes of Andorra co-prince of Andorra, who is not appointed for life (he is the French President, elected for a five year period by the France French people), but still generally considered a monarch because of the use of a traditionally monarchical title. (Though, 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 five years at a time. On the other hand, several President for Life 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 son or eldest child. As a result, most stable monarchies have a long legacy of rule by a single family or bloodline. ** Once again, Malaysia is an exception, 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. * Most monarchs hold titles that are traditional among monarchs (see below). While this is a fairly arbitrary characteristic, it might just be the best distinction between monarchs and non-monarchs at the moment.

Different types of monarchs
Monarchy is the form of government involving a monarch. It can be either Absolute monarchy absolute or Constitutional monarchy constitutional, and constitutional monarchies may even restrict the powers of the monarch to the point where he or she is little more than a near-powerless figurehead, which is a common modern practice. The word ''monarchy'' can also be used about a country which has such a system. Normally however, such countries identify themselves more narrowly depending on the actual title used by the monarch – ''e.g.,'' as a monarchy kingdom, grand duchy, or principality. Elective monarchy Elective monarchies were once common, although only a very small portion of the population was eligible to vote. As the impact of the feudalism feudal system diminished, many monarchs were eventually allowed to introduce Order of succession hereditary succession, guaranteeing that the title and office will stay within the family. Today, almost all monarchies are Hereditary monarchy hereditary monarchies in which the monarchs come from one royal family with the office of sovereign being passed from one family member to another upon the death or abdication of the incumbent. Existing elective monarchies include Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and the Holy See. The former system of the election of the doge in Venice is also widely known. A '''sovereign''' is the monarch of a state sovereign state. Although non-sovereign states have often had monarchs historically (not least within the Holy Roman Empire), all European monarchs since 1918 have been sovereigns. Outside Europe there still exist several monarchs of subnational entities however, most notably in Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates. A more obscure example is that of Kings of the France French Wallis and Futuna territory. In a few cases a monarch is associated with a particular group (or nation) within a state, such as Te Arikinui Te Atairangikaahu of the MÄ?ori (the MÄ?ori King Movement MÄ?ori Queen) and Osei Tutu II of the Ashanti.

European monarchical titles
In Europe, a monarch may traditionally bear any of several titles. Each of these titles has a male and female version. 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 like Queen regnant and Queen consort are used). The converse is not true however: the husband of a queen regnant is not automatically a king (e.g. the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh is not ''King Philip of the United Kingdom''). There is an urban legend 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 shows that there have been many female rulers throughout history in a wide variety of cultures. The ''normal'' monarch title in Europe – ''i.e.'', the one used if the monarch has no higher title – is Prince (counterpart Princess). It 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 the discretion of themselves, most often choosing ''King'' (counterpart Queen regnant Queen). Such titulations could cause diplomacy diplomatic problems, and especially the elevation to Emperor (counterpart Empress) was seen as an offensive action. During the 19th century 19th and 20th century 20th centuries most small monarchies in Europe disappeared to form larger entities, and so ''King'' has become the most common title today for male rulers, and ''Queen'' for female rulers. {| class="wikitable" !width="15%" |Title !width="15%" |Female counterpart !width="15%" |Realm !width="15%" |''Latin'' !Examples |- |Pope |n/a* |Papacy |''Papa'' |Monarch of the Papal States and later Sovereign of the State of Vatican City; considered senior to Emperors in diplomatic relations |- |Emperor |Empress |Empire |''Imperator'' |Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Holy Roman Empire, Imperial Russia Russia (Tsar), France, Austria, Empire of Brazil 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). The Emperor of Japan Japanese monarchy is now the only monarchy to still use the title. |- |King |Queen regnant Queen |Monarchy Kingdom |''Rex'' |Common in larger sovereign states |- |Viceroy |Vicereine |Viceroyalty | |Historical: Spain Spanish Empire (Viceroy of Peru Peru, Viceroy of New Spain New Spain), Portugal Portuguese Empire (Viceroy of India India, Brazil), United Kingdom British Empire |- |Grand Duke |Grand Duchess |Grand duchy |''Magnus Dux'' |Today: Luxembourg. Historical: Lithuania, Baden Germany Baden, Grand Duchy of Finland Finland ''et al.'' |- |Archduke |Archduchess |Archduchy |''Arci Dux'' |Historical: Unique only in Austria, Archduchy of Austria. Title used for member of the Habsburg dynasty. |- |Prince |Princess |Principality, Princely state |''Princeps'' |Today: Monaco, Liechtenstein |- |Duke |Duchess |Duchy |''Dux'' | |- |Count |Countess |County |''Cont'' | |- |Baron |Baroness |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. |} ''*Since the pope is Bishop of Rome, a celibate office forbidden to women, there is no female equivalent. Legends of female popes (see Pope Joan) refer to them as "pope." Some European languages have a feminine form of the word pope, such as the French ''papesse'' (to ''pape'') or German ''PÃ¤pstin'' (to ''Papst''), used, among other things, for the High Priestess tarot card.'' Note that some of these titles have several meanings and do not necessarily designate a monarch. A Prince can be a person of royal blood (some languages uphold this distinction, see FÃ¼rst). A Duke can be a United Kingdom British Peerage peer. In Imperial Russia, a Grand Duke was a son or grand-son of the Tsar. Holders of titles in these alternative meanings did not enjoy the same status as actual monarchs of the same title. Within the Holy Roman Empire, there were even more titles that were occasionally used for monarchs although they were normally noble; Margrave, Count Palatine, Landgraf Landgrave. An actual monarch with such low titles still outranked a noble Duke. Today, there are seven kingdoms, one grand duchy, and two principalities in Europe, excluding the peculiar case of Andorra.

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 monarchy British monarch used, among his other titles, the title King of France, despite the fact that he had no authority over French territory since the fifteenth century. There have also been numerous antipopes. * 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 Seborga Prince of Seborga. Examples of the second case are several List of monarchs who lost their thrones or abdicated in the 20th century deposed monarchs or otherwise pretender pretenders to thrones of abolished monarchies, ''e.g.,'' Leka, Crown Prince of Albania who is styled by some as the "King of Albania." 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 of Greece 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 â€“ 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 state constitutive condition for statehood (see Sealand for a fuller discussion of his claims).

Other monarchical titles
In China, "king" is the usual translation for the term ''wang'', 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 Emperor of China. When a difference exists, male titles are placed to the left and female titles are placed to the right of the slash.

By region
* Africa ** Chieftain - Leader of a "primitive" people ** Pharaoh - early Egypt ** Negus - Ethiopia ** Oba - Yoruba people of Nigeria ** Eze - Igbo people of Nigeria ** Kabaka - Baganda people of Buganda in Uganda * Americas ** Cacique - Aboriginal Hispaniola and Borinquen ** Hueyi Tlatoani - Aztec Empire ** Ajaw - Maya ** Sapa Inca - Tahuantinsuyu (Inca Empire) ** Morubixaba - Tupi tribes ** King - Colonial America (ie: King George III) * Asia ** Druk Gyalpo —heriditary title given to the king of Bhutan ** Chogyal — "Divine Ruler" — ruled Sikkim till 1975 ** Rulers of Korea Hwangje - States that unified Korea ** Rulers of Korea Wang - States of Korea that do not have control over all of Korea ** Badshah - India (emperor) ** Emperor of China Huangdi - Imperial China ** Maharaja/Maharaja Maharani - India ** Nawab, Wali - Muslim rulers of principalities or princes under Mughal (Mogul) or British Indian Empires ** Nizam - Hyderabad state Hyderabad, India ** Rulers of Surakarta Susuhanan - the Indonesian princely state of Surakarta until its abolition ** Sultan - Aceh, Brunei Darussalam ** Meurah -Aceh before Islam ** Yang Dipertuan Agong - king of Malaysian Federations, elected each 5 years among the reining monarch in Malaysia. ** Emperor of Japan Tenno or Mikado - Japan ** Emperor of China Wang - pre-Imperial China * Europe ** Arqa / Thagavor - Armenian king ** Germanic king ** Î’Î±ÏƒÎ¹Î»Î¹Î¬Ï‚ Î’Î±ÏƒÎ¹Î»ÎµÏ?Ï‚-Greek ** VezÃ©r - Ancient Hungarian ** Fejedelem - Ancient/Medieval Hungarian ** Vojvod (Serbian) / Vajda (Hungarian) - Serbian / Hungarian / Romany Title ** RÃ and Ard RÃ - Respectively King and High King in Ireland. ** Kniaz'/Knyaginya (generally translated as "prince") - Kievan Rus' ** Tsar/Tsaritsa - Imperial Russia ** Kunigaikshtis (KunigaikÅ¡tis) - Lithuanian,duke as in Grand Duchy of Lithuania. * Middle East ** Bei ** Caliph - Islamic holy title ** Emir - Arabic holy title ** Khan - Mongol Emperor or Turkish, Afghan, Pashtun or other Central Asian chieftain ** Malik/Malika - Arabic leader ** Pharaoh - ancient Egypt ** Shah - Persia/Iran, Afghanistan ** Shahenshah - Persia/Iran, "King of Kings" or emperor ** Shaikh - Arabic leader ** Sultan/Sultana (title) Sultana - Arabic King * Oceania ** Chieftain - Leader of a "primitive" people ** King - there were/are also kings in Oceania (i.e. Tonga,Wallis and Futuna, Nauru, Tonga) ** Houeiki - Chief status in the Tongan traditional system.

General monarch titles
* Autocrat - General term for absolute monarch. * Emperor/Empress - Empire * Grand Duke/Grand Duchess - Grand Duchy * King/Queen regnant Queen - Kingdom * Prince/Princess - Sovereign Principality * Sovereign Duke/Count/Baron - Sovereign Duchy/County/Barony - (Grand)Children have the title Princely-{title}, like Princely-Lord

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 has based on some cognatic principles and on seniority, though also merits have influenced. 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 male members of the family to succeed, and secondarily males also from female lines. In most feudal fiefs, females (such as daughters and sisters) were allowed to succeed, brothers failing, but usually the husband of the heiress became the real lord and most often also got title, jure uxoris. Great Britain and Spain are today continuing this old model of succession law, in 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 increased (lords limited their own participation in dangerous battles, and society's more wealthy had increasingly better sustenance and living conditions, which improved general health among princes), primogeniture began to win the battle against 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 the most usual: succession going to the eldest son of the monarch; if the monarch had no sons, the throne would pass to the nearest male relative through male line. Some countries however accepted female rulers early on, so that if the monarch had no sons, the throne would pass to the eldest daughter. (This, ''cognatic primogeniture'', was the rule that let Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom Elizabeth II become Queen.) In 1980, Sweden became the first European monarchy to abolish this preference for males altogether, declaring ''equal primogeniture'' or ''full cognatic primogeniture'', so that the eldest child of the monarch now ascends to the throne, be that child male or female. Other kingdoms (Norway in 1990, Belgium in 1991 and the Netherlands) have followed. In some monarchies, e.g. Saudi Arabia, succession to the throne has passed to the monarch's next eldest brother, and only to the monarch's children after that (= 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.'' {| cellpadding="2" !width="24%" |Name !width="4%" |Born !width="23%" |Title !width="4%" |Since !width="15%" |Succession |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Bhumibol Adulyadej''' |1927 |'''Chakri dynasty King of Thailand''' |1946 | |Maha Vajiralongkorn | |- bgcolor=#EEEEEE |'''Michael I of Romania Michael I''' (deposed) |1921 |'''King of Romania''' |1927,1947 |Hereditary |Princess Margarita of Romania Princess Margarita |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom Elizabeth II''' |1926 |'''Queen of Antigua and Barbuda
Queen of Australia Queen of Australia
Queen of the Bahamas
Queen of Barbados
Queen of Belize
Queen of Canada Queen of Canada
Queen of Grenada
Queen of Jamaica
Queen of New Zealand 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
British monarchy Queen of the United Kingdom

Paramount Chief of the Great Council of Chiefs (fiji)
Duke of Lancaster
Duke of Normandy
Lord of Mann
Defender of the faith
Head of the Commonwealth Head of the Commonwealth of Nations''' |1952 |Succession to the British throne Cognatic primogeniture |Charles, Prince of Wales The Prince of Wales |- bgcolor=#EEEEEE |''Tunku Abdul Halim'' |1924 |''Sultan of Kedah'' (in Malaysia) |1958 |Hereditary | |- bgcolor=#EEEEEE |'''Fuad II of Egypt Fuad II'''(diposed) |1952 |'''rulers and heads of state of Egypt King of Egypt''' |1953 |Hereditary |Prince Muhammad Ali of Egypt Prince Muhammad Ali | |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Malietoa Tanumafili II''' |1913 |'''Paramount Chief of Samoa''' |1962 |Election by the Fono | |- bgcolor=#EEEEEE |'''Constantine II of Greece Constantine II''' (deposed) |1940 |'''List of Kings of Greece King of Greece''' |1964 |List of Kings of Greece Equal primogeniture |Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece Crown Prince Pavlos |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Taufa'ahau Tupou IV''' |1918 |'''King of Tonga''' |1965 |Hereditary | |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Hassanal Bolkiah''' |1946 |'''Sultan of Brunei Sultan of Brunei''' |1967 | | |- bgcolor=#EEEEEE |''Goodwill Zwelethini kaBhekuzulu Goodwill Zwelethini'' |1948 |''King of the Zulus (in South Africa)'' |1968 | | |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Qaboos of Oman Qaboos''' |1940 |'''Sultan of Oman''' |1970 | | |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Jigme Singye Wangchuk''' |1955 |'''Kings of Bhutan King of Bhutan''' |1972 | | |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Margrethe II of Denmark Margrethe II''' |1940 |'''List of Danish monarchs Queen of Denmark''' |1972 |List of Succession to the Danish Throne Cognatic primogeniture |Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark Crown Prince Frederik |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf''' |1946 |'''Monarch of Sweden King of Sweden''' |1973 |King of Sweden Equal primogeniture |Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden Crown Princess Victoria |- bgcolor=#EEEEEE |''Sultan Ahmad Shah Ahmad Shah'' |1930 |''Sultan of Pahang'' (in Malaysia) |1974 |Hereditary | |- bgcolor=#EEEEEE |''Hamad ibn Muhammad ash-Sharqi'' |1949 |''Emir of Fujairah'' (one of the United Arab Emirates) |1974 | | |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Juan Carlos of Spain Juan Carlos I''' |1938 |'''King of Spain King of Spain
HONORARY TITLES
King of Jerusalem
King of Castille and Leon
King of Aragon
King of Navarra
King of Valencia
Count of Barcelona
King of Jaen
King of Murcia
King of Toledo
King of Granada ''' |1975 |Hereditary |Felipe, Prince of Asturias The Prince of Asturias |- bgcolor=#EEEEEE |''Ismail Petra'' | |''Sultan of Kelantan'' (in Malaysia) |1979 |Hereditary | |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Beatrix of the Netherlands Beatrix''' |1938 |'''Dutch monarchy Queen of the Kingdom of the Netherlands''' |1980 |Line of succession to the Dutch Throne Equal primogeniture |Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands The Prince of Orange |- bgcolor=#EEEEEE |''Alhaji Muhammadu Kabir Usman'' |? |''Emir of Katsina'' (in Nigeria) |1981 | | |- bgcolor=#EEEEEE |''Rashid ibn Ahmad Al Mu'alla'' |1930 |''Emir of Umm al-Qaiwain'' (one of the United Arab Emirates) |1981 | | |- bgcolor=#EEEEEE |''Sultan Iskandar Iskandar'' |1932 |''Sultan of Johor'' (in Malaysia) |1981 |Hereditary | |- bgcolor=#EEEEEE |''Humayd ibn Rashid Al Nuaimi'' |1931 |''Emir of Ajman'' (one of the United Arab Emirates) |1981 | | |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Mswati III of Swaziland Mswati III''' |1968 |'''List of Kings of Swaziland King of Swaziland''' |1982 | | |- bgcolor=#EEEEEE |''Sultan III ibn Muhammad al-Qasimi'' |1939 |''Emir of Sharjah'' (one of the United Arab Emirates) |1987 | | |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein Hans-Adam II''' |1945 |'''List of Princes of Liechtenstein Prince of Liechtenstein''' |1989 |Hereditary |Prince Alois of Liechtenstein Hereditary Prince Alois |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Akihito''' |1933 |'''Emperor of Japan Emperor of Japan''' |1989 | |Naruhito Crown Prince Naruhito |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Harald V of Norway Harald V''' |1937 |'''List of Norwegian monarchs King of Norway''' |1991 |Line of succession to the Norwegian Throne Equal primogeniture |Haakon Magnus, Crown Prince of Norway Crown Prince Haakon Magnus |- bgcolor=#EEEEEE |''Muwenda Mutebi'' |1955 |''King of Buganda'' (in Uganda) |1993 | | |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Albert II of Belgium Albert II''' |1934 |'''List of Belgian monarchs King of the Belgium Belgians''' |1993 |List of Succession to the Belgian Throne Equal primogeniture |Philippe, Crown Prince of Belgium The Duke of Brabant |- bgcolor=#EEEEEE |''Solomon Gafabusa Iguru'' |1949 |''King of Bunyoro-Kitara'' (in Uganda) |1994 | | |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Jacques Chirac''' |1932 |'''French List of Co-Princes of Andorra Co-prince of Andorra''' |1995 |Election by the France French people (term ends in 2007) |''None'' |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Hamad bin Khalifa''' | |'''List of emirs of Qatar Emir of Qatar''' |1995 | | |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Letsie III of Lesotho Letsie III''' |1963 |'''List of Kings of Lesotho King of Lesotho''' |1996 | | |- bgcolor=#EEEEEE |''Mizan Zainal Abidin'' | |''Sultan of Terengganu'' (in Malaysia) |1998 |Hereditary | |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Abdullah II of Jordan Abdullah II''' |1962 |'''List of Kings of Jordan King of Jordan''' |1999 |Choice by predecessor |Hussein, Crown Prince of Jordan Prince Hussein |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Mohammed VI of Morocco Mohammed VI''' |1963 |'''King of Morocco King of Morocco''' |1999 | | |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Henri of Luxembourg Henri''' |1955 |'''Grand Duke of Luxembourg Grand Duke of Luxembourg''' |2000 |Grand Duke of Luxembourg Agnatic primogeniture |Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume |- bgcolor=#EEEEEE |''Sharafuddin Idris Shah'' | |''Sultan of Selangor'' (in Malaysia) |2001 |Hereditary | |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Joan Enric Vives SicÃlia''' |1949 |'''Episcopal List of Co-Princes of Andorra Co-prince of Andorra''' |2001 |Appointed |''None'' |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |rowspan=2 |'''Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin''' |rowspan=2 |1943 |'''Yang di-Pertuan Agong''' '''(King of Malaysia King of Malaysia)''' |2001 |Yang di-Pertuan Agong Election among local monarchs |The Sultan of Terengganu, if rotation is upheld |- bgcolor=#EEEEEE |''Raja of Perlis'' (in Malaysia) |2000 |Hereditary | |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Gyanendra of Nepal Gyanendra''' |1947 |'''Kings of Nepal King of Nepal''' |2001 | | |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifah''' |1950 |'''Amir of Bahrain King of Bahrain''' |2002 | | |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Norodom Sihamoni''' |1953 |'''King of Cambodia King of Cambodia''' |2004 |Election by 9-member "throne council" | |- bgcolor=#EEEEEE |Tomasi Kulimoetoke II , Soane Patita Maituku , Visesio Moeliku , | |Lavelua of Wallis and Futuna (a French territory in the Pacific Ocean) |2004 |3 traditional monarchs of Wallis and Futuna. Chosen by tribe commission - official ruler is the Administrator-Superior of Wallis and Futuna and the President of the Territorial Assembly of Wallis and Futuna | |- bgcolor=#EEEEEE |'''Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahayan''' |1948 |''Emir of Abu Dhabi'', '''List of rulers of separate Emirates of the United Arab Emirates President and Sheikh of United Arab Emirates''' |2004 | | |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Albert II, Prince of Monaco Albert II of Monaco''' |1958 |'''List of the Princes of Monaco Prince of Monaco''' |2005 |Line of succession to the Monegasque Throne Primogeniture |Caroline, Princess of Hanover Princess Caroline of Monaco |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Pope Benedict XVI''' |1927 |'''Pope''' (Sovereign of the State of Vatican City) |2005 |Papal election Election by College of Cardinals |Papal election Election by College of Cardinals upon death |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Abdullah of Saudi Arabia Abdullah''' |1924 |'''List of kings of Saudi Arabia King of Saudi Arabia''' |2005 |Election by family |Sultan, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Sultan |- bgcolor=#EEEEEE |''Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum'' |1949 |''Emir of Dubai'' (one of the United Arab Emirates) |2006 | | |- bgcolor=#DDDDDD |'''Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah''' |1929 |'''List of emirs of Kuwait Emir of Kuwait''' |2006 | | |- bgcolor=#EEEEEE |'''Andrew Bertie''' |1929 |'''Prince Great Master of the Sovereign Order of Malta |1988 |Election by a council | |}

See also
* List of monarchs by country * Archontology * :WikiProject Monarchs WikiProject Monarchs

External links

- A Glossary of European Noble, Princely, Royal and Imperial Titles
- Archontology Category:Monarchy *Monarch Category:Positions of authority Monarch Category:Titles cs:PanovnÃk da:Monark es:Monarca et:Monarh eu:Errege fa:Ø´Ø§Ù‡ fi:Monarkki fr:Monarque gl:Monarca hr:Kralj is:Konungur it:Monarca ja:å?›ä¸» ko:êµ°ì£¼ nl:Monarch (staatshoofd) no:Monark pl:Monarcha pt:Monarca ru:ÐœÐ¾Ð½Ð°Ñ€Ñ… sl:Kralj th:à¸žà¸£à¸°à¸¡à¸«à¸²à¸?à¸©à¸±à¸•à¸£à¸´à¸¢à¹Œ zh:å?›ä¸» zh-min-nan:Ã”ng

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