Monarch
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 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. Those arguing against the concept of Monarchy are often, but not always,
Republicans.
The word "monarch" derives from
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 monarchies below).
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 choose to resign his position through
abdication, though this is a rare and dramatic practice.
** 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 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
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.
Monarchy is the
form of government involving a monarch. It can be either
absolute or
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. 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
kingdom,
grand duchy, or
principality.
Elective monarchies were once common, although only a very small portion of the population was eligible to vote. As the impact of the
feudal system diminished, many monarchs were eventually allowed to introduce
hereditary succession, guaranteeing that the title and office will stay within the family. Today, almost all monarchies are
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
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
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
Māori (the
Māori Queen) and
Osei Tutu II of the
Ashanti.
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
Duke of Edinburgh is not
King Philip of the United Kingdom).
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.
The
normal monarch title in Europe –
i.e., the one used if the monarch has no higher title – is
Prince (counterpart
Princess), by convention. 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). Such titulations could cause
diplomatic problems, and especially the elevation to
Emperor (counterpart
Empress) was seen as an offensive action. During the
19th and
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.
| Title | Female counterpart | Realm | 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, Russia (Tsar), France, Austria, 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 Japanese monarchy is now the only monarchy to still use the title. |
| King | Queen | Kingdom | Rex | Common in larger sovereign states |
| Viceroy | Vicereine | Viceroyalty | Historical: Spanish Empire (Peru, New Spain), Portuguese Empire (India, Brazil), British Empire |
| Grand Duke | Grand Duchess | Grand duchy | Magnus Dux | Today: Luxembourg. Historical: Lithuania, Baden, Finland, Tuscany 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 | Comes | |
| 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 Italian papessa (to papa
) or French papesse (to pape
) or German Päpstin
(to Papst
) or English Popess, 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
Fürst). A
Duke can be a
British 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,
Landgrave. An actual monarch with such low titles still was regarded more important than a noble Duke.
Today, there are seven kingdoms, one grand duchy, one papacy, 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 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. 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 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, 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).
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 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
**
Almamy -
Fulani people of west africa
**
Omukama -
Bunyoro, title of some kings in Uganda
* Americas
**
Cacique - Aboriginal
Hispaniola and
Borinquen**
Hueyi Tlatoani -
Aztec Empire
**
Ajaw -
Maya**
Inka Qhapaq -
Tawuantin Suyu (Inca Empire)
**
Morubixaba -
Tupi tribes
**
King - Colonial America (ie: King George III)
**
Sha-quan- King of the world used in America indian tribes
* Asia
**
Druk Gyalpo —heriditary title given to the king of
Bhutan**
Chogyal — "Divine Ruler" — ruled Sikkim until
1975**
Qaghan - Central Asian Tribes
**
Hwangje - States that unified Korea
**
Wang - States of Korea that do not have control over all of Korea
**
Badshah - India (emperor)
**
Huangdi - Imperial China
**
Maharaja/
Maharani -
India**
Nawab,
Wali - Muslim rulers of principalities or princes under
Mughal (
Mogul) or British Indian Empires
**
Nizam -
Hyderabad, India
**
Susuhanan - the Indonesian princely state of Surakarta until its abolition
**
Sultan -
Aceh,
Brunei Darussalam,
Java**
Meurah -Aceh before Islam
**
Yang Dipertuan Agong - king of Malaysian Federations, elected each 5 years among the reigning monarch in Malaysia.
**
Sumeramikoto,
Okimi - Japan, king
**
Tenno or Mikado - Japan
**
Shogun - Japanese
military dictator, always a
Samurai**
Saopha-
Shan, king of
Shan, today as a part of
Myanmar**
Wang - pre-Imperial China
**
Phrabat Somdej Phrachaoyuhua -
King of Thailand (
Siam), the title literally means "The Greatest Lord whose feet are on the heads (of his subjects)"
**
Datu - pre-colonial Philippines
**
Raja - pre-colonial Philippines
* Europe
** Arqa / Thagavor -
Armenian king**
Germanic king**
'ασιλεύς- Greek, king
**
Vezér - Ancient Hungarian
**
Fejedelem - Ancient/Medieval Hungarian
**
Vojvod (Serbian) /
Vajda (Hungarian) - Serbian / Hungarian /
Romany Title
**
Domn (in Romanian) / Gospodar (in Old Slavonian) - Medieval Romania (
Moldova,
Wallachia)
** Rí, Rúirí, Rí Rúireach and
Ard Rí - king, local overking, regional king, and High King in pre-Norman
Ireland**
Kniaz' / Knyaginya (generally translated as "prince") - Kievan Rus'
**
Tsar / Tsaritsa - Imperial Russia
**
Kunigaikshtis (Kunigaikštis) -
Lithuanian,
duke as in
Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
* Middle East
**
Bey**
Caliph - Islamic holy title, supreme leader or vicar of prophet
**
Emir - Arabic holy title, prince
**
Khan - Mongol Emperor or Turkish, Afghan,
Pashtun or other Central Asian chieftain
**
Malik/
Malika - Arabic leader, king
**
Mirza - Title of Persian, North African, or Turkish rulers, later adopted through persian influence in the mughal empire
**
Melekh/
Malkah - Jewish kings of the Kingdoms of
Judah and
Israel**
Padishah - Persia,
Ottoman Empire, Moghuls, emperor, highest monarch
**
Pharaoh - ancient Egypt
**
Shah - Persia/Iran, Afghanistan, king
**
Shahenshah - Persia/Iran, "King of Kings" or emperor
**
Shaikh - Arabic leader, prince
**
Sultan/
Sultana - Arabic King, Majesty
* 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 - Kingdom
*
Prince/
Princess - Sovereign Principality
* Sovereign Duke/Count/Baron - Sovereign Duchy/County/Barony - (Grand)Children have the title Princely-{title}, like Princely-Lord
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.
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 European monarchy to abolish the preference for males altogether, declaring
equal primogeniture or
full cognatic primogeniture, so that the eldest child of the monarch, whether male or female, now ascends to the throne. Other kingdoms (
Norway in 1990,
Belgium in 1991 and the
Netherlands) 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.
NOTE: The table comprises all sovereign monarchs of the world today, but is severely incomplete with regard to the non-sovereign monarchs.*
List of monarchs by country*
Archontology*
WikiProject Monarchs*
A Glossary of European Noble, Princely, Royal and Imperial Titles*
Archontology
