Queen Elizabeth II is perhaps the best-known monarch in the world. Not only is she Queen
of the United Kingdom and Australia, but she’s head of state of 16 Commonwealth realms in total.
But, did you know there are 29 sovereigns across more than 40 countries in the world
today?
That equates to 22 per cent of the 193 member states in the United Nations.
And stay tuned, because one of these is especially unusual in its structure, and involves an
elected president from one of the world’s major democracies!
So where do these monarchies exist?
Let’s firstly look at Queen Elizabeth who reigns over the vast majority.
Aside from the United Kingdom and Australia, she’s also head of state of Canada and New
Zealand, as well as several countries in the Asia Pacific and Caribbean.
Queen Elizabeth has the title of longest-reigning living monarch, having taken the throne in
1952.
Hers is a constitutional monarchy, a form of monarchy where the sovereign is Head of
State, but an elected parliament exercises political power.
Along with Queen Elizabeth’s realms, there are 30-odd other countries with monarchs
as head of state.
Among the constitutional monarchies are Belgium, Sweden (which is one of the few that allows
female succession), Spain, the Netherlands, which includes three island countries in the
Caribbean, Luxembourg, which is a dukedom, and Denmark, which also includes Greenland
and the Faroe Islands.
There’s also Monaco, a principality headed by Prince Albert II. The House of
Grimaldi has ruled Monaco - with some interruptions - since 1297, and while Prince Albert is a
constitutional monarch, he wields considerable political power.
Liechtenstein is another principality. Its ruler, Prince Hans Adam II’s powers were
increased following a referendum on his proposed new constitution in 2003. He has the power
to veto any law and can dismiss the government or any minister.
Japan has been in the news lately and is home to the world’s oldest continuing hereditary
monarchy, established in 660 BC. The imperial family is going through a big year this year
with Emperor Akihito voluntarily abdicating and his son taking on the role.
I sincerely pray for the happiness of the people and the further development of the nation,
as well as the peace of the world.
Malaysia is interesting in that its kings are not born to rule, but are elected instead.
They’re elected to a five-year term from the rulers of nine of Malaysia’s states,
who form the Conference of Rulers. In January, King Sultan Muhammad V abdicated after just
two years on the throne. It was reported he had secretly married a Russian former Miss
Moscow.
Tonga became a constitutional monarchy in 1875 but its origins go back much further,
to the 10th century. While the country is one of six monarchies in Oceania, it’s the
only sovereign indigenous monarchy.
Over to Thailand and its monarchy converted to a constitutional-style in 1932 following
a coup. The king’s power is exercised through the prime minister and parliament and the
monarch is treated as a near-divine being. Thailand’s new king, who ascended the throne
in 2016, was formally crowned in an elaborate three-day coronation this year.
Bhutan’s current king is the only monarch in the world who has given up power without
any influence or pressure. Prior to 2008, he ruled as an absolute monarch.
The boundary between constitutional and absolute monarchies becomes blurred in Kuwait and Qatar,
which are set up as constitutional monarchies, but in practice operate as absolute monarchies.
Bahrain, Jordan and Morocco are similar. The rulers of each hold vast legislative powers,
including commanding the military.
The United Arab Emirates is a federation of hereditary absolute monarchies. It’s governed
by the Federal Supreme Council made up of seven emirs and while the Presidency and prime
ministership are elected, they’re essentially hereditary – the Emir of Abu Dhabi holds
the presidency and the Emir of Dubai is prime minister.
There are five other absolute monarchies existing today including Saudi Arabia, Oman, Swaziland
in Africa and Brunei in south-east Asia. Fun fact – Brunei’s head of state is said
to live in the world’s largest private residence – an 1800-room palace.
Vatican City, the world’s smallest state, is the last of these absolute monarchies.
Its sovereign is the Pope, who is also head of the global Catholic Church – an elected
position, which makes this a rare case of an absolute, non-hereditary, elective monarchy.
And if that wasn’t unusual enough, we finally come to the strange set-up mentioned earlier
in this video – Andorra. Officially the Principality of Andorra, it’s a diarchy
– headed by two Princes. One of whom is the President of France!
While we’ve focussed on the sovereign heads of state in this video, there are other forms
of monarchy when you start to include regional or religious heads, like the Zulu King, who’s
territory lies within the Republic of South Africa.