{{short description|Person at the head of a monarchy}}
{{other uses}}
{{dist|Nomarch}}
{{Monarchism|expanded=concepts}}{{politics}}
A '''monarch''' ({{IPAc-en|'|m|ɒ|n|ə|r|k}}, {{IPAc-en|'|m|ɒ|n|ɑ:|r|k}}) is a [[head of state]]<ref>{{cite web | title=monarch | website=Oxford Dictionaries | url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/monarch?q=monarch | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517153238/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/monarch?q=monarch | url-status=dead | archive-date=May 17, 2014 | year=2014}}</ref><ref name="webster">Webster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. {{ISBN|0-395-96214-5}}</ref> [[Life tenure|for life]] or until [[abdication]], and therefore the head of state of a [[monarchy]]. A monarch usually exercises the highest authority and power in the [[Sovereign state|state]].<ref>{{cite book | last1=Bogdanor | first1=Vernon | title=The Monarchy and the Constitution | date=1995 | publisher=Clarendon Press | isbn=978-0-19-829334-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mN6SzMefot4C&dq=monarchy&pg=PA1 }}</ref> Usually, a monarch either personally [[inheritance|inherits]] the lawful right to exercise the state's sovereign rights (often referred to as ''the [[throne]]'' or ''[[the Crown|the crown]]'') or is [[elective monarchy|selected by an established process]] from a family or cohort eligible to provide the nation's monarch.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Andeweg | first1=Rudy B. | last2=Elgie | first2=Robert | last3=Helms | first3=Ludger | last4=Kaarbo | first4=Juliet | last5=Müller-Rommel | first5=Ferdinand | title=The Oxford Handbook of Political Executives | date=30 July 2020 | publisher=Oxford University Press | isbn=978-0-19-253691-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=07ryDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22elective+monarchies%22&pg=PA716 }}</ref> Alternatively, an individual may [[self-proclaimed monarchy|proclaim oneself]] monarch, or even [[usurp]] power, as many [[List of ancient Greek tyrants|Ancient Greek tyrants]] did.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Kagan | first1=Donald | title=Pericles of Athens and the Birth of Democracy | date=1991 | publisher=Simon and Schuster | isbn=978-0-684-86395-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=viBOKgmt8LkC&q=usurper%20tyrannos%20pericles&pg=PA250 }}</ref> If a young child is crowned the monarch, then a [[regent]] is often appointed to govern until the monarch reaches the requisite adult age to rule.<ref>{{cite web | title=Definition of REGENT | date=25 October 2025 | url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/regent }}</ref>

==Characteristics==
Monarchs, as such, bear a variety of titles – [[king]] or [[Queen regnant|queen]], [[prince]] or [[princess]] (e.g., [[Sovereign Prince of Monaco]]), [[emperor]] or [[Emperor|empress]] (e.g., [[Emperor of China]], [[Emperor of Ethiopia]], [[Emperor of Japan]], [[Emperor of India]]), [[archduke]], [[duke]] or [[grand duke]] (e.g., [[Grand Duke of Luxembourg]]), [[emir]] (e.g., [[Emir of Qatar]]), [[sultan]] (e.g., [[List of rulers of Oman|Sultan of Oman]]), or [[pharaoh]].

[[Monarchy]] is political or sociocultural in nature, and is generally (but not always) associated with [[hereditary monarchy|hereditary rule]]. Most monarchs, both historically and in the present day, have been born and brought up within a [[royal family]] (whose rule over a period of time is referred to as a [[dynasty]]) and trained for future duties. Different systems of [[Order of succession|succession]] have been used, such as [[proximity of blood]] (male preference or absolute), [[primogeniture]], [[agnatic seniority]], [[Salic law]], etc. While traditionally most monarchs have been male, female monarchs have also ruled, and the term [[queen regnant]] refers to a ruling monarch, as distinct from a [[queen consort]], the wife of a reigning king.<ref>{{cite web | title=The role of the Monarchy | website=The Royal Family | url=https://www.royal.uk/the-role-of-the-monarchy }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1=Bogdanor | first1=Vernon | title=The Monarchy and the Constitution | date=9 November 1995 | publisher=Clarendon Press | isbn=978-0-19-152089-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jQhREAAAQBAJ&pg=PA1 }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title=Primogeniture and ultimogeniture &#124; Inheritance Rights, Succession Laws & Lineal Descent &#124; Britannica | encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica | url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/primogeniture }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1=Kimizuka | first1=Naotaka | title=Constitutional Monarchy of the Twenty-First Century | date=July 2024 | publisher=Springer | isbn=978-981-97-4327-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3JUREQAAQBAJ&dq=constitutional+monarchy&pg=PA6 }}</ref>

In an [[elective monarchy]], the monarch is [[election|elected]] but otherwise serves as any other monarch. Historical examples of elective monarchy include the [[Holy Roman Emperor]]s<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Holy Roman Empire - Qualifications |url=https://www.heraldica.org/topics/national/hre.htm#Qualifications|access-date=2021-04-23|website=Heraldica |archive-date=2017-12-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171229151544/http://www.heraldica.org/topics/national/hre.htm#Qualifications|url-status=live}}</ref> (chosen by [[prince-elector]]s, but often coming from the same dynasty) and the [[royal elections in Poland|free election]] of kings of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]. Modern examples include the [[Yang di-Pertuan Agong]] (lit. "He Who is Made Lord') of [[Malaysia]], who is appointed by the [[Conference of Rulers]] every five years or after the king's death,<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-08-03|title=Explained: Malaysia is the world's only monarchy of its kind. Here's why|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-malaysia-is-the-worlds-only-monarchy-of-its-kind-heres-why-5874995/ |url-access=subscription |first1=Om |last1=Marathe |access-date=2021-04-23|website=The Indian Express|language=en|archive-date=2021-04-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423161942/https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-malaysia-is-the-worlds-only-monarchy-of-its-kind-heres-why-5874995/|url-status=live}}</ref> and the [[pope]] of the [[Roman Catholic Church]], who serves as sovereign of the [[Vatican City|Vatican City State]] and is elected to a life term by the [[College of Cardinals]].

In recent centuries, many states have abolished the monarchy and become [[republic]]s. Advocacy of government by a republic is called [[republicanism]], while advocacy of monarchy is called [[monarchism]]. A principal advantage of hereditary monarchy is the immediate continuity of national leadership,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Nicolson|first=Harold|author-link = Harold Nicolson | title=King George the Fifth: his life and reign.|publisher=Constable|year=1952|location=London}}</ref> as illustrated in the classic phrase "[[:The King is dead. Long live the King.|The [old] King is dead. Long live the [new] King!]]". In cases where the monarch serves mostly as a ceremonial figure (e.g., most modern constitutional monarchies), real leadership does not depend on the monarch.

==Succession==
Hereditary succession within one [[Patrilineality|patrilineal]] family has been most common (but see the [[Rain Queen]]), with a preference for children over siblings, and sons over daughters. In Europe, some people practiced equal division of land and regalian rights among sons or brothers, as in the Germanic states of the Holy [[Roman Empire]], until after the [[medieval era]] and sometimes (e.g., [[Ernestine duchies]]) into the 19th century. Other European realms practiced one or another form of [[primogeniture]], in which a [[lord]] was succeeded by his eldest son or, if he had none, by his brother, his daughters or sons of daughters.

The system of [[tanistry]] practiced among Celtic tribes was semi-elective and gave weight also to ability and merit.<ref>{{Cite book|editor-last=BROWNE|editor-first=J.|title=History of the Highlands & of the Highland Clans.|year=1838|location=Glasgow}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Hadfield|first1=Andrew|title=Edmund Spenser. A View of the State of Ireland. From the first printed edition (1633).|last2=Maley|first2=Willy|publisher=Oxford|year=1997}}</ref>

The [[Salic law]], practiced in France and in the Italian territories of the [[House of Savoy]], stipulated that only men could inherit the crown. In most [[fief]]s, in the event of the demise of all legitimate male members of the [[patrilineality|patrilineage]], a female of the family could succeed (semi-Salic law). In most realms, daughters and sisters were eligible to succeed a ruling kinsman before more distant male relatives (male-preference primogeniture), but sometimes the husband of the heiress became the ruler, and most often also received the title, ''[[jure uxoris]]''. Spain today continues this model of succession law, in the form of [[cognatic primogeniture]]. In more complex medieval cases, the sometimes conflicting principles of [[proximity of blood|proximity]] and [[primogeniture]] battled, and outcomes were often idiosyncratic.

As the average life span increased, the eldest son was more likely to reach majority age before the death of his father, and primogeniture became increasingly favored over proximity, tanistry, seniority, and election.

In 1980, [[Sweden]] became the first monarchy to declare ''equal primogeniture'', ''absolute primogeniture'' or ''full cognatic primogeniture'', meaning that the eldest child of the monarch, whether female or male, ascends to the throne.<ref>[[Statens offentliga utredningar|SOU]] 1977:5 ''Kvinnlig tronföljd'', p. 16.</ref> Other nations have since adopted this practice: [[Netherlands]] in 1983, [[Norway]] in 1990, [[Belgium]] in 1991, [[Denmark]] in 2009, and [[Luxembourg]] in 2011.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-15489544|title=Overturning centuries of royal rules|date=28 October 2011|work=BBC News|access-date=22 June 2018|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308070830/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-15489544|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://luxtimes.lu/archives/29500-new-ducal-succession-rights-for-grand-duchy|title=New Ducal succession rights for Grand Duchy|website=luxtimes.lu|date=11 December 2017|access-date=16 December 2018|archive-date=15 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215022256/https://luxtimes.lu/archives/29500-new-ducal-succession-rights-for-grand-duchy|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[United Kingdom]] adopted absolute (equal) primogeniture on April 25, 2013, following [[Perth Agreement|agreement by the prime ministers of the sixteen Commonwealth Realms]] at the 22nd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Emma.Goodey|date=2016-03-17|title=Succession|url=https://www.royal.uk/succession|access-date=2021-04-23|website=The Royal Family|language=en|archive-date=2016-05-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513014456/https://www.royal.uk/succession|url-status=live}}</ref>

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

Lastly, some monarchies are [[Elective monarchy|elective]] ([[United Arab Emirates|UAE]], [[Malaysia]], [[Holy See]] and [[Cambodia]]), meaning that the monarch is elected instead of assuming office due to direct inheritance. Rules and laws regarding election vary country to country.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Louis |first=chevalier de Jaucourt (biography) |date=2011-01-01 |title=Elective monarchy |url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.did2222.0001.691 |journal=Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert - Collaborative Translation Project|hdl=2027/spo.did2222.0001.691 }}</ref>

Whatever the rules of succession, there have been many cases of a monarch being overthrown and replaced by a usurper who would often install his own family on the throne.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Kagan | first1=Donald | title=Pericles of Athens and the Birth of Democracy | date=1991 | publisher=Simon and Schuster | isbn=978-0-684-86395-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=viBOKgmt8LkC&q=usurper+tyrannos+pericles&pg=PA250 }}</ref>

==Examples of monarchs==
A series of [[pharaoh]]s ruled [[Ancient Egypt]] over the course of three millennia ({{circa|3150 BC}} to 31 BC) until it was conquered by the [[Roman Empire]].

As part of the [[Scramble for Africa]], seven European countries invaded and colonized most of the African continent.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Davies |first=Catriona |date=12 August 2010 |title=Colonialism and the 'scramble for Africa' |url=https://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/08/02/independence.africa.colonialism/index.html |access-date=26 February 2024 |work=CNN |archive-date=26 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226103351/https://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/08/02/independence.africa.colonialism/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The concept of monarchy existed in the Americas long before the arrival of European colonialists.<ref>[http://www.carsten-rex.de/History/history.html Canada: History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070219053336/http://www.carsten-rex.de/History/history.html |date=2007-02-19 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.macleans.ca/switchboard/article.jsp?content=20031027_68038_68038 Ferguson, Will; ''The Lost Kingdom''; ''Macleans'', October 27, 2003] {{dead link|date=August 2017|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.angelfire.com/mi4/polcrt/4Chiefs.html|title=Courtly Lives - Four Indian Kings|website=Angelfire |access-date=2007-01-30|archive-date=2019-08-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190809102218/http://www.angelfire.com/mi4/polcrt/4Chiefs.html|url-status=live |author=Margaret Knight Sypniewska}}</ref>

The first local monarch to emerge in North America after colonization was [[Jean-Jacques Dessalines]], who declared himself [[First Haitian Empire|Emperor of Haiti]] on September 22, 1804.<ref>{{Cite web|last=TiCam|date=27 September 2006|title=17 October: Death of Dessalines.|url=haitiwebs.com|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928222734/http://www.haitiwebs.com/emagazine/content/view/318/155/1/0/lang%2Cen/|archive-date=28 September 2007|website=haitiwebs.com}}</ref> Haiti again had an emperor, [[Faustin I of Haiti|Faustin I]] from 1849 to 1859. In South America, Brazil<ref>L Gomes. 1889: como um imperador cansado, um marechal vaidoso e um professor injustiçado contribuíram para a o fim da monarquia e programação da republica no Brasil. Globo Livros. 2013.</ref> had a royal house ruling as emperor between 1822 and 1889, under emperors [[Pedro I of Brazil|Pedro I]] and [[Pedro II of Brazil|Pedro II]].

==See also==
{{Portal|Politics|Royalty}}
* [[Lists of monarchs]]
{{clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

'''Sources'''
* {{cite book|first=Philippe R.|last=Girard|year=2011|title=The Slaves Who Defeated Napoleon: Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian War of Independence 1801–1804|location=Tuscaloosa, Alabama|publisher=The University of Alabama Press|isbn=978-0-8173-1732-4}}
* {{cite book|last=Schutt-Ainé|first=Patricia|title=Haiti: A Basic Reference Book|publisher=Librairie Au Service de la Culture|year=1994|location=Miami, Florida|pages=33–35, 60|isbn=978-0-9638599-0-7}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|monarch|kingship}}
* [http://www.heraldica.org/topics/odegard/titlefaq.htm A Glossary of European Noble, Princely, Royal and Imperial Titles] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502203049/http://www.heraldica.org/topics/odegard/titlefaq.htm|date=2019-05-02}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071114075322/http://starnarcosis.net/obsidian/regindex.html Regnal Chronologies] King lists worldwide (archived 14 November 2007)
* [http://www.archontology.org Archontology] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151113012109/http://www.archontology.org/|date=2015-11-13}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20181225130229/http://imperialafrica.net/ African Kingdoms Imperial Throne Leadership and Enthronements] (archived 25 December 2018)

{{Monarchies}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Monarchs| ]]
[[Category:Monarchy|^]]
[[Category:Noble titles]]
[[Category:Positions of authority]]
[[Category:Politics]]
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