Monarchies and where do they exist

After the First World War, the world saw a transition from monarchs to democratically elected leaders. We witnessed the abolishment of monarchies in Germany, Russia, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire (Turkey).

Several monarchies were either abolished or the monarch was reduced to a mere figurehead of the state.

According to Merriam-Webster, a monarchy is a government having a hereditary chief of state with life tenure and powers varying from nominal to absolute.

The British Royal Family is one the oldest and has its roots in the 17^th century. Queen Elizabeth II’s death has caused worldwide commotion and the news of her passing away has been in the headlines for almost a week now.

The Queen’s son, Charles III assumed the title of the King of the United Kingdom following her death.

In the light of the most famous and Britain’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II‘s death let us have a deep dive into monarchies worldwide.

Before getting started, you need to know what types of monarchies exist across the world.

The two most common types are absolute monarchy and constitutional monarchy.

Absolute Monarchy

An absolute monarchy will have A type of monarchy known as an absolute monarchy is one in which the monarch controls unilaterally. The king or queen in this kind of monarchy has ultimate authority and is in no way constrained. This type usually has a hereditary succession.

Absolute monarchies exist mainly in the Middle East with the likes of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain. Other countries like Eswatini in Africa and Brunei in South East Asia.

This is the oldest form of monarchy which has been prevalent since the dawn of civilization, it has its roots in Mesopotamia, Indus Valley, Egypt and the Vedic periods.

Historic examples of absolute monarchy are France, the Russian empire, Prussia, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Ottoman Empire and many more.

We have witnessed absolute monarchies disappear and be replaced by democratically elected governments or monarchs being reduced to nominal heads.

This brings us to constitutional monarchies,

Constitutional Monarchy

This is a form of governance where a king and queen lead a nation, but their authority is constrained by a constitution.

The real power is exercised and vested on elected individuals of the parliament and the legislature, executive and judiciary operate independently.

Examples of such systems are the United Kingdom and its Commonwealth realm, Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Japan and several others.

Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and the United Kingdom are the 15 Commonwealth realms that are now in existence. All of them are a part of the Commonwealth, an intergovernmental grouping of 56 autonomous countries, 52 of which were originally British Empire possessions. Regardless of whether they are Commonwealth realms or not, all members of the Commonwealth are sovereign, independent states.

A peculiar case of a constitutional monarchy is in Malaysia, in the Malaysian monarchy the king is elected.

The monarch is just a mere ceremonial head or a nominal head with limited royal responsibilities and next to no administrative duties.

The currencies, passports and government declarations are issued on the behalf of the monarch.

In the modern world, monarchies have been eventually been replaced by democratically elected individuals or autocratic dictators.