Monarchy | Definition, Examples, & Facts

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[{"p":3,"t":388855},{"p":1,"t":1824},{"p":1,"t":184870},{"p":12,"t":157129},{"p":19,"t":467746},{"p":1,"t":339037},{"p":1,"t":691052},{"p":1,"t":283988},{"p":7,"t":201326},{"p":1,"t":161548}], "sequence": 1, "topics": {} }); </script> <article class="article-content container-lg qa-content px-0 pt-0 pb-40 py-lg-20 content md-expanded" data-topic-id="388855"> <div class="grid gx-0"> <div class="col-auto"> <div class="topic-left-rail md-article-drawer position-relative d-flex border-right-sm border-left-sm open"> <div class="drawer d-flex flex-column open"> <div class="left-rail-section-content"> <div class="topic-left-rail-header text-truncate bg-gray-50 position-relative text-right d-flex align-items-center"> <div class="tlr-title px-20 py-15 text-left"> <em class="material-icons text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/monarchy">monarchy</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" 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class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/monarchy/Premodern-monarchies">Premodern monarchies</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref272133"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/monarchy/Monarchy-in-the-modern-era">Monarchy in the modern era</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li></ul> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/monarchy/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/monarchy">Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="tlr-media-slider pb-10 mb-30"> <a class="section-header link-gray-900 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mb-10 mx-10" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/monarchy/images-videos">Images & Videos</a> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 "> <div class="slider-container 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They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2025-01-13T00:00:00CST" >Jan 13, 2025</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/monarchy/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Key People: </dt> <dd><a href="/biography/Charles-James-Fox" topicid="215350">Charles James Fox</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Thomas-Cromwell-earl-of-Essex-Baron-Cromwell-of-Okeham" topicid="143873">Thomas Cromwell</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Anselm-of-Saint-Mary" topicid="26782">Anselm Of Saint Mary</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Robert-Filmer" topicid="207005">Sir Robert Filmer</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Nizam-al-Mulk-Seljuq-vizier" topicid="416541">Niẓām al-Mulk</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Related Topics: </dt> <dd><a href="/topic/sacred-kingship" topicid="515559">sacred kingship</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/emperor-title" topicid="186034">emperor</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/False-Dmitry" topicid="1412165">False Dmitry</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/shogunate" topicid="541431">shogunate</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/tsar" topicid="607630">tsar</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/monarchy"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>What is monarchy?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Monarchy is a political system in which supreme authority is vested in the monarch, an individual ruler who functions as head of state. It typically acts as a political-administrative organization and as a social group of nobility known as \u201Ccourt society.\u201D " } } , { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>What is the difference between monarchy and democracy?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Monarchy is a political system based on the sovereignty of a single ruler. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/democracy\">Democracy<\/a>, a term that means \u201Crule by the people,\u201D is a political system in which laws, policies, leaders, and major state undertakings are decided directly or indirectly by the citizens." } } , { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>What is the divine right to rule in a monarchy?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "The divine right to rule, also known as the \u201C<a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/divine-right-of-kings\">divine right of kings<\/a>,\u201D is a political doctrine asserting that monarchs derive their authority from God and cannot be held accountable for their actions by human means. The divine-right theory can be traced to the medieval European conception that God awarded earthly power to the political authority and spiritual power to church authorities." } } , { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>What is a constitutional monarchy?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/constitutional-monarchy\">constitutional monarchy<\/a> is a political system in which a monarch shares power with a constitutionally organized government. Monarchs in constitutional monarchies act as symbolic heads of state while waiving most political power. Countries governed by constitutional monarchies today include the United Kingdom, Belgium, Norway, Japan, and Thailand. " } } ] } </script> <div class="top-questions qa-accordion d-flex flex-column module-spacing"><div class="font-weight-bold font-14 mb-5"> Top Questions </div><div id="intent-accordion" class="md-intent-accordion"><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="1"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>What is monarchy?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>Monarchy is a political system in which supreme authority is vested in the monarch, an individual ruler who functions as head of state. It typically acts as a political-administrative organization and as a social group of nobility known as “court society.” </p></div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="2"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>What is the difference between monarchy and democracy?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>Monarchy is a political system based on the sovereignty of a single ruler. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/democracy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Democracy</a>, a term that means “rule by the people,” is a political system in which laws, policies, leaders, and major state undertakings are decided directly or indirectly by the citizens.</p></div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="3"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>What is the divine right to rule in a monarchy?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>The divine right to rule, also known as the “<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/divine-right-of-kings" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">divine right of kings</a>,” is a political doctrine asserting that monarchs derive their authority from God and cannot be held accountable for their actions by human means. The divine-right theory can be traced to the medieval European conception that God awarded earthly power to the political authority and spiritual power to church authorities.</p></div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="4"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>What is a constitutional monarchy?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>A <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/constitutional-monarchy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">constitutional monarchy</a> is a political system in which a monarch shares power with a constitutionally organized government. Monarchs in constitutional monarchies act as symbolic heads of state while waiving most political power. Countries governed by constitutional monarchies today include the United Kingdom, Belgium, Norway, Japan, and Thailand. </p></div></div></div><button class="show-more-button js-toggle-top-questions btn btn-unstyled font-14 d-flex pr-10 rounded-sm"><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></button></div></div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref227385"></span>monarchy</strong>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/political-system" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">political system</a> based upon the undivided <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/sovereignty" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">sovereignty</a> or rule of a single person. The term applies to states in which supreme authority is vested in the monarch, an individual ruler who functions as the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/head-of-state" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">head of state</a> and who achieves his or her position through heredity. Most monarchies allow only male succession, usually from father to son.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker h2"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref272131"><h2 class="h1">Functions of monarchies</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">A monarchy consists of distinct but interdependent institutions—a government and a state administration on the one hand, and a court and a variety of ceremonies on the other—that provide for the social life of the members of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/dynasty" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">dynasty</a>, their friends, and the associated elite. Monarchy thus entails not only a political-administrative organization but also a “court society,” a term coined by the 20th-century German-born sociologist <span id="ref953910"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Norbert-Elias" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Norbert Elias</a> to designate various groups of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/aristocracy" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">nobility</a> (like the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/British-nobility" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">British nobility</a>) that are linked to the monarchical <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="dynasty" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dynasty" data-type="MW">dynasty</a> (or “royal” house, as with the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/house-of-Windsor" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">House of Windsor</a>) through a web of personal bonds. All such bonds are evident in symbolic and ceremonial proprieties.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">During a given <span id="ref953911"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/society" class="md-crosslink ">society’s</a> history there are certain changes and processes that create conditions <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="conducive" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conducive" data-type="MW">conducive</a> to the rise of monarchy. Because warfare was the main means of acquiring fertile land and trade routes, some of the most prominent monarchs in the ancient world made their initial mark as warrior-leaders. Thus, the military accomplishments of Octavian (later <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Augustus-Roman-emperor" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Augustus</a>) led to his position as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/emperor-title" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">emperor</a> and to the institution of monarchy in the <span id="ref953912"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Roman-Empire" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Roman Empire</a>. Infrastructural programs and state-building also contributed to the development of monarchies. The need, common in arid <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="cultures" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cultures" data-type="MW">cultures</a>, to <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="allocate" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/allocate" data-type="MW">allocate</a> fertile land and manage a regime of fresh water distribution (what the German American historian <span id="ref953913"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Karl-Wittfogel" class="md-crosslink ">Karl Wittfogel</a> called <span id="ref953914"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/hydraulic-civilization" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">hydraulic civilization</a>) accounted for the founding of the ancient Chinese, Egyptian, and Babylonian monarchies on the banks of rivers. The monarchs also had to prove themselves as state-builders.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Monarchy also results from the wish of a society—be it a city population, tribe, or multi-tribal “people”—to groom an <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="indigenous" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/indigenous" data-type="MW">indigenous</a> leader who will properly represent its historical achievements and advance its interests. Monarchy, therefore, rests on the cultural identity and symbolism of the society it represents, and in so doing it reifies that identity within the society while also projecting it to outsiders. Perhaps most importantly, successful and popular monarchs were believed to have a <span id="ref227386"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/divine-right-of-kings" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">sacred right</a> to rule: some were regarded as gods (as in the case of the Egyptian <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/pharaoh" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">pharaohs</a> or the Japanese monarchs), some were crowned by priests, others were designated by prophets (King <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/David" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">David</a> of Israel), and still others were theocrats, leading both the religious and political spheres of their society—as did the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/caliph" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">caliphs</a> of the Islamic state from the 7th century <span class="text-smallcaps">ce</span>. Coming from these varying backgrounds, leaders first rose to power on the grounds of their abilities and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/charisma" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">charisma</a>. Accordingly, monarchies proved capable of adapting to various social structures while also enduring <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="dynamic" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dynamic" data-type="MW">dynamic</a> cultural and geopolitical conditions. Thus, some ancient monarchies evolved as small city-states while others became large empires, the Roman Empire being the most <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="conspicuous" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conspicuous" data-type="MW">conspicuous</a> example.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":3,"pageId":388855,"pageLength":568,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.133.9"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.133.9' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"D","adLeg":"C","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"PAGINATED","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":true} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Monarchy | Definition, Examples, & Facts | Britannica