Information about King

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 who either have power, but do not exercise it personally or, have little power (Constitutional Monarchy, i.e Australia). 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.

The word "monarch" derives from Greek monos archein, meaning "one ruler," which referred to an absolute ruler in ancient Greece. With time, the word has been succeeded in this meaning by others, such as autocrat or dictator, and the word monarch in modern usage almost always refers to a traditional system of hereditary rulership, however, see the discussion on elective monarchies below.

• 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 generally still considered a monarch because of the use of a traditionally monarchical title. (Although, 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 for 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 child. As a result, most stable monarchies have a long legacy of rule by a single family or bloodline.
• Elective monarchies, such as Malaysia, are exceptions, 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. It also is arguable by this definition, that the Supreme Leader of Iran could be considered an elected absolute monarch. Historical elective monarchs include the Polish king and the Holy Roman Emperor.
• Most monarchs hold titles that are traditional among monarchs (see below). While this is a fairly arbitrary characteristic, it just might be the best distinction between monarchs and non-monarchs at the moment.

European monarchical titles

In Europe, a monarch traditionally may bear any of several titles. Each of these titles has a female and male version (except the pope). 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 such as Queen regnant and Queen consort may be used). The converse is not true however: the husband of a queen regnant is not automatically a king (e.g. the current Duke of Edinburgh is not King Philip of the United Kingdom although he is married to Queen Elizabeth II).

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. Women were monarchs, as pharaohs, among the earliest of dynasties known in Ancient Egypt, where the earliest historical records exist. Although there more male pharaohs—sometimes exclusively in some dynasties—the royal lineage was carried by the royal women.

The normal monarch title in Europe – i.e., the one used if the monarch has no higher title – is prince or Princess, by convention. Prince 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 their own discretion, most often choosing Queen or King. Such titulations could cause diplomatic problems, and especially the elevation to Empress or Emperor was seen as an offensive action. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries most small monarchies in Europe disappeared, merging to form larger entities, and so Queen has become the most common title today for female rulers and King the most common title for male rulers.

Female version	Male version	Realm	Latin	Examples
Pope*	Pope	Papacy	Papa	Monarch of the Papal States and later Sovereign of the State of Vatican City
Empress	Emperor	Empire	Imperator	Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Ottoman Empire, Holy Roman Empire, Bulgaria (Tsarina, Tsar), Russia (Tsarina Tsar), Serbia (Tsarina Tsar), France, Austria, Mexico, 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)
Queen	King	Kingdom	Rex (Regina)	Common in larger sovereign states
Vicereine	Viceroy	Viceroyalty	Proconsul	Historical: Spanish Empire (Peru, New Spain, Rio de la Plata, New Granada), Portuguese Empire, (India, Brazil), British Empire
Grand Duchess	Grand Duke	Grand duchy	Magnus Dux	Today: Luxembourg; historical: Lithuania, Baden, Finland, Tuscany et al
Archduchess	Archduke	Archduchy	Arci Dux	Historical: Unique only in Austria, Archduchy of Austria; title used for member of the Habsburg dynasty
Princess	Prince	Principality, Princely state	Princeps	Today: Monaco, Liechtenstein, Wales[1]; Andorra(Co-Princes). Historical: Albania, Serbia
Duchess	Duke	Duchy	Dux
Countess	Count	County	Comes	Most common in the Holy Roman Empire, translated in German as Graf; historical: Barcelona, Brandenburg, Baden, numerous others
Baroness	Baron	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
Marchioness	Marquess	Marquesate	Marchio	The British equivalent of marquis
Countess	Earl	County	Comes	The British equivalent of count

*The pope is the Bishop of Rome (currently a celibate office forbidden to women), in English however, reports of female popes such as Pope Joan) refer to them as pope and Popess is used, among other things, for the second trump in the Tarot deck; some European languages also have a feminine form of the word pope, such as the Italian papessa, the French papesse, and the German Päpstin

Note that some of these titles have several meanings and do not necessarily designate a monarch. A Prince may be a person of royal blood (some languages uphold this distinction, see Fürst). A Duke may be a British peer. In Imperial Russia, a Grand Duke was a son or grand-son of the Tsarina or Tsar. Holders of titles in these alternative meanings did not enjoy the same status as the monarchs of the same title.

Within the Holy Roman Empire, there were even more titles that were used occasionally for monarchs although they were normally noble; Margrave, Count Palatine, and Landgrave. A monarch with such a low title still was regarded as more important than a noble Duke.

Today, there are seven kingdoms, one grand duchy, one duchy (Normandy - channel islands), one papacy, and two principalities in Europe (Liechtenstein and Monaco), excluding the peculiar case of Andorra and one "Lord of Mann"—the title for the monarch of Isle of Man.

Monarchical titles in use by non-monarchs

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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 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 The Albanians." 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).

Monarchical titles in the Americas

The concept of monarchy existed in the Americas long before the arrival of European colonialists.^[2][3] 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.^[4] Many of the leaders were queens, but this was not understood by the Europeans, who had no knowledge of the indigenous history or languages, much less an understanding of matrilineality

Pre-colonial titles that were used included:

• Cacique - Aboriginal Hispaniola and Borinquen
• Tlatoani - Nahuas
• Ajaw - Maya
• Qhapaq Inka - Tawuantin Suyu (Inca Empire)
• Morubixaba - Tupi tribes
• Sha-quan- King of the world used in some America Indian tribes

The first local monarch to emerge in North America after colonization was Augustin I, who declared himself Emperor of Mexico in 1822. Mexico again had an emperor, Maximilian I from 1863 to 1867. In South America, Brazil had an European royal house ruling as emperor between 1822 and 1889, under Emperors Pedro I and Pedro II.

These American emperors were deposed due to complex issues, including pressure from the highly republican United States, which had declared itself independent of the British monarch in 1776. The British, worried about US colonial expansion, invasion following the American Civil War, and the fact that the US had aided the Mexican republican rebels in overthrowing Maximilian I, pushed for the union of the Canadian provinces into a country in 1867. With Confederation, Canada became a self-governing nation which was considered a kingdom in its own right,^[5] though it remained subordinate to the United Kingdom; thus, Victoria was monarch of Canada, but not sovereign of it. It was not until the passing of the Statute of Westminster that Canada was considered to be under a distinct Canadian Crown, separate to that the British, and not until 1953 that the Canadian monarch, at the time Elizabeth II, was titled by Canadian law as Queen of Canada.

Between 1931 and 1983 nine other previous British colonies attained independence as kingdoms, all, including Canada, in a personal union relationship under a shared monarch. Therefore, though today there are legally ten American monarchs, one person occupies each distinct position.

Female Title	Male Title	Realm	Latin	Examples
Queen	King	Kingdom	Regina, Rex	Canada, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Saint Kitts and Nevis
Empress	Emperor	Empire	Imperator	Brazil, Mexico, Sapa Inca

Other monarchical titles

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 Empress or Emperor of China.

When a difference exists below, 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 people
• Negus - Ethiopia
• Tutsi Mwami - Kings of Rwanda and Burundi
• 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
• Asantehene - Ashanti, title of the King of the Ashanti People in Ghana
• Asia
• Japanese monarchy is now the only monarchy to still use the title of Emperor
• Arasan/Arasi - Sri Lanka
• Druk Gyalpo — hereditary title given to the king of Bhutan
• Chakrawarti Raja - India Sri Lanka
• Chogyal — "Divine Ruler" — ruled Sikkim until 1975
• Engku or Ungku - Malaysia, to denote particular family lineage akin to royalty
• Qaghan - Central Asian Tribes
• Hwangje - States that unified Korea
• Wang - States of Korea that do not have control over all of Korea
• Huángdì - Imperial China (Emperor)
• Susuhanan - the Indonesian princely state of Surakarta until its abolition
• Sultan - Aceh, Brunei Darussalam, Java, Oman, Malaysia, Sultan is the title of seven (Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Pahang, Perak, Selangor, and Terengganu) of the nine rulers of the Malay states
• Maha Raja - India Sri Lanka
• Meurah - Aceh before Islam
• Yang di-Pertuan Agong - Monarch of Malaysia, elected each five years among the reigning Sultan of each Malaysian state
• Sumeramikoto, Okimi - Japan, king
• Tennō or Mikado - Japan
• Shogun - Japanese military dictator, always a Samurai
• Saopha - Shan, king of Shan, today as a part of Myanmar
• Syed or Shariffah - Malaysia, descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad; Syed/Sharifah in Perlis if suffixed by the royal clan name, is roughly equivalent to Prince or Princess
• Wang (King) - pre-Imperial China
• Emperor of China
• Patabenda - Sub- king Sri lanka
• Phrabat Somdej Phrachaoyuhua - King of Thailand (Siam), the title literally means "The Greatest Lord whose feet are on the heads (of his subjects)"
• Racha - Thailand same meaning as Raja
• Datu - pre-colonial Philippines
• Raja - pre-colonial Philippines
• Raja - Malaysia, Raja denotes royalty in Perak and certain Selangor royal family lineages, is roughly equivalent to Prince or Princess
• Tengku - Malaysia, Tengku (also spelled Tunku in Johor, Negeri Sembilan and Kedah is roughly equivalent to Prince or Princess
• Europe
• Arqa/Thagavor - Armenian King
• Germanic king
• Βασιλεύς - Greek King
• Despot - Serbia (originating from Byzantium)
• Vezér - Ancient Hungarian
• Fejedelem - Ancient/Medieval Hungarian
• Vojvoda (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/Knez/Knjeginja (generally translated as "prince") - Kievan Rus'/Serbia
• Kralj- Croatia, Serbia
• Kaiser - Imperial Germany
• Tsar/Tsaritsa - Bulgaria, Imperial Russia, Serbia
• Kunigaikshtis (Kunigaikštis) - Lithuanian, duke as in Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
• Župan sometimes Veliki Župan (Grand Župan) - Serbia, Croatia
• India
• Samrat, Chakravarti - Indian Emperor (Gupta, Maurya era)
• Raja - Indian King
• Rani - Indian Queen
• Prajapati - Indian King, protector of the masses
• Maharaja - Great King
• Maharani - Great Queen
• Nathan- Chieftain title
• Eshman - Chieftain title used to address Unnithans and Nambiars in Kerala
• Badshah - Indian Emperor (Mughal period)
• Begum - Queen (Mughal period)
• Sultana - Muslim Queen
• Nawab, Wali - Muslim rulers of principalities or princes under Mughal (Mogul) or British Indian Empires
• Nizam - Muslim rulers, especially Hyderabad, India
• Swargadeo - Ahom Kings of Assam or Asom
• Thampuran - King, Kerala. Female: Thampurati
• Middle East & North Africa
• Bey - Tunisian ruler
• Caliph - Islamic holy title, supreme leader or vicar of prophet
• Emir - Arabic holy title, Prince (Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Qatar)
• Ikhshid - Arabic Title for Ikhshid Dynasty in Egypt and the Near East
• Khan - Mongol Emperor or Turkish, Afghan, Pashtun or other Central Asian chieftain
• Malik/Malika - Arabic King (Jordan, Morocco, Libya)
• 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 - Persian/Iranian and Afghanistan King
• Shahenshah - Persian/Iranian "King of Kings" or Emperor
• Shaikh - Arabic leader, Prince
• Sultan/Sultana - Arabic King (Oman and Ottoman Empire)
• Oceania
• Chieftain - Leader of a "primitive" people
• Tuʻi or tui - there were/are also kings in Oceania (i.e. Tonga, Wallis and Futuna, Nauru)
• houʻeiki, matai, aliʻi, tūlafale, tavana, ariki - Chief statuses in various Polynesian countries

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

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, to the total exclusion of females.

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 monarchy to declare equal primogeniture or full cognatic primogeniture, meaning that the eldest child of the monarch, whether female or male, ascends to the throne. ^[6] Other kingdoms (the Netherlands in 1983, Norway in 1990, and Belgium in 1991) 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.

Current monarchs

NOTE: The table comprises all sovereign monarchs of the world today, but is severely incomplete with regard to the non-sovereign monarchs.

Name	Born	Title	Since	Royal House	Succession	Heir
Bhumibol Adulyadej	1927	King of Thailand	1946	Chakri		Maha Vajiralongkorn
Elizabeth II	1926	'''Queen of Antigua and Barbuda Queen of Australia Queen of the Bahamas Queen of Barbados Queen of Belize Queen of Canada Queen of Grenada Queen of Jamaica Queen of New Zealand Queen of Papua New Guinea Queen of Saint Kitts and Nevis Queen of Saint Lucia Queen of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Queen of the Solomon Islands Queen of Tuvalu Queen of the United Kingdom	1952	Windsor	Cognatic primogeniture	The Prince of Wales
Hassanal Bolkiah	1946	Sultan of Brunei	1967	Bolkiah	Agnatic primogeniture	Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah
Goodwill Zwelethini	1948	King of the Zulus (in South Africa)	1968
Qaboos	1940	Sultan of Oman	1970	Sa'id	Hereditary
Margrethe II	1940	Queen of Denmark	1972	Glucksburg	Cognatic primogeniture	Crown Prince Frederik
Carl XVI Gustaf	1946	King of Sweden	1973	Bernadotte	Equal primogeniture	Crown Princess Victoria
Ahmad Shah	1930	Sultan of Pahang (in Malaysia)	1974		Hereditary
Shaikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi	1949	Emir of Fujairah (one of the United Arab Emirates)	1974
Juan Carlos I	1938	'''King of Spain	1975	Bourbon	Cognatic primogeniture	The Prince of Asturias
Ismail Petra		Sultan of Kelantan (in Malaysia)	1979		Hereditary
Beatrix	1938	Queen of the Kingdom of the Netherlands	1980	Orange-Nassau	Equal primogeniture	The Prince of Orange
Alhaji Muhammadu Kabir Usman		Emir of Katsina (in Nigeria)	1981
Rashid ibn Ahmad Al Mu'alla	1930	Emir of Umm al-Qaiwain (one of the United Arab Emirates)	1981
Iskandar	1932	Sultan of Johor (in Malaysia)	1981		Hereditary
Humayd ibn Rashid Al Nuaimi	1931	Emir of Ajman (one of the United Arab Emirates)	1981
Mswati III	1968	King of Swaziland	1986	Dlamini
Sultan ibn Muhammad Al-Qasimi	1939	Emir of Sharjah (one of the United Arab Emirates)	1987
Andrew Bertie	1929	Prince Great Master of the Sovereign Order of Malta	1988		Election by a council
Hans-Adam II	1945	Prince of Liechtenstein	1989	Liechtenstein	Agnatic-cognatic primogeniture	Hereditary Prince Alois
Akihito	1933	Emperor of Japan	1989		Agnatic primogeniture	Crown Prince Naruhito
Harald V	1937	King of Norway	1991	Oldenburg	Equal primogeniture	Crown Prince Haakon
Muwenda Mutebi II	1955	King of Buganda (in Uganda)	1993
Albert II	1934	King of the Belgians	1993	Saxe-Coburg-Gotha	Equal primogeniture	The Duke of Brabant
Solomon Gafabusa Iguru	1949	King of Bunyoro-Kitara (in Uganda)	1994
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani	1950	Emir of Qatar	1995	Al-Thani	Appointed from within Royal Family	Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani
Letsie III	1963	King of Lesotho	1996	Seeiso	Appointment by College of Chiefs
Abdullah II	1962	King of Jordan	1999	Hashemite	Choice by predecessor	Prince Hussein
Mohammed VI	1963	King of Morocco	1999	Alaouite	Agnatic primogeniture	Prince Moulay Hassan
Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin	1943	Raja of Perlis (in Malaysia)	2000		Hereditary
Henri	1955	Grand Duke of Luxembourg	2000	Bourbon-Parma	Cognatic primogeniture	Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume
Sharafuddin Idris Shah Al-Haj		Sultan of Selangor (in Malaysia)	2001		Hereditary
Gyanendra	1947	King of Nepal	2001	Shah	Agnatic primogeniture	Crown Prince Paras
Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifah	1950	King of Bahrain	1999	Al-Khalifa	Agnatic primogeniture	Crown Prince Salman
Soane Patita Maituku	1947	King of Alo (in Wallis and Futuna, a French territory in the Pacific Ocean)	2002		Chosen by tribe commission
Joan Enric Vives Sicília	1949	Episcopal Co-prince of Andorra	2003		Appointed
Visesio Moeliku		King of Sigave (in Wallis and Futuna)	2004		Chosen by tribe commission
Norodom Sihamoni	1953	King of Cambodia	2004	Norodom	Election by 9-member "throne council"
Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahayan	1948	Emir of Abu Dhabi, President and Sheikh of United Arab Emirates	2004
Albert II	1958	Prince of Monaco	2005	Grimaldi	Cognatic primogeniture	Hereditary Princess Caroline
Benedict XVI	1927	Pope of the Catholic Church (Sovereign of the State of Vatican City)	2005		Election by College of Cardinals	Election by College of Cardinals upon death
Abdullah	1924	King of Saudi Arabia	2005	Saud	Election by family	Crown Prince Sultan
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum	1949	Emir of Dubai (one of the United Arab Emirates)	2006
Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah	1929	Emir of Kuwait	2006	Al-Sabah	Appointment by Emir	Sheikh Nawaf
George Tupou V	1948	King of Tonga	2006	Tupou	Cognatic primogeniture	'Aho'eitu 'Unuaki'otonga Tuku'aho
Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck	1980	King of Bhutan	2006		Cognatic primogeniture	Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck
Mizan Zainal Abidin	1962	Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King of Malaysia)	2006		Election among local monarchs
		Sultan of Terengganu (in Malaysia)	1998		Hereditary
Nicolas Sarkozy	1955	French Co-prince of Andorra	2007		Election by the French people (term ends in 2012)

Etymology

The word king cames from the Old English cyning; cyn- people, ing -son of[1]. The Anglo-Saxon king was elected from people, he was therefore, the king of the people. He was the chosen of the people, the child, not the father. It is possible that cyning came from the cynetes that named the River Kennet and constructed Stonehendge.

See also

• List of monarchs by country
• List of living former sovereign monarchs
• Archontology

References

External links

• A Glossary of European Noble, Princely, Royal and Imperial Titles
• Regnal Chronologies King lists worldwide
• Archontology