“I believe that many people have forgotten what their roots are. This is one of the advantages of countries with a monarchy. The monarch offers identity across generations, and is a part of these roots and this native country.”

As of 2026, 43 sovereign states have a monarch as Head of State.

They are found across the world: 13 in Asia, 12 in Europe, nine in the Americas, six in Oceania and three in Africa.

Modern monarchy is remarkably diverse. Some monarchs serve in parliamentary democracies and exercise principally constitutional and ceremonial functions. Others retain significant political authority, while a smaller number govern within systems usually described as absolute monarchy.

Monarchical titles are equally varied and include king, queen, emperor, sultan, emir, prince, grand duke, pope and co-prince.

King Charles III is Sovereign of 15 independent Commonwealth Realms:

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.

The same person is Sovereign of each Realm, but each country is an independent state and the Crown operates separately within each country's constitutional system.

Europe has 12 sovereign monarchies:

Andorra, Belgium, Denmark, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Vatican City and the United Kingdom.

Their constitutional arrangements differ considerably.

Luxembourg is the world's only sovereign Grand Duchy and has been headed by Grand Duke Guillaume since October 2025.

Andorra is a co-principality whose two Co-Princes are the Bishop of Urgell and the President of the French Republic.

Vatican City is an elective monarchy headed by the Pope.

Liechtenstein is a constitutional monarchy in which the Sovereign Prince retains more extensive constitutional powers than monarchs in many other European parliamentary monarchies.

Asia contains 13 sovereign monarchies.

They include parliamentary or constitutional monarchies such as Japan, Cambodia, Bhutan and Malaysia, together with monarchies in which the ruler exercises considerably greater governmental authority, including Saudi Arabia, Oman and Brunei.

The United Arab Emirates is a federal state composed of seven emirates, each governed by a hereditary emir.

Malaysia is especially distinctive. Nine of its constituent states possess hereditary rulers, and the federal Sovereign, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, is elected for a five-year term from among them.

Africa has three sovereign monarchies: Morocco, Lesotho and Eswatini.

Lesotho is a constitutional monarchy in which the King's functions are principally constitutional and ceremonial.

Morocco is also constitutionally a monarchy, although the King retains substantial political and constitutional authority.

Eswatini is generally classified as an absolute monarchy and the King exercises extensive governing power.

Monarchy is not confined to sovereign states.

Traditional and subnational kingships, emirates, chiefdoms and other hereditary institutions continue within many republics and federal states. Their constitutional status varies widely.

Traditional leadership remains particularly significant in parts of Africa and the Pacific, where hereditary and customary authorities may exercise cultural, community or legally recognised functions without constituting the national Headship of State.

It is therefore important to distinguish sovereign monarchy from traditional or subnational hereditary authority.

Monarchy is not merely a survival from the past.

More than forty sovereign countries continue to employ some form of monarchy, ranging from some of the world's most established parliamentary democracies to states in which monarchs retain direct governing authority.

Their very diversity demonstrates the adaptability of an institution which has existed throughout recorded history and continues to evolve in the modern world.