List of current monarchs of sovereign states (Redirected from List of current sovereign monarchs)

A monarch is the head of a monarchy, a form of government in which a state is ruled by an individual who normally rules for life or until abdication, and typically inherits the throne by birth. Monarchs may be autocrats (as in all absolute monarchies) or may be ceremonial figureheads, exercising only limited or no reserve powers at all, with actual authority vested in a legislature and/or executive cabinet (as in many constitutional monarchies). In many cases, a monarch will also be linked with a state religion. Most states only have a single monarch at any given time, although a regent may rule when the monarch is a minor, not present, or otherwise incapable of ruling. Cases in which two monarchs rule simultaneously over a single state, as is the current situation in Andorra, are known as coregencies.

A variety of titles are applied in English; for example, "king" and "queen", "prince" and "princess", "grand duke" and "grand duchess", "emperor" and "empress". Although they will be addressed differently in their local languages, the names and titles in the list below have been styled using the common English equivalent. Roman numerals, used to distinguish related rulers with the same name, have been applied where typical.

In political and sociocultural studies, monarchies are normally associated with hereditary rule; most monarchs, in both historical and contemporary contexts, have been born and raised within a royal family. Succession has been defined using a variety of distinct formulae, such as proximity of blood, primogeniture, and agnatic seniority. Some monarchies, however, are not hereditary, and the ruler is instead determined through an elective process; a modern example is the throne of Malaysia. These systems defy the model concept of a monarchy, but are commonly considered as such because they retain certain associative characteristics. Many systems use a combination of hereditary and elective elements, where the election or nomination of a successor is restricted to members of a royal bloodline.

Entries below are listed beside their respective dominions, which are organised alphabetically. These monarchs reign as head of state in their respective sovereign states. Monarchs reigning over a constituent division, cultural or traditional polity are listed under constituent monarchs. For a list of former ruling families or abolished thrones, see: former ruling families.

Monarchs by country

Title Monarch
(Birth year)
Sovereign state(s) Since Length House Type Heir to the throne Ref.
Co-Prince Joan Enric Vives i Sicília
(b. 1949)
 Andorra 12 May 2003 20 years, 317 days Ceremonial Ex officio
Emmanuel Macron
(b. 1977)
14 May 2017 6 years, 315 days
King Charles III
(b. 1948)
 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
 United Kingdom
8 September 2022 1 year, 198 days Windsor Ceremonial William, Prince of Wales
King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
(b. 1950)
 Bahrain 6 March 1999 25 years, 18 days Al Khalifa Executive Salman, Crown Prince of Bahrain
King Philippe
(b. 1960)
 Belgium 21 July 2013 10 years, 247 days Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Ceremonial Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant
Druk Gyalpo Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck
(b. 1980)
 Bhutan 9 December 2006 17 years, 106 days Wangchuck Executive Jigme Namgyel
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah
(b. 1946)
 Brunei 5 October 1967
[dubious ]
56 years, 171 days Bolkiah Absolute Al-Muhtadee Billah
King Norodom Sihamoni
(b. 1953)
 Cambodia 14 October 2004 19 years, 162 days Norodom Ceremonial Hereditary and elective
King Frederik X
(b. 1968)
 Denmark 14 January 2024 70 days Glücksburg (official)
Monpezat (agnatic)
Ceremonial Christian, Crown Prince of Denmark
King Mswati III
(b. 1968)
 Eswatini 25 April 1986 37 years, 334 days Dlamini Absolute Hereditary and elective
Emperor Naruhito
(b. 1960)
 Japan 1 May 2019 4 years, 328 days Yamato Ceremonial Fumihito, Prince Akishino (Presumptive heir)
King Abdullah II
(b. 1962)
 Jordan 7 February 1999 25 years, 46 days Al Hāshim Executive Hereditary and elective (presumably Hussein, Crown Prince of Jordan)
Emir Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
(b. 1940)
 Kuwait 16 December 2023 99 days Al Sabah Executive Hereditary and elective
King Letsie III
(b. 1963)
 Lesotho 7 February 1996 28 years, 46 days Moshesh Ceremonial Lerotholi Seeiso
Prince Hans-Adam II
(b. 1945)
 Liechtenstein 13 November 1989 34 years, 132 days Liechtenstein Executive The Hereditary Prince Alois (currently Prince Regent)
Grand Duke Henri
(b. 1955)
 Luxembourg 7 October 2000 23 years, 169 days Luxembourg-Nassau Ceremonial Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg
Yang di-Pertuan Agong Ibrahim Iskandar
(b. 1958)
 Malaysia 31 January 2024 53 days Temenggong Ceremonial & Federal Elective
Prince Albert II
(b. 1958)
 Monaco 6 April 2005 18 years, 353 days Grimaldi Executive Jacques, Hereditary Prince of Monaco
King Mohammed VI
(b. 1963)
 Morocco 23 July 1999 24 years, 245 days Alawi Executive Moulay Hassan, Crown Prince of Morocco
King Willem-Alexander
(b. 1967)
 Netherlands 30 April 2013 10 years, 329 days Orange-Nassau Ceremonial Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange
King Harald V
(b. 1937)
 Norway 17 January 1991 33 years, 67 days Glücksburg Ceremonial Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway
Sultan Haitham bin Tariq
(b. 1954)
 Oman 11 January 2020 4 years, 73 days Al Said Absolute Theyazin bin Haitham
Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
(b. 1980)
 Qatar 25 June 2013 10 years, 273 days Al Thani Executive Abdullah bin Hamad
King Salman
(b. 1935)
 Saudi Arabia 23 January 2015 9 years, 61 days Al Saud Absolute Mohammed bin Salman
King Felipe VI
(b. 1968)
 Spain 19 June 2014 9 years, 279 days Borbón-Anjou Ceremonial Leonor, Princess of Asturias (Presumptive heir)
King Carl XVI Gustaf
(b. 1946)
 Sweden 15 September 1973 50 years, 191 days Bernadotte Ceremonial Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden
King Vajiralongkorn
(b. 1952)
 Thailand 13 October 2016 7 years, 163 days Chakri Ceremonial Dipangkorn Rasmijoti (Presumptive heir)
King Tupou VI
(b. 1959)
 Tonga 18 March 2012 12 years, 6 days Tupou Executive Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala
President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
(b. 1961)
 United Arab Emirates 14 May 2022 1 year, 315 days Al Nahyan Executive & Federal Hereditary and elective (presumably Khaled bin Mohamed Al Nahyan)
Pope Francis
(b. 1936)
 Vatican City (Holy See) 13 March 2013 11 years, 11 days Absolute Elective

See also


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