Monarch: Person at the head of a monarchy

Monarchs usually get their power by inheritance from one of their parents. When a monarch dies, a child or the nearest relative takes over. A male monarch is usually called a king or emperor. A female monarch is usually called a queen or empress. There female kings in history. An example of a modern woman king is Her Royal Majesty Queen Diambi, the traditional ruler of the Bakwa Luntu People in Central Kasaï, Congo, Africa.

Monarchy is still common in Africa. Many countries have both a president and a monarch of some sort.

Monarchs were very common in history until the 20th century. Most European countries had monarchs in past centuries, but most no longer have them. Some countries that still have monarchs have other leaders with the actual power. Most monarchies are hereditary monarchies. Some countries, however, elect their monarch, instead of using inheritance, like the Holy Roman Empire and Malaysia. Some republics, such as the Dutch Republic or North Korea, had or have a hereditary ruler but do not call him a "monarch".

Monarchs can also have monarchs of lower honour below them. For example, an empire could include several kingdoms, and a kingdom could have several duchies or principalities. Nations would rarely include all titles and usually go from duchy to kingdom instead of duchy to principality to kingdom. "Prince" and " princess" are words that mean "ruler of a principality" and/or "son of a king/queen." Some languages have separate words for them.

The details may vary from country to country.

• Coronation
• Divine right of kings
• Interregnum