A Monarchy

1. A government in which sovereignty is embodied within a single, today usually hereditary head of state (whether as a figurehead or as a powerful ruler).
2. The territory ruled over by a monarch.
3. A form of government where sovereignty is embodied by a single ruler in a state and his high aristocracy representing their separate divided lands within the state and their low aristocracy representing their separate divided fiefs.

Usage notesEdit

Historically refers to a wide variety of systems with a single, nominally absolute ruler (compare autocracy, dictatorship), today primarily refers to and connotes a traditional, hereditary position, often with mainly symbolic power. Typically used of rulers who use the terms king/queen or emperor/empress.

SynonymsEdit

• (rule)
• (state)