Monarch

A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and rules for life or until abdication. Monarchs may be autocrats (absolute monarchy) or ceremonial heads of state who exercise little or no power or only reserve power, with actual authority vested in a parliament or other body (constitutional monarchy). The word monarch is derived from the Greek μονάρχης (from μόνος, "one/singular," and ἄρχων, "leader/ruler/chief" through the Latin: monarcha (mono: "one" + arch "chief") which referred to a single, at least nominally, absolute ruler. In current usage the word monarchy generally refers to a traditional...