Constitutional monarchy

"Ceremonial monarchy" redirects here. For other uses, see crowned republic.

World's states colored by systems of government:

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  Parliamentary systems: Head of government is elected or nominated by and accountable to the legislature.
    Constitutional monarchy with a ceremonial monarch
    Semi-constitutional monarchy: Monarch holds significant executive or legislative power but is still restricted by the constitution.
    Parliamentary republic with a ceremonial president
    Parliamentary republic with an executive president

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  Presidential system: Head of government (president) is popularly elected and independent of the legislature.
    Presidential republic
    Theocratic presidential republic: Supreme leader is highest authority; popularly elected president still exists.

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  Hybrid systems:
    Semi-presidential republic: Executive president is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature.
    Assembly-independent republic: Head of government (president or directory) is elected by the legislature, but is not accountable to it.

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  Other systems:
    Islamic theocracy: Supreme leader holds unlimited political and religious power; state and faith are a single institution.
    Absolute monarchy: Monarch has unlimited power.
    One-party state: Power is constitutionally linked to a single political party.
    Provisional government: Current regime is temporary or transitional; no permanent constitution.
    Military junta: Committee of military leaders controls the government; constitutional provisions are suspended.
    Places without governments.

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  Note: this chart represents the de jure systems of government, not the de facto degree of democracy.

The three constitutional monarchs of the Scandinavian kingdoms of Sweden, Norway and Denmark gathered in November 1917 in Oslo.
From left to right: Gustaf V, Haakon VII and Christian X.

Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. Constitutional monarchies differ from absolute monarchies (in which a monarch is the only decision-maker) in that they are bound to exercise powers and authorities within limits prescribed by an established legal framework. The monarch is frequently perceived as a visible symbol of national unity.

The powers of constitutional monarchs vary. In some countries, the monarch has virtually no executive or policy-making power and is primarily a hereditary symbolic head of state (who may be an emperor, king or queen, prince or grand duke), while in other countries, the monarch has meaningful formal powers (such as veto power, appointment power, and power to dissolve parliament).

In countries such as Liechtenstein, Monaco, Morocco, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Thailand and Bhutan, the constitution grants substantial discretionary powers to the sovereign, while in United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms, the Netherlands, Spain, Luxembourg, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Lesotho, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Japan, the monarch retains significantly less, if any, personal discretion in the exercise of their authority. While many constitutional monarchies are democratic, some are not.

A meeting in the Japanese privy council in 1946 led by Hirohito

The Commonwealth realms share the same person as a ceremonial hereditary monarchy under the Westminster system of constitutional governance. Two constitutional monarchies – Malaysia and Cambodia – are elective monarchies, in which the ruler is periodically selected by a small electoral college.

Some use the term semi-constitutional monarchy to identify constitutional monarchies where the monarch retains substantial powers, on a par with a president in a presidential or semi-presidential system. Numerous liberal democracies restrain monarchic power in practice rather than written law, e.g., the constitution of the United Kingdom, which affords the monarch substantial, if limited, legislative and executive powers.