List of current monarchs of sovereign states facts for kids

A monarch is a special kind of leader who rules a country called a monarchy. Usually, a monarch rules for their whole life or until they decide to step down. Most monarchs get their position because they were born into a royal family.

Some monarchs, like those in an absolute monarchy, have all the power and make all the decisions. Others, in what's called a constitutional monarchy, are more like a symbol for their country. They might have very little power, with the real decisions made by a legislature (like a parliament) or a group of ministers. Often, a monarch is also connected to the country's main religion.

Most countries have only one monarch at a time. But sometimes, a special person called a regent might rule if the monarch is too young, away, or unable to rule. If two monarchs rule a country at the same time, it's called a co-regency, like in Andorra.

Monarchs have many different titles, like "king," "queen," "prince," "princess," "emperor," or "sultan." Even if they are called something different in their own language, we often use the common English title. If there are many rulers with the same name, we use Roman numerals (like Charles III) to tell them apart.

Most monarchies are hereditary, meaning the next ruler is chosen from the same family. The way they decide who comes next can vary, but it's usually based on who is related most closely. However, some monarchies are elective, where the ruler is chosen through a vote, like in Malaysia. Sometimes, it's a mix of both, where only certain family members can be chosen.

The monarchs listed below are the official heads of their own sovereign states. If you want to learn about monarchs who rule smaller parts of a country or traditional groups, you can look up constituent monarchs. For information about royal families who no longer rule, check out former ruling families.

Here are some monarchs from different countries:

• Absolute Monarchs (top row) have full power:
  • Hassanal Bolkiah, the Sultan of Brunei
  • Salman, the King of Saudi Arabia
  • Pope Francis
• Executive Monarchs (middle row) have some real power:
  • Hans-Adam II, the Prince of Liechtenstein
  • Mohammed VI, the King of Morocco
  • Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar
• Ceremonial Monarchs (bottom row) are mostly symbolic:
  • Charles III, the King of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms
  • Naruhito, the Emperor of Japan
  • Henri, the Grand Duke of Luxembourg

Who are the Monarchs by Country?

This table lists the current monarchs around the world. They are organized by their country, in alphabetical order.

Title	Monarch	Picture	Born	Country(s)	Since (How long they've ruled)	Royal Family	Type of Monarchy	Next in Line
Co-Prince	Joan Enric Vives i Sicília		(1949-07-24) 24 July 1949 (age 75)	Andorra	12 May 2003 (22 years, 42 days)	N/A	Ceremonial	Chosen by their job
	Emmanuel Macron		(1977-12-21) 21 December 1977 (age 47)		14 May 2017 (8 years, 40 days)	N/A
King	Charles III		(1948-11-14) 14 November 1948 (age 76)	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 (2 years, 288 days)	Windsor	Ceremonial	William, Prince of Wales
King	Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa		(1950-01-28) 28 January 1950 (age 75)	Bahrain	6 March 1999 (26 years, 109 days)	Al Khalifa	Executive	Salman, Crown Prince of Bahrain
King	Philippe		(1960-04-15) 15 April 1960 (age 65)	Belgium	21 July 2013 (11 years, 337 days)	Saxe-Coburg and Gotha	Ceremonial	Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant
Druk Gyalpo	Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck		(1980-02-21) 21 February 1980 (age 45)	Bhutan	9 December 2006 (18 years, 196 days)	Wangchuck	Executive	Jigme Namgyel
Sultan	Hassanal Bolkiah		(1946-07-15) 15 July 1946 (age 78)	Brunei	5 October 1967 (57 years, 261 days)	Bolkiah	Absolute	Al-Muhtadee Billah
King	Norodom Sihamoni		(1953-05-14) 14 May 1953 (age 72)	Cambodia	14 October 2004 (20 years, 252 days)	Norodom	Ceremonial	Hereditary and elective
King	Frederik X		(1968-05-26) 26 May 1968 (age 57)	Denmark	14 January 2024 (1 year, 160 days)	Glücksburg (official) Monpezat (agnatic)	Ceremonial	Christian, Crown Prince of Denmark
King	Mswati III		(1968-04-19) 19 April 1968 (age 57)	Eswatini	25 April 1986 (39 years, 59 days)	Dlamini	Absolute	Hereditary and elective
Emperor	Naruhito		(1960-02-23) 23 February 1960 (age 65)	Japan	1 May 2019 (6 years, 53 days)	Yamato	Ceremonial	Fumihito, Prince Akishino (Heir presumptive)
King	Abdullah II		(1962-01-30) 30 January 1962 (age 63)	Jordan	7 February 1999 (26 years, 136 days)	Al Hāshim	Executive	Hereditary and elective (presumably Hussein bin Abdullah)
Emir	Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah		(1940-09-27) 27 September 1940 (age 84)	Kuwait	16 December 2023 (1 year, 189 days)	Al Sabah	Executive	Hereditary and elective (presumably Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah)
King	Letsie III		(1963-07-17) 17 July 1963 (age 61)	Lesotho	7 February 1996 (29 years, 136 days)	Moshesh	Ceremonial	Lerotholi Seeiso
Prince	Hans-Adam II		(1945-02-14) 14 February 1945 (age 80)	Liechtenstein	13 November 1989 (35 years, 222 days)	Liechtenstein	Executive	The Hereditary Prince Alois (currently Prince Regent)
Grand Duke	Henri		(1955-04-16) 16 April 1955 (age 70)	Luxembourg	7 October 2000 (24 years, 259 days)	Luxembourg-Nassau	Ceremonial	Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg (currently Lieutenant-Representative)
Yang di-Pertuan Agong	Ibrahim Iskandar		(1958-11-22) 22 November 1958 (age 66)	Malaysia	31 January 2024 (1 year, 143 days)	Temenggong	Ceremonial & Federal	Elective (presumably Nazrin Shah)
Prince	Albert II		(1958-03-14) 14 March 1958 (age 67)	Monaco	6 April 2005 (20 years, 78 days)	Grimaldi	Executive	Jacques, Hereditary Prince of Monaco
King	Mohammed VI		(1963-08-21) 21 August 1963 (age 61)	Morocco	23 July 1999 (25 years, 335 days)	Alawi	Executive	Moulay Hassan, Crown Prince of Morocco
King	Willem-Alexander		(1967-04-27) 27 April 1967 (age 58)	Netherlands	30 April 2013 (12 years, 54 days)	Orange-Nassau	Ceremonial	Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange
King	Harald V		(1937-02-21) 21 February 1937 (age 88)	Norway	17 January 1991 (34 years, 157 days)	Glücksburg	Ceremonial	Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway
Sultan	Haitham bin Tariq		(1955-10-11) 11 October 1955 (age 69)	Oman	11 January 2020 (5 years, 163 days)	Al Said	Absolute	Theyazin bin Haitham
Emir	Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani		(1980-06-03) 3 June 1980 (age 45)	Qatar	25 June 2013 (11 years, 363 days)	Al Thani	Executive	Abdullah bin Hamad
King	Salman		(1935-12-31) 31 December 1935 (age 89)	Saudi Arabia	23 January 2015 (10 years, 151 days)	Al Saud	Absolute	Mohammed bin Salman
King	Felipe VI		(1968-01-30) 30 January 1968 (age 57)	Spain	19 June 2014 (11 years, 4 days)	Borbón-Anjou	Ceremonial	Leonor, Princess of Asturias (Heir presumptive)
King	Carl XVI Gustaf		(1946-04-30) 30 April 1946 (age 79)	Sweden	15 September 1973 (51 years, 281 days)	Bernadotte	Ceremonial	Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden
King	Vajiralongkorn		(1952-07-28) 28 July 1952 (age 72)	Thailand	13 October 2016 (8 years, 253 days)	Chakri	Ceremonial	Dipangkorn Rasmijoti (Heir presumptive)
King	Tupou VI		(1959-07-12) 12 July 1959 (age 65)	Tonga	18 March 2012 (13 years, 97 days)	Tupou	Executive	Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala
President	Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan		(1961-03-11) 11 March 1961 (age 64)	United Arab Emirates	14 May 2022 (3 years, 40 days)	Al Nahyan	Executive & Federal	Hereditary and elective (presumably Khaled bin Mohamed Al Nahyan)
Pope	Francis		(1936-12-17) 17 December 1936 (age 88)	Vatican City (Holy See)	13 March 2013 (12 years, 102 days)	N/A	Absolute	Elective

Want to Learn More?

In Spanish: Anexo:Monarcas actuales de estados soberanos para niños

• Monarchs by how long they've ruled
• Monarchs who don't rule a whole country
• Other current country leaders
• Families who used to rule
• Countries that are monarchies
• Monarchs who used to rule but don't anymore
• People who are next in line to the throne
• Spouses of current monarchs
• Interesting facts about country leaders