the.com/monarchy
A job you get by being born, not by being good at it.
means A form of government in which a single person, usually a king or queen, holds supreme power, typically inheriting the role and keeping it for life.
from From Greek 'monarkhia,' a marriage of 'monos' (alone, single) and 'arkhein' (to rule) — literally 'rule by one.' That same 'arkhein' fathered a whole family of power-words: anarchy (no rule), oligarchy (rule by a few), hierarchy (sacred rule). It strolled into Latin as 'monarchia,' through Old French, and into English in the late Middle Ages, where the one who did the ruling was, fittingly, the monarch.
- oldest gig
- Japan's throne traces back over 1,500 years
- divine excuse
- Kings once claimed God personally signed off
- costly exit
- England beheaded one king, France guillotined another
- still around
- Roughly 40 monarchies survive worldwide today
- micro-king
- Liechtenstein's prince can veto any vote
british monarchy — currently king charles iii, longest continuous hereditary monarchy since 1066
saudi monarchy — house of saud ruling saudi arabia since 1744, absolute monarchy
thai monarchy — chakri dynasty since 1782, deeply revered with strict lèse-majesté laws
spanish monarchy — house of bourbon, restored in 1975 after franco's death