A
monarch is the
sovereign head of state in a
monarchy. A monarch may exercise the most and highest authority in the state or others may wield that power on behalf of the monarch. Typically a monarch either personally
inherits the lawful right to exercise the state's sovereign rights (often referred to as
the throne or
the crown) or is
selected by an established process from a family or cohort eligible to provide the nation's monarch. Alternatively, an individual may become monarch by conquest,
acclamation or a combination of means. A monarch usually reigns for
life or until
abdication. If a young child is crowned the monarch, a
Regent is often appointed to govern until the monarch reaches the requisite adult age to rule. Monarchs' actual powers vary from one monarchy to another and in different eras; on one extreme, they may be
autocrats (
absolute monarchy) wielding genuine sovereignty; on the other they may be
ceremonial heads of state who exercise little or no power or only
reserve powers, with actual
authority vested in a
parliament or other body (
constitutional monarchy).
