Countries with Royal Families: A monarchy is a form of government in which a country is ruled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth.
Monarchs ruling in different countries have different titles and styles. Though major countries today are democracies some still have nominal Monarch as their head.
Which are Countries With Royal Families?
Few countries that have a Royal genealogy are :
- Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy, where Monarchy still rules. The king is the Prime Minister and His deputies, are also from the ruling House of Saud, and the king-appointed cabinet includes more members of the Royal Families.
- Kuwait: The oil-rich nation is ruled by a hereditary title holder called as emir who is also the head of the royal family, which has been in some form of power since the early 1700s.
- Qatar: The Royal family of Qatar called as the al-Thani family has enormous wealth owing to the oil-rich resources and they have been working to expand their country’s regional influence. They’ve ruled Qatar since 1825 but during the 20th century, some extended family members tried to usurp the throne.
- United Arab Emirates: One of the most influential federations of the world, The UAE is a federation of seven districts, each of which is governed by a hereditary monarch who bears the title of emir. The Federation President is the emir of Abu Dhabi which has been a tradition until now.
- Swaziland: It is a small African Country that has been ruled by the absolute monarch whose formal title is Ngwenyama, an honorific that also means lion.
- Brunei: Brunei is ruled by a Sultan who is also the prime minister of the country, and almost all the members of Brunei’s ruling bodies, including the Legislative Council and the Supreme and Sharia Courts, are appointed by him. His 1,800-room palace, the Istana Nurul Iman, is considered the world’s largest private residence.
- Oman: The Royal family has ruled since the 1700s. Sultan Qaboos bin Said is its present ruler who has been ruling Oman since he overthrew his father in a 1970 palace coup.
- Bahrain: The Royal Families of Bahrain is the al-Khalifa family, which is Sunni. Ironically the Sunni family has ruled the Shiite nation since 1783. The current monarch, Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, took over in 1999 and in 2002 and changed his title from emir to king.
- Thailand: The king who has beaten the record of England’s Queen Elizabeth’s reign is King Bhumibol Adulyadej who has reigned for a remarkable 67 years. Though he holds little constitutional powers few important ones are the ability to veto legislation and pardon criminals.
- Bhutan: The title of Bhutan king is Druk Gyalpomeaning Dragon king. Presently Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck is the Dragon King. The Wangchuck monarchy is just over 100 years old, The British Empire has helped consolidate and unify this Himalayan Country.
- Sweden: one of the few monarchies that allow female succession is Sweden. Which means the Princess will become queen at the end of her father’s reign, as the current monarch, is a ceremonial figure.
- Greenland: though it has governed itself through an elected parliament since 1979 it is part of the Kingdom of Denmark
- Malaysia: the monarchy in Malaysia is ceremonial and unique. A hereditary leader rules every state to be known as a sultan; the sultans every 5 years elect one of their members to serve as king.
- Japan: The Yamato dynasty is the oldest continuous hereditary monarchy in the world originating back in 660AD. The hereditary seat is called the Chrysanthemum Throne and sits in the Imperial Palace in Kyoto.