For centuries, before the rise of parliamentary democracies in the late eighteenth century, it was **rmal for a country to be
ruled by a royal family, whose title passed from generation to generation, with a new king, queen, or emperor taking power after the death or abdication of his or her predecessor. Today, more than twenty
countries around the world are
still ruled by monarchies. Some are constitutional monarchies, where the monarch?s power is regulated by a parliament; others are absolute monarchies, where one person rules by decree. Here is a look at twenty reigning
monarchs and how they influence their
countries today.
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