Of the world´s 196 states, 27 are monarchies

Country:

Title:

Monarch:

Heir:

Ruling house:

Bahrain

King

H.M. King Hamad of Bahrain

born1950
reign: 1999 -

H.R.H. Salman, Crown Prince of Bahrain

born: 1969

Al Khalifa

Belgium

King

H.M. Philippe, King of the Belgians

born: 1950
reign: 2014 -

H.R.H. Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant

born: 2001-

Saxe-Coburg und Gotha

Bhutan

King

H.M. King Jigme  of Bhutan

born 1980
reign: 2006-

H.R.H. The Gyalsey, Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck

born: 2016

Wangchuck

Brunei

Sultan

H.M. Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah

of Brunei

born 1946 -

reign: 1967 -

H.R.H. Crown Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah
born 1974

Bolikiah

Cambodia

King

H.M. King Norodom of Cambodia

born 1953 -

reign 2004 -

New monarch will be elected.

House of Norodom

Denmark

King

H.M. King Frederik X of Denmark

born 1968
reign 2024 -

H.R.H. Crown Prince Christian

born 2005

Glyksborg

Dubai

Sheik

H.H.  Sheik Mohammed  of Dubai

Born 1982
reign 2008 -

H.H. Crown Prince Hamdan of Dubai

born 1982

Al-Falasi

Eswatini

King

H.M. King Mswati III of Eswatini

born 1968

reign 1986 -

Traditionally the king is chosen through his mother as represented in the Swazi.

Diamini

Japan

Emperor

H.I.M. The Emperor of Japan

born: 1960
reign: 2019 -

H.I.H. Fumihito, Crown Prince Akishino

born 1965

Yamato

Jordan

King

H.M. King Abdullah of Jordan
born 1962

reign 1999 -

H.R.H. Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan

born 1994

Hashemite

Kuwait

Emir

H.H. Sheik Sabah Al-Ahmad af Kuwait

born 1929

reign 2006 -

H.H. the Crown Prince of Kuwait, Sheikh Nawaf Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
born 1937 - 

Sabah

Lesotho

King

H.M. King Letsie III of Lesotho

born 1963

reign 1990 -

H.R.H. Prince Lerotholi Seeiso of Swaziland

born 2007

Moshesh

Lichtenstein

Prince

H.S.H. Prince Hans Adam II of Lichtenstein

born 1945

reign 1989 -

H.S.H. Alois, The Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein

born 1968

Liechtenstein

Luxembourg

Grand Duke

H.R.H. Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg

born 1955

reign 2005 -

H.R.H. Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg
born 1981

Nassau-Weilburg

Malaysia

Yang di-Pertuan Agong

King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar
born 1958
reign 2024-

Every five years or when a vacancy occurs, the rulers convene as the Conference of Rulers  to elect among themselves the new King, As the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is elected among the rulers, Malaysia, as a whole, is also an elective monarchy

Monaco

Prince

H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco

born 1958

reign 2005 -

H.R.H. Jacques, Hereditary Prince of Monaco

born 2014

Grimaldi

Morocco

King

H.M. King Mohammed VI of Morocco

born 1963

reign 1999-

H.R.H. Crown Prince Moulay Hassan of Morocco

born 2003

Alaoui

The

Netherlands

King

H.M. King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands

born 1967

reign 2013 -

H.R.H. Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange

born 2003

Orange-Nassau

Norway

King

H.M. King Harald V of Norway

born 1937

reign 1991-

H.R.H. Crown Prince Haakon Magnus of Norway

born 1973

Glyksborg

Oman

Sultan

Haitham bin Tariq Al Said

born 1954
reign 2020 -

Unlike the heads of other Arab states of the Persian Gulf, Qaboos has not publicly named an heir. Article 6 of the constitution says the royal family should choose a new sultan within three days of the position falling vacant. 

Al Said

Qatar

Emir

H.H. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani 

born 1980

reign 2013 -

H.H. Abdullah bin Hamad

born 1988

Thani

Saudi Arabia

King

H.M. King Salman of Saudi-Arabien

born 1935

reign 2015 -

H.R.H. Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman

 born 1985

Saud

Spain

King

H.M. King Felipe VI of Spain

born 1968

reign 2014 - 

H.R.H. Leonor, Princess of Asturias

born 2005

Burbon-Anjou

United Arab Emirates

Sheik

H.H.

Mohamed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan 

born 1961

reign: 2022 - 

 Al Nahyan

The United 
Kingdom

King

H.M. King Charles III

born 1948

accession 2022

H.R.H. Prince William, Prince of Wales

born 1982

WIndsor

Sweden

King

H.M. King Carl XV Gustav of Sweden

born 1946

reign 1973 -

H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden

born 1977

Bernadotte

Thailand

King

H.M. King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand

born 1952

reign 2016

H.R.H.Prince Dipangkorn of Thailand

born 2005

Mahidol

Tonga

King

H.M. King Tuopou VI of Tonga

born 1959

reign 2012 -

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa of Tonga.
born 1985

Tuopou

An emperor (from Latin: imperator) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother (empress dowager), or a woman who rules in her own right (empress regnant). Emperors are generally recognized to be of a higher honour and rank than kings. In Europe, the title of Emperor has been used since the Middle Ages, considered in those times equal or almost equal in dignity to that of Pope due to the latter's position as visible head of the Church and spiritual leader of the Catholic part of Western Europe.

The Emperor of Japan is the only currently reigning monarch whose title is translated into English as Emperor.

Both emperors and kings are monarchs, but emperor and empress are considered the higher monarchical titles. Inasmuch as there is a strict definition of emperor, it is that an emperor has no relations implying the superiority of any other ruler and typically rules over more than one nation, therefore a king might be obliged to pay tributeto another ruler,^[2] or be restrained in his actions in some unequal fashion, but an emperor should in theory be completely free of such restraints.

However, monarchs heading empires have not always used the title in all contexts—the British sovereign did not assume the title Empress of the British Empire even during the incorporation of India, though she was declared Empress of India.