Monarchy is kingship. However, there are different forms of monarchy, absolute and constitutional. In an absolute monarchy a ruler has power and leadership that are not limited or restrained by laws or a constitution. Obviously, then, in a constitutional monarchy the ruler’s power and leadership are in some way limited or restrained by laws or a constitution typically enacted by a parliament, counsel or some governing body. Nonetheless, there are various degrees of monarchy and out constitutional monarchies in existence in the modern world are far more limited in power and leadership than their historical predecessors, “Monarchy is a form of government in which one person has the hereditary right to rule as head of state during his or her lifetime. The power of the monarch varies from absolute to very limited; the latter is exemplified in modern-day constitutional monarchies” (Encarta 1).
Monarchies of the absolute variety have existed nearly as long as man. Typically, there were common elements that rendered a monarch absolute. These elements included the power to make laws, the ability to tax, the power to administer justice and control over state and foreign policy. Ancient societies in Egypt, the Orient and even during the Roman Empire were absolute monarchies. At this point in time the absolute power or authority of the governing monarch was seen as a divine right to rule. Absolute monarchy would remain a popular form of government throughout the middle ages and into the 17th and even 18th century, despite the emergence of the Magna Carta in the thirteenth century. During the middle ages, strong monarchs were needed who could marshal military force to defend the country. The feudal system supported the rule of monarchs through the economic backing of lords. In the 15th and 16th centuries, absolute monarchs like King Henry VIII and King Louis XIV ruled England and France
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