The Monarchy
A monarchy, from the Greek μονος, "one," and αρχειν, "to rule," is a form of government in which a monarch, usually a single person, is the head of state.
Many countries throughout the medieval ages developed their monarch and had many rows with their parliaments. This is evident in England. The civl war was caused by the fall out between the two parties. This idea eventually spread to the French Parliament (for instance) and so they also had a Civil War.
Monarchies were formed through conquest, popular sovereignty, greed, tradition, political necessity and an opportunity to exploit certain situations. In most monarchies, the monarch holds their position for life and passes the responsibilities and power of the position to their children or family when they die. In a few republics the head of state, often styled president, might remain in office for life, but most are elected for a term of office, after which he or she must step down, and any successors must then also be elected. There are currently 31 monarchs reigning over 45 extant sovereign monarchies in the world; the disconnect in numbers between monarchs and countries is explained by the fact that the sixteen Commonwealth realms - vast geographic areas including the trans-continental realms of Canada and Australia - are separate realms of one Sovereign in personal union; and one other monarchy, Andorra, has two non-resident foreign (French and Spanish) co-monarchs.
