A. Hereditary, Resident Sovereign

Country	Date of Independence; History	Current Sovereign
Bahrain	1971	King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, born January 28, 1950, acceded March 6, 1999 (as Emir); title changed to King, February 14, 2002.
Belgium	1830	King Philippe I, born April 15, 1960, acceded July 21, 2013.
Bhutan	1907	King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuk, born February 21, 1980, acceded December 15, 2006.
Brunei	1984	Sultan Sir Muda Hassanal Bolkiah Muizzadin Waddaulah, born July 15, 1946, acceded October 5, 1967.
Cambodia	1953; monarchy overthrown 1970, restored 1993.	King Norodom Sihamoni, born May 14, 1953, acceded October 14, 2004.
Denmark	Monarchy dates from ninth century, possibly earlier; only European country which has continuously maintained both independence and monarchy since medieval times.	King Frederik X, born May 26, 1968, acceded January 14, 2024.
Eswatini	1968	King Mswati III, born 1968, acceded April 25, 1986.
Japan	The world's oldest monarchy, officially founded in 660 B.C.	Emperor Naruhito, born February 23, 1960, acceded May 1, 2019.
Jordan	1946	King Abdullah II, born January 30, 1962, acceded February 7, 1999. (Official sites are also maintained for Queen Rania, Prince Hamzah, and for the previous royal couple, the late King Hussein and Queen Noor.)
Kuwait	1961	Emir Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, born September 27, 1940, acceded December 16, 2023.
Lesotho	1966	King Letsie III, born July 17, 1963, reigned previously 1990-93, acceded February 7, 1996.
Liechtenstein	1806	Prince Hans Adam II, born February 14, 1945, acceded November 13, 1989; transferred powers to son Hereditary Prince Alois (b. June 11, 1968) August 15, 2004.
Luxembourg	1866; crown united with that of the Netherlands until 1890.	Grand Duke Henri, born April 16, 1955, acceded October 7, 2000.
Monaco	Semi-independent since medieval times; Grimaldi dynasty has ruled since 1297, interrupted by French Revolution.	Prince Albert II, born March 14, 1958, acceded April 6, 2005.
Morocco	1956	King Mohammed VI, born August 21, 1963, acceded July 23, 1999.
Netherlands	1581; French control 1795-1813, constitutional monarchy 1815.	King Willem-Alexander, born April 27, 1967, acceded April 30, 2013.
Norway	Monarchy dates from ninth century; crown united with that of Denmark 1397-1814, Sweden 1814-1905.	King Harald V, born February 21, 1937, acceded January 17, 1991.
Oman	1744	Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, born October 13, 1954, acceded January 11, 2020.
Qatar	1971	Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, born June 3, 1980, acceded June 25, 2013.
Saudi Arabia	1932	King Salman, born December 31, 1935, acceded January 23, 2015.
Spain	Unified 1492; Monarchy overthrown 1931, restored 1975.	King Felipe VI, born January 30, 1968, acceded June 19, 2014.
Sweden	Monarchy dates from ninth century; crown usually united with that of Denmark and Norway from 1397 until 1523.	King Carl XVI Gustaf, born April 30, 1946, acceded September 15, 1973.
Thailand	Unified 1350; known as Siam until 1939.	King Vajiralongkron, born July 28, 1952, proclaimed king December 1, 2016 (retroactive to October 13).
Tonga	1970	King Tupou VI (Tupouto'a Lavaka), born July 12, 1959, acceded March 18, 2012.
United Kingdom	England united 829; conquered Wales and Ireland in Middle Ages. English and Scottish crowns united 1603. Monarchy overthrown 1649; restored 1660. Act of Union 1707, United Kingdom established 1801.	King Charles III, born November 14, 1948, acceded September 8, 2022.

B. Semi-Hereditary, Resident Sovereign

Country	Date of Independence; Description	Current sovereign
Malaysia	1963; monarch elected by council of hereditary rulers of the Malayan states every five years.	Yang di-Pertuan Agong Abdullah, born July 30, 1959, acceded January 31, 2019. (Sultan of Pahang since January 15, 2019).
United Arab Emirates	1971; federation of emirates.	President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Emir of Abu Dhabi, born March 11, 1961, in office May 14, 2022.

C. Hereditary, Sovereign shared with United Kingdom

Country	Date of independence	Comments
Antigua and Barbuda	1981
Australia	1901	Monarchy sustained by referendum, November 6, 1999
Bahamas	1973
Belize	1981
Canada	1867
Grenada	1974
Jamaica	1962
New Zealand	1907	King of the Maori: Tuheitia Paki (born April 21, 1955; acceded August 21, 2006)
Papua New Guinea	1975
Saint Kitts and Nevis	1983
Saint Lucia	1979
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	1979	Monarchy sustained by referendum, November 25, 2009
Solomon Islands	1978
Tuvalu	1978	Monarchy sustained by referendum, April 2008

D. Non-Hereditary

Country	History
Andorra	Co-principality since 1278. Parliamentary government adopted 1993 but nominal sovereignty is still held by President of France (as successor to the Counts of Foix and Kings of France) and the Bishop of Urgell.
Samoa	1962; formerly known as Western Samoa. Independent Samoa's first head of state, Malietoa Tanumafili II, who died in May 2007, was generally regarded as a monarch; his successors are to be elected to five year terms and there is some debate as to whether the country should now be considered a monarchy or a republic. The fact that the current head of state was selected from among Samoa's "Paramount Families of State" suggests a continuing royal aspect to the constitution.
Vatican City	Independent 1929, but papacy dates from first century AD.

Section II: Countries whose Monarchies have been Abolished