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 Albert II, born June 6, 1934, acceded August 9, 1993.
Bhutan	1907	King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuk, born February 21, 1980, acceded December 15, 2006.
Brunei Darussalam	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.	Queen Margrethe II, born April 16, 1940, acceded January 14, 1972.
Japan	The world's oldest monarchy, officially founded in 660 B.C.	Emperor Akihito, born December 23, 1933, acceded January 7, 1989.
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 Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, acceded January 24, 2006.
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.
Oman	1744	Sultan Qabus bin Said, born November 18, 1942, acceded July 23, 1970.
Netherlands	1581; French control 1795-1813, constitutional monarchy 1815.	Queen Beatrix, born January 31, 1938, acceded April 30, 1980.
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.
Qatar	1971	Emir Hamad bin Khalifa ath-Thani, born 1950, acceded June 27, 1995.
Saudi Arabia	1932	King Abdullah, born 1924, acceded August 1, 2005.
Spain	Unified 1492; Monarchy overthrown 1931, restored 1975.	King Juan Carlos I, born January 5, 1938, acceded November 22, 1975.
Swaziland	1968	King Mswati III, born 1968, acceded April 25, 1986.
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 19, 1973.
Thailand	Unified 1350; known as Siam until 1939.	King Bhumibol Adulyadej, born December 5, 1927, acceded June 9, 1946; longest serving head of state in the world.
Tonga	1970	King Taufa'ahau Tupou V, born May 4, 1948, acceded September 10, 2006
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.	Queen Elizabeth II, born April 21, 1926, acceded February 6, 1952.

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.	King Mizan Zainal Abidin, born January 22, 1962, acceded December 13, 2006.
United Arab Emirates	1971; federation of emirates.	President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Emir of Abu Dhabi, born 1948, in office November 3, 2004.

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
Barbados	1966
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
Solomon Islands	1978
Tuvalu	1978	Monarchy sustained by referendum, April 2008

D. Non-Hereditary

Country	History	Current sovereign(s)
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.	Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France and (Co) Prince of Andorra, born January 28, 1955, in office May 16, 2007; Joan Enric Vives Sicilia, Bishop of Urgell and (Co) Prince-Bishop of Andorra, born July 24, 1949, in office May 12, 2003.
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.	Tupua Tamasese Tupuola Tufuga Efi, O le Ao o le Mao, born March 1, 1938, in office June 16, 2007.
Vatican City	Independent 1929, but papacy dates from first century AD.	Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger), born April 16, 1927, in office April 19, 2005.

Section II: Countries whose Monarchies have been Abolished