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(#1) Saudi Arabia
- Riyadh
For decades, all of the kings of Saudi Arabia have been sons of Ibn Saud, the man who single-handedly created the modern country. Since Ibn Saud himself was born in 1875, that means that his country's monarchs have been increasingly old men with increasingly short reigns in recent years.
The current ruler, King Salman, and his family have control of the country's vast oil reserves (and thus of a lot its wealth). The king has tons of political, legislative, and judicial power, much of it controversial.
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(#2) Vatican City
- Vatican City
Vatican City might be tiny, but it's powerful. The smallest independent state in the entire world, the 100-acre area has its own currency, its own monarch - the Pope - and its own flag. Technically, Vatican City isn't even part of Italy, and the Holy Father, the last absolute monarch in Europe, has authority over everyone and everything in his jurisdiction.
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(#3) Oman
- Muscat
At the southwestern tip of the Saudi peninsula sits the tiny nation of Oman, ruled by Sultan Qaboos bin Said. Since ascending to power in a coup in 1970, Sultan Qaboos, as he is popularly known, has led Oman into the modern era. He has massively improved the country's GDP and is known as a determined peace-keeper. The Sultan holds pretty much every major political role himself, but remains a mysterious, little-seen presence.
The succession to the sultanate is up in the air. The Sultan has left the decision to a council, with his own preference - written in an envelope - only to be revealed if they can't decide on a successor.
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(#4) Monaco
The tiny principality of Monaco is ruled by Prince Albert II, a member of the famed Grimaldi family and the son of Hollywood luminary Grace Kelly. Monaco is one of the few countries in Europe where the monarch plays a regular role in politics. Prince Albert is also amongst the world's richest royals, with a net worth estimated about $1 billion. But he's had his fair share of scandals - he allegedly assaulted a woman, ducked out of paying his bills, and has accepted bribes.
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(#5) Brunei
- Bandar Seri Begawan
Although the southeast Asian nation of Brunei has only been independent since 1984, its ruler has a lot of control over its day-to-day dealings thanks to a family history that stretches back decades. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has full executive authority, and has exercised his power by reportedly naming himself infallible and implementing more conservative religious laws in the country.
Ironically, the royal family is frequently accused of corruption. The Sultan's brother was on trial for stealing nearly $15 billion from the government while serving as finance minister. The Sultan himself lives in a palace with nearly 2,000, rooms and once allegedly paid Michael Jackson $7 million to perform at his birthday. He also maintains a harem and supports homophobic policies.
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(#6) Swaziland
- Mbabane, Lobamba
King Mswati III of Swaziland, the final absolute monarch in sub-Saharan Africa, wields considerable power. He banned all opposition parties, and used tens of millions of dollars to support his large family. Just a month after he ascended to the throne, King Mswati dissolved his royal council and gave more power to his siblings.
He's also known for his playboy ways. He lives lavishly in a poverty-stricken country, and got engaged to his fifteenth wife in 2013.
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(#7) Qatar
- Doha
Oil-rich Qatar is ruled by Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, whose father, Sheikh Hamad, turned the tiny country into an incredibly wealthy nation. Today it has a very low unemployment rate and excellent healthcare, and it's still got a very powerful monarch at its head.
Some have asserted that Sheikh Hamad put out an air of liberalism around his reign, when, in reality, he remained an autocrat. His regime had ties to numerous terrorist organizations, and his son has faced allegations of corruption. But the current ruler has implemented some reforms, including granting more permissions to women.
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(#8) Liechtenstein
- Vaduz
The small European principality of Liechtenstein, ruled by Hereditary Prince Alois (in the place of his father, Hans-Adam II), has extremely powerful monarchs. In a recent referendum, its people apparently rejected restriction of the royal family's influence on politics; Prince Alois has the power to veto any law he chooses. The Liechtenstein princely family even threatened to leave power if their authority was curtailed.
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(#9) Thailand
- Bangkok
In 2016, a new ruler, King Vajiralongkorn, came to the throne in Thailand. Unlike his father, who was revered for his near-saintly status, the young King has taken a lot of military power from the get-go. The new constitution that the King signed gave him choice of a regent, the ability to dissolve his parliament, and legislative powers the throne hadn't had in years. The King has also ousted a lot of old palace officials and put his own favorites in, even arresting some past critics.
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(#10) Bahrain
- Manama
The island monarchy of Bahrain, ruled by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, is known for its involvement in Formula 1 racing and its oil reserves. Equally notorious are its royal family's maltreatment of dissenters, establishment of horrible prisons, and frequent murders and human rights abuses - all allowed by the family's nearly unchecked power.
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(#11) Morocco
- Rabat
King Mohammed VI of Morocco is considered inviolable and near-holy. In April 2017, he created a new coalition government that contained a lot of his own supporters. The palace denied that that the King took undue power, but he's nevertheless a controversial figure - there's a history of him restricting freedom of the press.
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(#12) Kuwait
- Kuwait City
Emir Sabah IV Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, ruler of Kuwait, has a ton of say in the country's politics. His extended family is threaded throughout all aspects of the government and the private sector. He has also dissolved his parliament multiple times. The Emir wields control over citizens' private lives as well: criticism of the royal family on social media is forbidden, and homosexuality is outlawed.
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(#13) United Arab Emirates
- Abu Dhabi
The seven tiny nations making up the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are each ruled by a powerful monarch who remains at the head of very top-down governments. As a New York Times article noted:
"The emirates remain an absolute monarchy, where institutions are far less important than royalty and where the law is particularly capricious - applied differently based on social standing, religion and nationality, political experts and human rights advocates said."
UAE rulers have been caught up in their fair share of scandals as well, from shady political dealings to human rights violations.
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About This Tool
We all know that in the development of human society, the monarchs with supreme power have appeared. Although most feudal countries have changed, the monarch no longer has actual power, such as the British constitutional monarchy. But so far, there are still a number of modern countries in the world with monarchs, it is not a constitutional system, but the monarch has absolute real power.
Do you know which countries in the world still retain monarchs who wield real power? They are some of the royal family that lasted for hundreds of years, you will find random 13 monarchs in modern countries here, the random tool shows some basic information about them, such as Oman, Monaco, Brunei, etc.
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