The image below is of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. This picture was taken in 2007 when the Queen visited the United States.
In 2007, the Queen and her husband, Prince Phillip, visited the United States. They were met with crowds of people who were excited to see the royal couple. As the Head of State for the United Kingdom, she is arguably the most popular monarch in the world. However, the United Kingdom is not the only monarchy in the world. There are other countries where monarchies still exist.
Click on the link below to view an interactive map that shows where monarchies still exist.
Kings (And Queens) Of The World: Where Monarchies Still Exist
Answer the questions below based on the interactive map.
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Most monarchies are located in Europe.
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Monarchies still exist in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and North America.
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Queen Elizabeth II rules over the United Kingdom in Europe and 15 Commonwealth realms in North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and Oceania.
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The country of Brunei is the sole sultanate.
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Emirates and monarchies exist in the Middle East.
Throughout the history of the world, there have been political systems that have shaped both ancient and modern civilizations. For example, kings, priests, or priest-kings ruled ancient civilizations. The political systems in these civilizations provide the first glimpse at monarchies and theocracies. They created the framework for the political systems in modern civilizations.
The chart below gives a brief description of political systems that will be examined in this lesson.
| Monarchy | Political system in which the government is controlled by a single leader |
| Theocracy | Political system in which the government is controlled by a religious organization or representatives of a religious organization |
| Democracy | Political system in which the government is controlled by the citizens or elected representatives |
| Oligarchy | Political system in which the government is controlled by a small group of people |
| Totalitarianism | Political system in which the government controls all aspects of the lives of its citizens |
In this lesson, you will review the forms of government in early civilizations. You will also learn the characteristics of different forms of government that have evolved over time.
Sources of images used for this section as they appear, top to bottom: