Monarchies in Asia


There are several monarchies in Asia, while some states function as absolute monarchies where the king has complete authority over the state, others are constitutional monarchies where a monarch exercises authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making.

National monarchies

Constituent monarchies

United Arab Emirates (UAE)

The United Arab Emirates is a federal presidential semi-constitutional monarchy consisting of 7 emirates, each ruled by absolute monarchs. The President, Vice President and Prime Minister are elected by the Federal Supreme Council, which consists of the rulers of the seven emirates. However, in practice, the office of President is traditionally held by the Ruler of Abu Dhabi, while the offices of Vice President and Prime Minister are held by the Ruler of Dubai. The seven emirates of the UAE are:
is a federal constitutional monarchy consisting of 13 states and 3 federal territories. Among the 13 states, 9 are ruled by Malay rulers, who collectively form the Conference of Rulers to elect the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong for a five-year term via secret ballot. The position has to date, been de facto rotated through the state rulers, originally based on seniority. The nine Malay States are the;
''Remark: The monarchy of Negeri Sembilan is itself elective.''

Other subnational

India and Pakistan

The British ruled Indian Empire became independent from British rule in 1947 and became the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan and in 1950 India became the Republic of India, in 1956 Pakistan became the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and in 1971 the province of East Pakistan separated from Pakistan to become Bangladesh. Princely states were only in the present-day countries of India and Pakistan, and not Bangladesh. The princely states who were vassal states of the British, had a certain degree of power and autonomy during the British Raj. The princely states had integrated into the newly independent India and Pakistan between 1947 and 1975 and the former monarchs of the princely states who joined before 1971 in India and before 1972 in Pakistan became titular rulers that received a privy purse and initially retained their statuses, privileges, and autonomy. During this time, the former princely states in India were merged into unions, each of which was headed by a former ruling prince with the title of Rajpramukh, equivalent to a state governor.
In 1956, the position of Rajpramukh was abolished and the federations dissolved, the former principalities becoming part of Indian states. The states which acceded to Pakistan retained their status until the promulgation of a new constitution in 1956, when most became part of the province of West Pakistan; a few of the former states retained their autonomy until 1969 when they were fully integrated into Pakistan. The Indian Government formally derecognised the princely families in 1971, followed by the Pakistani Government in 1972, in which their titles, autonomy, and privy purses were take away. Presently the rulers of the former princely states are pretenders who carry out ceremonial roles.

List of Princely States

Indonesia

Indonesia is a republic, however several provinces or regencies preserves their own monarchy, although only Special Region of Yogyakarta retains actual administrative authority, the rest only holds cultural significance.
Administrative Monarchies
Ceremonial Monarchies
Although the Philippines is a republic, the Southern Philippines have retained their monarchical traditions and are protected under the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997.
  • Sultanate of Sulu
  • Sultanate of Maguindanao
  • Confederate States of Lanao