A
monarch is the
head of a
monarchy, a form of government in which a state or
polity is ruled by an individual who normally rules for
life or until
abdication, and typically
inherits the throne by birth. Monarchs may be
autocrats (as in all
absolute monarchies) or may be
ceremonial figureheads, exercising only limited or no
reserve powers at all, with actual authority vested in a
legislature and/or
executive cabinet (as in many
constitutional monarchies). In many cases, a monarch will also be
linked with a state religion. Most states only have a single monarch at any given time, although a
regent may rule when the monarch is a
minor,
not present, or
otherwise incapable of ruling. Cases in which two monarchs rule simultaneously over a single state, as is the current situation in Andorra, are known as
coregencies.