Monarchy

Monarchy [fr., Gk.], a government in which the supreme power is vested in a single person. where a monarch is invested with absolute power, the monarchy is termed despotic; where the supreme power is virtually in the laws, thought he majesty of government and the administration are vested in a single person, it is a limited monarchy. It is hereditary, where the regal power descends immediately from the possessor to the next heir by blood, as in our country; or elective, as was formerly the case in Poland.