Federal constitutional monarchy

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A federal constitutional monarchy is a federation of states with the executive under the authority of a constitutional monarch. A monarchy run as a federation of smaller units is generally governed by constitutional convention, unlike in a unitary state which can accommodate both constitutional and absolute monarchs. There are divisions between both the powers and duties of all levels of the federation and the responsibility of the monarch in each jurisdiction.

Although each member unit of a federal state has a degree of sovereignty, individual units within the federation are not a monarchy in and of themselves. The monarch is the head of state of the country as a whole rather than of each unit individually; there is a Queen of Canada, but no Queen of Newfoundland. The exception to this rule is Malaysia. While there is a Yang di-Pertuan Agong who acts as king of the entire country, nine of the thirteen states of Malaysia has its own monarch, in most cases a sultan.

The monarchical form of federation is contrasted with the federal republic.

[edit] List of federal constitutional monarchies

Federation	Style	Subdivisions	Head of State
Australia	Commonwealth	States and territories of Australia	Queen of Australia
Belgium	Kingdom	Communities and regions of Belgium	King of the Belgians
Canada	Dominion (historical)	Provinces and territories of Canada	Queen of Canada
Malaysia	(None)	States of Malaysia	Yang di-Pertuan Agong
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Federation	Parishes of Saint Kitts and Nevis	Queen of Saint Kitts and Nevis
Spain*	Kingdom	Autonomous communities of Spain	King of Spain

^* Spain is not officially a federation, but its constitution gives considerable power and autonomy to the governments of its subdivisions.