Wikipedia:Today's featured list/January 14, 2013
Current sovereign monarchs (King of Swaziland pictured) are distinguished by their titles and styles, which in most cases are defined by tradition, and guaranteed under the state's constitution. 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. In political and sociocultural studies, monarchies are normally associated with hereditary rule; most monarchs, in both historical and contemporary contexts, have been born and raised within a royal family. Some monarchies, however, are not hereditary, and the ruler is instead determined through an elective process. 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. (Full list...)