Editing Democracy (section)

====Constitutional monarchy====
{{Main|Constitutional monarchy}}
[[File:King Charles III (July 2023).jpg|thumb|upright|King [[Charles III]], a constitutional monarch]]

Many countries such as the [[United Kingdom]], [[Spain]], the [[Netherlands]], [[Belgium]], [[Scandinavia|Scandinavian countries]], [[Thailand]], [[Japan]] and [[Bhutan]] turned powerful monarchs into constitutional monarchs (often gradually) with limited or symbolic roles. For example, in the predecessor states to the United Kingdom, constitutional monarchy began to emerge and has continued uninterrupted since the [[Glorious Revolution]] of 1688 and passage of the [[Bill of Rights 1689]].<ref name="Kopstein2014" /><ref name="refNARoP" /> Strongly limited constitutional monarchies, such as the United Kingdom, have been referred to as [[crowned republic]]s by writers such as [[H. G. Wells]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=64. The British Empire in 1914. Wells, H.G. 1922. A Short History of the World|url=https://www.bartleby.com/86/64.html|access-date=8 January 2022|website=bartleby.com}}</ref>

In other countries, the monarchy was abolished along with the aristocratic system (as in [[France]], [[China]], [[Russia]], [[Germany]], [[Austria]], [[Hungary]], [[Italy]], [[Greece]], and [[Egypt]]). An elected person, with or without significant powers, became the head of state in these countries.

Elite upper houses of legislatures, which often had lifetime or hereditary tenure, were common in many states. Over time, these either had their powers limited (as with the British [[House of Lords]]) or else became elective and remained powerful (as with the [[Australian Senate]]).