What is the form of government where a king or queen rules under a constitution?

• A. Constitutional Monarchy
• B. Absolute Monarchy
• C. Republic
• D. Dictatorship

Answer: (A)

A king or queen ruling under a constitution describes a constitutional monarchy, where the monarch’s powers are limited by law and a written constitution. In this setup, real political power typically sits with elected representatives in Parliament and an elected prime minister or equivalent who runs the government, while the monarch’s role is largely ceremonial. This contrasts with an absolute monarchy, where the monarch holds substantial governing power; a republic, which has no monarch at all and chooses leaders through elections; and a dictatorship, where power is concentrated in a single ruler or small group often maintained by force and without constitutional constraints. In Australian practice, this means the monarch is the head of state, but Parliament and the Prime Minister govern with constitutional limits in place.