11.   King Fahd is an absolute monarch and the ruling family holds all key posts.

12.   As a near absolute monarch, the king and nobles control two-thirds of the assembly.

13.   Chand was twice before prime minister under the Panchayat system when King Birendra was virtually an absolute monarch.

14.   King Mswati III, the last absolute monarch in Africa, announced in September the reintroduction of the age-old tradition.