Absolute Monarchy Towards Constitutional Monarchy (In Great Britain) Introduction It is still a controversial issue or topic of debate that who was the first King of Britain, but most historians starts with the Edward The Elder 899-924 as the first monarch of Britain. He established his monarchy with the conquest of the Danish in northern England. He and his successors were absolute monarchs till 1215. In 1215 Magna Carta was signed by King John which was the first written legal document of Britain that restricted the monarch powers. A stone was laid in 1215 which laid the development of constitutional monarchy in Britain. Then the major developments which limited the monarch’s powers and strengthen the constitutional monarchy were Petition of Rights 1628, Glorious revolution of 1688, Bill of Rights in 1689 and The Act of Settlement 1701. Gradually and slowly the Monarchs transferred their powers to the legislature. Till now Great Britain has been ruled by many monarchs including Absolute and constitutional monarchs. English absolute monarchs continued to rule Britain until 18 th century, when the country became a constitutional monarchy and most national policies was decided by parliament. Monarchy Monarchy is a form of government in which the head of state is a monarch. He is the supreme authority of the state. Supreme authority is actually or nominally lodged to him. Monarchs have life tenure mostly and have powers varying from nominal to absolute. Types of Monarchy There are mainly two types of monarchies. These are Absolute Monarchy It is such monarchical form of government where the monarch has the power to rule his or her land or state and its citizens freely. All the people, land and properties of the nation belong to him. In an absolute monarchy there is no constitution or body of law above what is decreed by the sovereign. Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government in which the monarch exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of government; his or her powers are not limited by a constitution or by the law. An absolute monarch is the be-all-and-end all; this type of monarch runs the whole government, makes the laws and enforces them. The absolute monarch exercises total power over the land and its subject people. Absolute monarchy meant that the ultimate authority to run a state was in the hands of a king who ruled by divine right. 1