Royal and Noble Ranks

Most European countries today are republics, but some of them remained kingdoms or monarchies, for eg. the UK, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain. Monarchies have monarchs, who rule them to some extent, and nobility or noble class with a variety of different ranks. Noble ranks are usually hereditary titles.

Royal and Noble Ranks

Emperor and empress, king and queen, duke and duchess, count and countess are just a few examples of mostly European royal ranks. The image shows several royal and noble ranks in descending order.

Use this image with your children to clarify the differences between the ranks. Introduce the topic of most typical government forms now and in the past. Let your students find out which modern countries are monarchies, who their monarchs and nobility are, compare monarchies today and in the past.