you [Music] constitutional monarchy is a form of government where a king or queen acts as the head of state but it's bound by the guidelines of a constitution regardless of whether the Constitution is written unwritten or blended this form of government differs from absolute monarchy where the monarch serves as the complete source of power in the state and is not legally bound by any Constitution in a constitutional monarchy the king or queen do not have the power to make or pass legislation generally speaking this power resides within an elected parliament instead their role is primarily ceremonial meaning their role is more symbolic they may also hold reserve powers powers to be used only in extreme emergencies or constitutional crises in recent times many have challenged the idea of a constitutional monarchy arguing that such a system is anachronistic and old-fashioned supporters however point to the fact that they offer continuity with the past and when elected governments change today constitutional monarchies are found all over the world aside from those 16 Commonwealth countries including Jamaica Canada and New Zealand whose head of state is the British monarch they are found in Europe eg Sweden Belgium Spain Asia Malaysia Japan Bhutan Africa Morocco Mazu - and the Middle East Jordan q8 and the United Arab Emirates