The history of the prime minister and of the monarchy are inextricably linked. The monarchy continued to exercise real authority for the first 200 years of the prime minister’s existence. The transfer of power was painful, faltering, and contested. The continued existence of the monarchy was never a given. It had been abolished in Britain in 1649, as it was in France in 1792 (and 1848 and 1870), Germany in 1918, and Italy in 1946. Aside from the queen, and the British Commonwealth, only twenty-eight countries still retain a monarchy, just 15 per cent of the total. Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Sweden retain monarchies with ceremonial duties, but beyond Europe, they tend to be found in the Muslim world, and include some with absolute power, Brunei, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.