An '''absolute monarchy''' is a [[country]] that is ruled by a hereditary [[monarch]], with little or no [[democratic]] or other forms of limitation to his powers. Quite rare in the modern world, examples include [[Nepal]], [[Saudi Arabia]] and, until recently, [[Kuwait]].
Contrary to popular opinion, absolute monarchies were never the norm in [[Medieval]] [[Europe]], where some form of representative bodies always tended to exist. What happened was that ''after'' the end of the medieval period, some monarchies sought to increase their power, the prime example being [[France]], which had indeed become an absolute monarchy by the 17th century. In [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] (from 1801 the [[United Kingdom]]), on the other hand, went in totally the opposite direction, and the monarchs were gradually stripped of their powers until very few remain today (notable reserve powers of the British monarch include the right to declare [[war]] and conclude [[peace]], but these are never exercised by the monarch independently these days).