The Reigning Co-Princes of Andorra
So what of the reigning Co-Princes of Andorra, the landlocked, mountainous Principality in in the Pyrenees, between the borders of France and Spain?
Some scrutiny of the rôle of the Co-Princes is worthwhile.
The Co-Princes of Andorra most certainly exist, and have done since the Middle Ages. The function of Co-Princes is shared by the Spanish Bishop of Urgel and the President of the French Republic: in the Middle Ages, one of the Co-Princes was the Count of Foix, the castle of whom still looms over the town of Foix, in neighbouring Ariège department; subsequently the King of France assumed the responsibility of Co-Prince, as did later the French President.
It could be said that, prior to constitutional changes in the late 20th century, Andorra's situation was comparable to a condominium between France and Spain (although this term did not tell the whole story).
Today, the country's legislature, however, amounts to a sovereign parliament, which acknowledges the shared sovereignty of the Co-Princes, the powers of which are exercised through representatives.
Interestingly, in 1934, when more of a condominium-type of arrangement existed, Andorra's legislature briefly experimented with a monarch called Boris I, but, being then more of a territorial legislature rather than a sovereign parliament, the legislature - the Casa de la Vall - was overruled by the Co-Princes, who never agreed to the ascent of Boris, deposed after a few days.
Another extraordinary fact in relation to the Co-Princes of Andorra is that their situation is analogous to that of the Co-Princes of San Marino, another small, European state. (However, the Co-Princes of San Marino are native Sammarinese, rather than co-sovereign individuals ordinarily resident beyond the country's borders). While San Marino designates itself as a Republic, Andorra is known as a Principality.
The Co-Princes of Andorra are thus not dynastic (unless one accepts that the idea of perceived apostolic succession within the Bishop of Urgel's religious position - under the exigencies of male celibacy - itself represents some kind of more obscurely defined dynasty, for one of the Co-Princes, at least).
Some of concepts inherent in the exercise of sovereignty by the Andorran Co-Princes might thus be regarded by many North Americans as somewhat unusual.