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In a monarchy, a regent (from Latin regens 'ruling, governing') is a person appointed to execute the office of the monarch temporarily. Regencies may arise for a number of reasons, including the monarch being a minor, ill, absent from the country, or otherwise unavailable. A regent may also be appointed in cases where the throne is vacant, or the identity of the legitimate monarch is disputed.

The rule of a regent or regents is called a regency. A regent or regency council may be formed as an ad hoc measure, or there may be a formal and regular appointment process. Regent in some countries has also been used as a formal title granted to a monarch's most trusted advisor or personal assistant. If the regent is holding the position due to their being in the line of succession, the compound term prince regent is often used; if the regent of a minor is their mother, and she is wife or widow of a king, she would be referred to as queen regent.

If the formally appointed regent is unavailable or cannot serve on a temporary basis, a regent ad interim may be appointed to fill the gap.

A regent may also be appointed to govern, sometimes for an extended period of time, when there is no established ruling house. This was the case in the Kingdom of Hungary in the aftermath of World War I, where the royal line was considered extinct. The reverse situation, where a regent is appointed because a newly formed state has not yet chosen a monarch, has occurred many times, notably in Finland in 1918 and Belgium in 1830.

In the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795), the royal office was elective, which often led to a fairly long interregnum. During this period, the Roman Catholic primate (the Archbishop of Gniezno) served as the regent, and was called interrex (Latin: ruler 'between kings' as in Ancient Rome). In the small republic of San Marino, the two Captains Regent (Capitani Reggenti) are both elected for a six-month term as joint heads of state.

Famous regency periods include that of the Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, giving rise to many terms such as Regency era and Regency architecture. Strictly, this period lasted from 1811 to 1820, when his father George III was insane, though when used as a period label it generally covers a wider period. Philippe II, Duke of Orléans was Regent of France from the death of Louis XIV in 1715 until Louis XV came of age in 1723; this is also used as a period label for many aspects of French history, as Régence in French, again tending to cover a rather wider period than the actual regency. In the 16th century, Queen Catherine de Medici's acts as regent caused her to become arguably the most important woman in Europe, giving her name to an age. The equivalent Greek term is epitropos (επίτροπος), meaning overseer.

As of 3 October 2025 Liechtenstein (under Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein) is the only country with an active regency. In 2016, Prem Tinsulanonda became the oldest regent of any nation, at the age of 96. He became the regent for Rama X of Thailand, who chose not to formally accede to the throne until the end of the mourning period for his father. Previously, this record was held by Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria, who was 91 at the end of his regency.

A similar institution, the office of Governor-General, exists in the Commonwealth realms, which share the monarch of the United Kingdom as their head of state. Like regents, governors-general exercise the powers of the crown in the name of an absent monarch. However, unlike a regency, the office of governor-general is permanent; the oldest, the office of Governor General of Canada has exercised almost all the powers of the Canadian monarch since 1867 with only brief interruptions.