It is a form of administration in which the leader is a prince, usually in a state relatively small or condition that falls within a larger state such as a rule. The principalities were politically speaking, small regions that depended on the medieval metropolis.
The generally recognized surviving sovereign principalities are Liechtenstein, Monaco, and the co-principality of Andorra. The term 'principality' is often used informally to describe Wales as it currently exists, but this has no constitutional basis. The Principality of Wales existed in North and West Wales between the 13th and 16th centuries; The Welsh Laws Act of 1536, which legally incorporated Wales into England, removed the distinction between those areas and that of Wales, but no principality was created to encompass the entire Countryfrom Wales. Since then, the title Prince of Wales (along with the Duke of Cornwall and the Duke of Rothesay, among other titles) has traditionally been bestowed upon the heir to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom, but does not confer any responsibility on the government in Wales.. It has country status and is one of four countries in the UK. The Principality of Catalonia existed in the northeastern areas of Spain between the ninth and eighteenth centuries and based its sovereignty in the "Constitutions of the Principality of Catalonia", until the defeat of the Catalans in succession for the throne of what at that time were commonly named as "the kingdoms of Spain" (1701-1714).
The term principality is also sometimes used generically for any small monarchy, especially for small sovereign states ruled by a monarch of lower rank than a king, such as a Fürst (as in Liechtenstein), a grand duke. There is currently no sovereign duchy, but Luxembourg is a surviving example of a sovereign grand duchy. Historically there have been sovereign principalities with many styles of rulers, such as Countships, Margraviates and even lordships; Especially within the Holy Roman Empire.
While the above definition seems to fit perfectly in a princely state, the European historical tradition is to reserve that word for native monarchies in colonial countries and to apply "principality" to western monarchies.
Principalities have existed in ancient and modern civilizations in Africa, Asia, pre-Columbian America, and Oceania
