A sword of state is a sword, used as part of the regalia, symbolising the authority and power of a monarch, other high official or, sometimes, an institution. It is sometimes borne in front of the monarch or official.
It is known to be used in following monarchies:
- Reichsschwert of the Holy Roman Empire, see Imperial Sword
- Joyeuse, used for the sacre of the king of France. Reputed to be the sword of Charlemagne.
- Kingdom of Hungary
- Kingdom of Bohemia (Czech Republic) – Sword of Saint Wenceslas
- Kingdom of England, later Great Britain, then United Kingdom; see British crown jewels#Swords
- Kingdom of Scotland, see Honours of Scotland
- The former Kingdom of the Isle of Man (now a British Crown dependency), bearing the triskelion symbol, annually used on Tynwald Day
- Kingdom of the Netherlands, see Dutch Royal Regalia (made in 1840 for enthronements)
- Kingdom of Denmark, see Danish crown regalia
- Kingdom of Norway, see Regalia of Norway
- Kingdom of Sweden, see Swedish Royal Regalia, where it is the oldest of the Vasa regalia
- Kingdom of Poland – Szczerbiec and two Grunwald Swords
- Kingdom of Mysore – Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar, ending with the Krishnaraja Wodeyar II
- Empire of Russia, see Regalia of the Russian tsars
- The Kingdom of Georgia
- The Sword of Osman, given to Sultans of the Ottoman Empire
- In the former sultanate of the Maldives, being invested on the Monarch in a traditional gong ceremony
- Kingdom of Thailand or Siam- the Sword of Victory, one of the five Regalia of Thailand.
- Shangfang Baojian (simplified Chinese: 尚方宝剑; traditional Chinese: 尚方寶劍) of Chinese dynasties from Han dynasty to Qing dynasty
- The Eodo of Taejo of Joseon Dynasty, Korea
- Kusanagi, kept by the Emperor of Japan
- Also in the Malay world, notably in
- the sultanate of Perak, where it gave the name to a 'national' order of knighthood[citation needed]
- Sarawak (on Borneo)
Swords of state are also used in some republics, as in the Senate of the state of South Carolina in the United States of America.