Board Thread:Rant and Rave/@comment-25733960-20180519054612/@comment-31231929-20180522151623

I think that Regina isn't the supreme ruler of the entire United Realms, but the head of a Royal Council that as a whole are the rulers of the UR. The leaders of each sub-realm are still the rulers of their realm, but also are a part of a council that works to keep peace between their respective lands. Storybrooke was shown to be at the center of the UR as a capital of sorts and Regina was elected the leader of it. In a way Regina can be thought of as ruling over the United Realms since she's the head of the Royal Council, but it works as a democracy so everyone has a fair say in things.

So basically I think of the United Realms as similar to the European Union.