Why this word is great
INTERREGENT — [Noun] A person who holds royal functions during an interregnum; an interim regent. From Latin inter- ("between") + regent ("ruler"), modeled on Latin lexical patterns. Unlike "regent" (a permanent governor) or "viceroy" (a colonial proxy), the interregent is a fleeting sovereign, a placeholder for power. It is the caretaker king who lights the palace candles during the long night of succession, the bureaucrat who stamps decrees while the throne sits empty, or the uneasy general who holds the city gates until the heir comes of age—a figure defined by transience, whose authority is borrowed from the absence it fills.