Monarchies in Europe
While most of the states in the world and in Europe are currently republics (have a directly or indirectly elected head of state), there are still seven monarchies in the European Union, whose head of state (a monarch) inherits his office and usually keeps it for life or until they abdicate. At the dawn of the 20th century, France was the only republic among the future member states of the European Union; the ascent of republicanism to the political mainstream only started at the beginning of the 20th century. The European Union's monarchies are: the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Spain, the Kingdom of Sweden and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
All seven monarchies in the European Union are constitutional monarchies, which means that the monarch does not influence the politics of the monarch's country: either the monarch is legally prohibited from doing so, or the monarch does not utilise the political powers vested in the office by convention. There is currently no ongoing major campaign to abolish monarchy in any of the remaining seven states, although there is a vocal minority of republicans in all of them.
Current monarchies
Belgium has been a kingdom since 21 July 1831 without interruption, after it became independent from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands with Léopold I as its first king. Belgium is the only remaining popular monarchy in the European Union: The monarch is formally known as the "King of the Belgians", not the "King of Belgium". While in a referendum held on 12 March 1950, 57,683 per cent of the Belgians voted in favour of allowing Léopold III, whose conduct during World War II had been considered questionable and who had been accused of treason, to return to the throne; due to civil unrest, however, he opted to abdicate in favour of his son Baudouin I on 16 July 1951.[1] The current monarch is Albert II.
In Denmark, the monarchy goes back to the prehistoric times of the legendary kings, before the [[10th century|10
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century]]. Currently, about 80 per cent support keeping the monarchy.[2] The current monarch is Margrethe II.
- This section is incomplete. You can help by adding information about public opinion on monarchy in Luxembourg.
Luxembourg has been an independent grand duchy since 9 June 1815. Originally, Luxembourg was in personal union with the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 16 March 1815 until 23 November 1890. While Wilhelmina succeeded Willem III in the Netherlands, this was not possible in Luxembourg due to the order of succession being based on Salic law at that time; he was succeeded instead by Adolphe. The current monarch is Henri.
The Netherlands originally became independent as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, which lasted from 26 July 1581 until 18 January 1795, when the Netherlands became a French puppet state as the Batavian Republic. The Batavian Republic existed from 19 January 1795 until 4 June 1806. It was transformed into the Kingdom of Holland on 5 June 1806; since then, the Netherlands have been a kingdom. They were subsequently annexed to the French Empire in 1810. The United Kingdom of the Netherlands was established on 16 March 1815. With the independence of Belgium on 21 July 1831, the Netherlands again took a new form, as the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Nowadays, about 80 per cent of the Dutch are in favour of keeping the monarchy.[3] The current monarch is Beatrix.
Spain came into existence as a single, united kingdom under Carlos Ⅰ on 23 January 1516. The monarchy was briefly interrupted by the First Spanish Republic from 11 February 1873 until 29 December 1874. The monarchy was abolished again on 14 April 1931, first by the Second Spanish Republic — which lasted until 1 April 1939 — and subsequently by the dictatorship of Generalísimo Francisco Franco, who reigned until his death on 20 November 1975. Monarchy was restored on 22 November 1975 under Juan Carlos I, who is also the current monarch. Today, there is a large number of organisations campaigning in favour of establishing a Third Spanish Republic.[4]
The monarchy of Sweden goes back as far as the Danish one, to the semi–legendary kings before the 10
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century, since when it has not been interrupted up to today. Nonetheless, it is not considered impossible that monarchy could be abolished in Sweden.[5] The current monarch is Carl XVI Gustaf.
Monarchy can be defined to have started in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland either with the Kingdoms of England (871) or Scotland (843), with the Union of the Crowns on 24 March 1603, or with the Acts of Union of 1 May 1707. It was briefly interrupted by the English Interregnum, with the Commonwealth of England existing in its stead from 30 January 1649 until 15 December 1653 and from 26 May 1659 until 25 May 1660 and The Protectorate taking its place from 16 December 1653 until 25 May 1659. The current monarch is Elizabeth II.
Support for establishing a republic instead of a monarchy is around 20 per cent in the United Kingdom.[6] While a majority thinks that there will still be monarchy in the United Kingdom ten years from now, public opinion is rather uncertain about a monarchy still existing in fifty years' time, and a clear majority believes that there won't be a monarchy in a hundred years.[7] The monarch of the United Kingdom is also the monarch of the fifteen other Commonwealth Realms, all of which have varying levels of support for republicanism,[8] most notably in:
- Australia: A referendum was held on the issue on 6 November 1999, which mostly failed due to the way the president would have been chosen under the provisions proposed.[9] While current Prime Minister John Howard is a monarchist,[10] both Treasurer Peter Costello[10] (who is likely to succeed Howard as leader of the Liberal Party) and Kim Beazley[11] (the leader of the opposition Labor Party) are republicans, so it is likely that another attempt at establishing a republic will be made once Howard is replaced as prime minister.
- Barbados: Prime Minister Owen Arthur called for a referendum on the issue to be held in 2005;[12] the referendum has since been pushed back to 2006 in order to speed up Barbados' integration into the CARICOM Single Market and Economy.
- Jamaica: (Now former) Prime Minister P. J. Patterson in 2003 called for Jamaica to become a republic by the end of his term in 2007;[13] he has since been replaced by Portia Simpson–Miller.
- Tuvalu: Then–Prime Minister Saufatu Sopoanga (who is now deputy prime minister) had stated in 2004 that he was in favour of replacing the Queen as Tuvalu's head of state; he also stated that public opinion would be evaluated first before taking any further moves, however, no action has been taken since then.[14]
- Canada and New Zealand, where the debate on republicanism is currently a secondary issue.
Succession laws
The succession order is determined by primogeniture in the European Union's monarchies. Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden adhere to equal primogeniture, whereby the eldest child inherits the throne, regardless of gender; Denmark, Spain and the United Kingdom still have the older system of male primogeniture, whereby sons have precedence over daughters in the order of succession. There are plans to change this in Denmark[15] and Spain[16] [17] through rather complicated processes, as the change entails constitutional amendments.
In Denmark, the parliament elected in 2005 has already passed the law. After the next election, which has to take place by 2009, the next parliament will have to pass the law again, whereafter it has to be confirmed in a referendum in which at least 40 per cent of registered voters will have to support the change for it to take place. Likewise, in Spain two successive parliaments will have to pass the law by a two-thirds majority and then put it to a referendum. As parliament has to be dissolved and new elections have to be called after the constitutional amendment is passed for the first time, the current [[Prime Minister of Spain|Presidente del Gobierno]] José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has indicated he will wait until the end of his current term in 2008 before passing the law.
There have also been suggestions to change the order of succession in the United Kingdom;[18] [19] [20] [21] [22] however, as the Queen of the United Kingdom is also the Queen of the fifteen other Commonwealth Realms who have independent regulations regarding the order of succession, a change would have to be made simultaneously in all of the Commonwealth Realms to continue the current personal union, and since the need for change is not imminent yet (as Charles will succeed his mother Elizabeth II, and Charles' oldest son William will succeed him in turn, with no older sisters who would be skipped under the current male primogeniture laws), the change has been postponed to a later time.
Luxembourg has an even older system of succession (agnatic primogeniture), which completely excludes women from the order of succession.
Table of monarchies in Europe
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See also
References
- ^ european navigator (2006-06-20). "Full list of the results of the referendum on the issue of the monarchy (13 March 1950)". Historical events — 1945–1949 The pioneering phase. Retrieved 2006-06-28.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|1=,|2=,|3=,|4=,|5=, and|6=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ Staff writer (2004-05-12). "Republicans plan to cut Mary's reign". The Age. Retrieved 2006-06-27.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|1=,|2=,|3=,|4=,|5=, and|6=(help) - ^ Netty Nynke Leistra (2004-02-29). "Royal News: March 2003". Retrieved 2006-06-27.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|1=,|2=,|3=,|4=, and|5=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ Staff writer (2003-12-01). "Spain wants to be a Republic, again". Pravda. Retrieved 2006-06-28.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|1=,|2=,|3=,|4=,|5=, and|6=(help) - ^ Carl–Johan Swaerdenheim (2004-09-05). "A Swedish monarchy beyond 2020?". Monarchist Alliance. Retrieved 2006-06-27.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|1=,|2=,|3=,|4=,|5=, and|6=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ Ipsos MORI (2006-04-22). "Monarchy Trends". Retrieved 2006-06-27.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|1=,|2=,|3=,|4=, and|5=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ Ipsos MORI (22 April 2006). "Monarchy Trends". Retrieved 2006-06-27.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|1=,|2=,|3=,|4=, and|5=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ Staff writer (1999-11-07). "Where the queen still rules". The Guardian. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|1=,|2=,|3=,|4=,|5=, and|6=(help) - ^ australianpolitics.com (2006-06-30). "An Australian Republic?". Retrieved 2006-06-30.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|1=,|2=,|3=,|4=, and|5=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ a b Staff writer (2006-06-27). "Australia already thinks like republic: Costello". ABC News. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|1=,|2=,|3=,|4=,|5=, and|6=(help) - ^ Staff writer (2006-01-26). "Beazley shrugs off drop in republic support". ABC News. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|1=,|2=,|3=,|4=,|5=, and|6=(help) - ^ Thomas, Norman "Gus" (2005-02-07). "Barbados to vote on move to republic". Caribbean Net News. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|1=,|2=,|3=,|4=,|5=,|6=, and|7=(help) - ^ Staff writer (2003-09-23). "Republic road map for Jamaica". MercoPress. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|1=,|2=,|3=,|4=,|5=, and|6=(help) - ^ Chapman, Paul (2004-05-06). "Tuvalu may ditch the Queen and declare a republic". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|1=,|2=,|3=,|4=,|5=,|6=, and|7=(help) - ^ Staff writer (2006-06-03). "Females get the nod in Denmark". Television New Zealand. Retrieved 2006-06-29.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|1=,|2=,|3=,|4=,|5=, and|6=(help) - ^ Fordham, Alive (2005-11-08). "War of Spanish succession looms while baby sleeps". The Times. Retrieved 2006-06-29.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|1=,|2=,|3=,|4=,|5=,|6=, and|7=(help) - ^ Administrator (2005-11-02). "New royal baby could be a future Queen of Spain". Leonor.com. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|1=,|2=,|3=,|4=,|5=, and|6=(help) - ^ Staff writer (2005-02-23). "Succession to the Crown (1) Bill". BBC Parliament. Retrieved 2006-06-29.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|1=,|2=,|3=,|4=,|5=, and|6=(help) - ^ Staff writer (2005-02-23). "Succession to the Crown (2) Bill". BBC Parliament. Retrieved 2006-06-29.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|1=,|2=,|3=,|4=,|5=, and|6=(help) - ^ Staff writer (2005-01-14). "Peers debate Crown succession law". BBC News. Retrieved 2006-06-29.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|1=,|2=,|3=,|4=,|5=, and|6=(help) - ^ Staff writer (2005-01-14). "No to Royal succession shake-up". BBC News. Retrieved 2006-06-29.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|1=,|2=,|3=,|4=,|5=, and|6=(help) - ^ Staff writer (2005-01-25). "Monarchy should reform, MP says". BBC News. Retrieved 2006-06-29.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|1=,|2=,|3=,|4=,|5=, and|6=(help)
Other references
- Central Intelligence Agency (2006-07-11). "CIA — The World Factbook". The World Factbook. Retrieved 2006-07-19.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|1=,|2=,|3=,|4=,|5=, and|6=(help) - Central Intelligence Agency (2006-07-18). "Chiefs of State". Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments. Retrieved 2006-07-19.
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