For every monarchy overthrown the sky becomes less brilliant, because it loses a star. A republic is ugliness set free.

There are twelve monarchies in Europe that remain today, despite the turbulence of many centuries:  these are Andorra, Belgium, Denmark, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands,  Norway, Spain, Sweden, Vatican City and the UK. 

Others such as France, Finland, Greece,  Portugal and Russia became republics while others simply ceased to be when their country  ceased to exist formally such as Prussia, Austria-Hungary or the Holy Roman Empire. The  Electorates of the Holy Roman Empire largely became separate kingdoms with the dissolution of  the Holy Roman Empire. Here we look at monarchy in Europe, how it is today and how it has  changed.  European Aristocracy  It’s very clear that the principles that lie behind the development of the British nobility have also  underpinned the aristocracy in Europe. Indeed, History shows very clearly how the aristocracy  dominated the politics of Europe. Italy and Germany were largely collections of dukedoms each  vying for greater influence with the Pope or the Holy Roman Emperor.  William the Conqueror was  the Duke of Normandy before becoming King William I of England. The Reformation was largely  possible because of the patronage of Martin Luther by Frederick the Wise, Prince-Elector of  Saxony. The Electors were nobles designated by the Holy Roman Emperor to be those who chose  the new Emperor: they were given territory and the title of Prince-Elector. King George I of Great  Britain was the Elector of Hanover, a title which became the King of Hanover in 1814 following the  demise of the Holy Roman Empire under Napoleon. The crown of Hanover was passed down as  far as King William IV but to no future British monarch since the title could not be passed to his  niece, Queen Victoria. 

Many European duchies were kingdoms in all but name such as in the smaller states of Germany  and Italy. Indeed, only one current monarch is a duke rather than a king and that is Henri, Grand  Duke of Luxembourg. In the Holy Roman Empire, there were Archdukes which occupied roles  similar to kings within the Empire. When Austria became an Empire in itself, the role of Archduke  became the title of the most senior royalty.  Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria became heir to  his brother Emperor Franz Joseph I whose son, the Crown Prince Rudolf died in 1896. Archduke  Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in 1914 and his death kickstarted the First World War which,  itself would change the face of European Aristocracy forever.  

The equivalent of earls in Europe were the counts or comptes. We often think of Count Dracula  as a nobleman in Transylvania and we know that he was based on Vlad III Tepes the Voivode  (prince) of Wallachia. Generally the rank of count varied across Europe but it was usually of a  middle rank and, for the most part, dependent on the influence of the holder of the title. The word  count came from the Latin comes meaning companion and thus the counts were seen as  companions or lieutenants to higher nobles such as the dukes and were often awarded the title  and lands by the sovereign. In what is now Germany, the equivalent of count was the Graf.    

 Much of the history of monarchies is bound up with the rise and fall of the Holy Roman Empire  and we want to spend some time focussing on this monarchy because it foreshadows the fate of  many of the modern monarchies.   

Following the fall in AD480 of the Western Roman Empire which had largely been the focus of its  authority, the Church looked for support to the Eastern Roman Emperors to help maintain the  doctrine of the faith. Indeed it was the Eastern Roman Emperors who called the famous Seven  Oecumical Councils of the Church. The major problem for the Church was the constant raids and  skirmishes with the various barbarian kingdoms such as the Goths, Huns and Vandals. The  Eastern Roman Empire was unable to provide sufficient military assistance in this period. It was  when Charles the Great, King of the Franks took over the role of defending the Church that, in  AD800, Pope Leo III crowned him the Holy Roman Emperor as the successor to the Eastern  Emperor Constantine VI who had been deposed in AD797. This tied the position of Holy Roman  Emperor with the Papacy in Rome.   

The Holy Roman Empire occupied much of what is Germany today, though it also covered parts  of modern France and modern Italy as well as much of central Europe. From the tenth century  onwards, the Holy Roman Emperor was only partially hereditary in nature and the emperor  chosen from various European royal families by Electors who were usually powerful dukes. The  involvement of the Church in establishing the Holy Roman Empire meant the rise in importance  of the Divine Right of Kings. This asserts that the sovereign is not accountable to any earthly  authority because the right to rule comes from God’s divine authority. The Divine Right of Kings is  responsible for many disagreements between monarchs and the Pope. Even the Holy Roman  Emperor has been in conflict with the Pope such as the investiture controversy of the eleventh  and twelfth centuries which arose due to disagreements as to who had the right to appoint  bishops within the Holy Roman Empire. Since the Reformation, the Holy Roman Empire included  Calvinists and Lutherans as well as Roman Catholics and yet the Emperors claimed a jurisdiction  that extended through the established borders and into all of Christendom.  

 Like most empires, the fall of the Holy Roman Empire was a long affair. First, electing the Emperor  was seen as odd among countries outside of the empire in which the monarch succeeded by  primogeniture from royal families. This insistence on the universality of jurisdiction and election  of Emperor meant that there was a lack of focus at the centre of the Empire and, especially, no  centralised militia. Further, the Holy Roman Empire came into conflict with the Roman Catholic  Church’s claim to universal jurisdiction over Christians. The break with the papacy came to a  head at the end of the Thirty Years’ War in 1648.   

The Reformation gave many European princes and monarchs the inspiration to impose their own  religion on their kingdoms, giving rise to the phrase cujus regno ejus religio (whose realm, their  religion). The Divine Right of Kings meant that monarchs could disregard the Pope as an earthly  authority,  not a heavenly authority. If the Divine Right could allow a monarch to disregard the  Pope, then it could also allow a monarch to disregard an emperor claiming universal jurisdiction.  To these new, post-Reformation monarchs, their jurisdiction meant the area that they could  control. Since the Holy Roman Emperor could not control the whole of Christendom, he could  not have universal jurisdiction.  

 Further, a new class in European society was growing following the expansion of the colonies to  the Americas in the sixteenth century. These were the merchants, non-nobles, who became  influential based on their own personal wealth which they had earned through their work, rather  than through their inheritance. They were often richer than the nobility and, as a result, began to  acquire political power and influence through their business empires. They became the  inspiration for the working classes because the merchant class showed that one did not need to  be born into the nobility but one could acquire power through hard work and common education.  The nobility began to be seen as undeserving of their position. With the English Civil War as an  example of the growing power of the common man, the Divine Right of Kings was breached and  faith in the monarch bearing a divine right was transferred to the Government, although in the UK,  the Sovereign retained a part to play in the government of the country in the form of Constitutional  Monarchy. However, the seeds were sown for the events of the late eighteenth century.  

The ferocity and sweeping French Revolution caused Europe to try and defend its monarchies  from the same rebellious spirit which destroyed the aristocracy in France. Austria stationed  troops on its French border and joined Prussia in demanding the safety of King Louis XVI. The  stand-off was broken when Republican France won its first victory against the two monarchies at  the Battle of Valmy. The Empire’s ability to defend itself collapsed when Prussia abandoned the  war with France to fight its own battles with Poland. Negotiations for peace between France and  some of the Empire States and the end of the wars demonstrated the impotence of the Holy  Roman Empire which eventually fell to Napoleon in 1806. The former states of the Empire such  as Hanover, Austria and Württemberg became independent kingdoms in their own right. 

Following the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, Europe had gained several new nations but,  through the intermarriage of royal families, the monarchies became highly related. Certainly, with  the accession of King George V in 1910 in the UK, the countries of the UK, and Germany were  ruled by first cousins and shared relations with Greece, Norway and Denmark. With the First  World War, however, the aristocracy was seen as being isolated from the heavy military casualties  on all sides. Disillusionment with the aristocracy culminated with the Russian Revolution of 1917  ending the aristocracy in Russia, and the toll of the war fomenting the spirit of revolution caused  Kaiser Wilhelm II and Emperor Charles I to abdicate and thus abolish the monarchies in Germany  and Austria. 

  Ultimately, it was the constitutional nature of the British Monarchy that enabled it to weather the  storms of revolution coupled with a largely popular monarchy. The fact that there was a  democracy in the UK ensured that the middle classes could be involved in government, though  the right to vote was extended to women as a result of the roles played by women in society during  the war. The rise of communism in Russia and national socialism in Germany in the years after  the First World War were popular movements seen as a solution to the economic problems of the  common person. Ultimately, despite being seemingly democratic movements, they have proved  to be anything but and, in combination, these two ideologies have caused the deaths of countless  millions.  

 Only one European country has managed to reinstate its monarchy. The Kings and Queen of Spain  have been famous in history and some were even elected as Holy Roman Emperors, notably  Charles V (but Charles I as king of Spain) who was the nephew of Catherine of Aragon and who  also managed to take Pope Clement VII hostage resulting, indirectly in King Henry VIII of England  decision to break with Rome.  The Spanish monarchy was abolished in 1939 under General  Franco, head of the Nationalists and who essentially took on the role of Head of State until his  death in 1975. In a situation not entirely dissimilar to the restoration of the monarchy in the UK,  the monarchy was restored at Franco’s request with King Juan Carlos I who oversaw the return to  full democracy in a constitutional monarchy. However, the constitution makes it clear that  sovereignty lies in the people of Spain and not the monarch. 

Title II, Article 56 of the Spanish  Constitution makes clear what its monarchy is for:  The King is Head of State, the symbol of its unity and permanence. He arbitrates and  moderates the regular functioning of the institutions, assumes the highest representation  of the Spanish State in international relations, especially with the nations of its historical  community, and exercises the functions expressly conferred on him by the Constitution  and the laws.  

 We can compare this with the constitution of the UK where the government is His Majesty’s  Government, the Prime Minister is appointed by him provided that his appointment has the  confidence of parliament, and the laws are enacted in his name.  

What we see from the abolition of monarchies is a rejection of the notion of a divine right, the  influence of the tycoons and businessmen, and forms egalitarianism which seek to equate  authority with privilege, and rule with oppression. These tend to put forward individuals whose  political interests are largely self-serving. One may contrast this with members of former and  non-ruling aristocracies such as: 

- Karl Habsburg, heir to the Austrian Empire, who, in 1990, personally led a convoy to  Vilnius in response to the Soviet Union’s blockade following the Lithuanian declaration of  independence and the next year organised international aid against the destruction of  Dubrovnick in what was then Yugoslavia;  

- Franz von Bayern, heir to the kingdom of Bavaria, patron of the artsand the expansion of  the Bavarian research landscape;  

- Carlo Emanuele Ruspoli, 3rd Duke of Morignano, who is involved in the Foundation for  Sustainable Development and the New Future Association.  

Many of the former aristocrats in France have been elected and served in governmental office,  using their unique heritage to further the democratic processes of government. For the most part,  an aristocracy has more investment in doing one’s duty due to their heritage. While they may no  longer bear the title or influence, they still bear the history and the concern to do what’s best for  the country in which their families once thrived.  

 There is a famous photograph taken after the funeral of King Edward VII of Britain in 1910 which  shows nine kings of European countries. In that photograph are, King Haakon VII of Norway, Tsar  Ferdinand I of Bulgaria, King Manuel II of Portugal, Kaiser Willhelm II of Germany, King George I of  Greece, King Albert I of Belgium, King Alfonso XIII of Spain, King George V of Great Britain, and  King Frederick VIII of Denmark.  

Of these countries, Britain, Norway, Spain, Belgium and Denmark. While the monarchies of  Germany and Russia fell with the First World war, other European countries found their  monarchies abolished in the face of the Communist Regime. Countries like Albania, Greece and  Bulgaria had been part of the Ottoman Empire while others like Hungary, Wallachia and  Transylvania were vassals but, by the First World War, the Ottoman presence in Europe was much  reduced allowing countries such as Bulgaria and Greece to gain some autonomy and appoint  monarchs. However, following the end of the Second World War with the rise of Communism,  many of these recently established kingdoms were brought to an end.  

The Kingdom of Bulgaria was established in 1908 with Ferdinand I the first Bulgarian Tsar. In 1946,  the last Tsar, Simeon II, was deposed and sent into exile. Born in 1937, Tsar Simeon reigned from  1943 became Simeon Borisov Saxe-Coburg-Gotha after his deposition, displaying in his name a  shared heritage with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria of Britain. Simeon returned to  Bulgaria after the fall of Communism and became the Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 2001 to  2005. While vowing to uphold the republic of Bulgarian, he is still known as Tsar Simeon II in the  liturgies of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.  

King Manuel II of Portugal was the last reigning member of a monarchy that had been established in 1139.  He ascended to the throne on the assassination of his father Carlos I by republican  revolutionaries. It is unclear whether the target of the assassination was King Carlos or the Prime  Minister João Franco whose unpopular policies were at the source of the growing political unrest.  Since Manuel was such a young king and inexperienced in the government of a country, he was  manipulated by the various political parties in Portugal. Finally, in October 1910, a coup d’état  resulted in the abolition of the monarchy and the exile of Manuel II to Twickenham in London. He  died childless in 1932.  

The Kingdom of Greece was established in 1832 following the First Hellenistic Republic which  existed in resistance to the rule of the Ottoman Empire. The first king, Otto Friedrich Ludwig von  Wittelsbach was proclaimed king following the Conference of London which sought to establish  stable government in Greece following the withdrawal of the Ottoman Empire. Otto was deposed  in 1862 following a popular revolution, and replaced by George I who was a prince of Denmark.  George I was assassinated in 1913 to be succeeded by Constantine I who abdicated in 1917. He  was succeeded by his son Alexander who died in 1920 whereupon Constantine I was reinstated  until 1922 when, at his death, he was succeeded by George II. George II was ousted in 1924 at the  establishment of a second republic but restored by popular consent in 1935. After the  successions in 1947 by Paul and then Constantine II in 1964, the monarchy was finally abolished  in 1973 as a result of the Colonels’ Coup of 1967. His son, Paul (born 1967) is the present head of  the Greek royal family. 

 What is most notable about the countries and their monarchs we have discussed above is the  fact that the lives of these monarchs are intimately entwined with the history of their country. This  illustrates the importance of monarchy, whether absolute or constitutional, in the life and identity  of the nation. History illustrates well the idea we have already voiced in discussing the need for  monarchy as embodying the results of the past to the present nation giving a direction to the  future. While republicanism is a relatively new phenomenon with regards to the history of  mankind, it remains to be seen how elected heads of state, prime ministers, presidents and  protectors uphold that continuity of national history in the light of their decade of holding office,  or whether they are committed to a nation of their own making rather than the nation that  presently exists. The lives of Kings and Queens have not only affected the life of the nation but  have been affected by the life of the nation. When monarchies end, with them departs a  significant aspect of a country’s history and the uncertainty of a new regime which needs to prove  itself to be truly representative of the national interests. 

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