   #copyright

Monarchies in the European Union

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Politics and government

   The crown of Christian IV, part of the Danish Crown Regalia.
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   The crown of Christian IV, part of the Danish Crown Regalia.

   While most of the states in the world, and in Europe, are 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 or her office, and usually keeps it for life or until they
   abdicate.

   At the dawn of the 20^th 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 20^th 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
     * 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 state: 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 major campaign to
   abolish the monarchy (see monarchism and republicanism) in any of the
   remaining seven states, although there is a significant minority of
   republicans in all of them.

Current monarchies

   ██ monarchy ██ republic
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   ██ monarchy ██  republic

   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, 57.68 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. The current
   monarch is Albert II.

   In Denmark, the monarchy goes back to the prehistoric times of the
   legendary kings, before the 10^th century. Currently, about 80 per cent
   support keeping the monarchy. The current monarch is Margrethe II. The
   Danish monarchy also includes the Faroe Islands and Greenland which are
   parts of the Kingdom of Denmark with internal home rule. Due to this
   status, the monarch has no separate title for these regions.

   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. In a referendum held on 28 September 1919, 79.83
   per cent voted in favour of keeping the monarchy. 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. 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; however, only 25 per cent of
   Spaniards are in favour of establishing a republic.

   The monarchy of Sweden goes back as far as the Danish one, to the
   semi–legendary kings before the 10^th century, since when it has not
   been interrupted up to today. Nonetheless, it is not considered
   impossible that monarchy could be abolished in Sweden. The current
   monarch is Carl XVI Gustaf.
   The Queen's Royal Standard in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
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   The Queen's Royal Standard in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

   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. 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. 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, 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. While current Prime Minister
       John Howard is a monarchist, both Treasurer Peter Costello (who is
       likely to succeed Howard as leader of the Liberal Party) and Kim
       Beazley (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; 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; 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.
     * Canada and New Zealand, where the debate on republicanism is
       currently a secondary issue.

Succession laws

   ██ equal primogeniture ██ male primogeniture, to be changed to equal
   primogeniture ██ male primogeniture ██ agnatic primogeniture
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   ██  equal primogeniture ██  male primogeniture, to be changed to equal
   primogeniture ██ male primogeniture ██  agnatic primogeniture

   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 and Spain 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 all
   potential 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
   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. The amendment enjoys strong public support.

   There have also been suggestions to change the order of succession in
   the United Kingdom; 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 unless there are no male heirs of any kind present.

Table of monarchies in Europe

   State Type Succession Incumbent Born Age Reigns since Successor
   Flag of Andorra  Andorra co-principality special case:
   two co-princes J. E. Vives i Sicília
   ( Bishop of Urgell) 24 Jul  1949 57 y. 12 May  2003 to be appointed by
   the pope
   Jacques Chirac
   ( President of France) 29 Nov  1932 73 y. 17 May  1995 to be elected in
   2007
   Flag of Belgium  Belgium kingdom equal primogeniture Albert II 6 Jun
   1934 72 y. 9 Aug  1993 Philippe (I)
   Flag of Denmark  Denmark kingdom male primogeniture
   (equal primog. planned) Margrethe II 16 Apr  1940 66 y. 14 Jan  1972
   Frederik (X)
   Flag of Liechtenstein  Liechtenstein principality agnatic primogeniture
   Hans-Adam II 14 Feb  1945 61 y. 13 Nov  1989 Alois (III)
   Flag of Luxembourg  Luxembourg grand duchy agnatic primogeniture Henri
   I 16 Apr  1955 51 y. 7 Oct  2000 Guillaume (V)
   Flag of Monaco  Monaco principality male primogeniture Albert II 14
   Mar  1958 48 y. 6 Apr  2005 Caroline (I) (sister)
   Flag of Netherlands  Netherlands kingdom equal primogeniture Beatrix I
   31 Jan  1938 68 y. 30 Apr  1980 Willem-Alexander (I)
   Flag of Norway  Norway kingdom equal primogeniture Harald V 21 Feb
   1937 69 y. 17 Jan  1991 Haakon (VIII)
   Flag of Spain  Spain kingdom male primogeniture
   (equal primog. planned) Juan Carlos I 5 Jan  1938 68 y. 22 Nov  1975
   Felipe (VI)
   Flag of Sweden  Sweden kingdom equal primogeniture Carl XVI Gustaf 30
   Apr  1946 60 y. 15 Sep  1973 Victoria (I)
   Flag of United Kingdom  United Kingdom kingdom male primogeniture
   (equal primog. considered) Elizabeth II 21 Apr  1926 80 y. 6 Feb  1952
   Charles (III)
   Flag of Vatican City  Vatican City theocracy elective monarchy
   Benedictus XVI 16 Apr  1927 79 y. 19 Apr  2005 to be elected in Papal
   conclave
   I↑  Caroline is, as the ruling prince's eldest sister, the current
   Heiress Presumptive and therefore, following Monegasque tradition, also
   Heiress Apparent; should Albert II father legitimate children, however,
   they would be first in line to succeed him instead of Caroline.

   II↑  The monarch of the United Kingdom is also the sovereign of the
   fifteen other Commonwealth Realms: Flag of Antigua and Barbuda  Antigua
   and Barbuda, Flag of The Bahamas  The Bahamas, Flag of Barbados
   Barbados, Flag of Grenada  Grenada, Flag of Jamaica  Jamaica, Flag of
   Saint Kitts and Nevis  Saint Kitts and Nevis, Flag of Saint Lucia
   Saint Lucia and Flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  Saint Vincent
   and the Grenadines in the Caribbean; Flag of Belize  Belize in Central
   America; Flag of Canada  Canada in North America; and Flag of Australia
    Australia, Flag of New Zealand  New Zealand, Flag of Papua New Guinea
    Papua New Guinea, Flag of Solomon Islands  Solomon Islands and Flag of
   Tuvalu  Tuvalu in Oceania.

   III↑  While Charles would be the third kind of his name to sit on the
   British throne, it has also been suggested that he will choose George
   VII as his regnal name instead in light of the unpopularity of Charles
   I and Charles II.

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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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