Monarchism

  Commonwealth realms (parliamentary monarchies in personal union)

Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule.[1] A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. Conversely, the opposition to monarchical rule is referred to as republicanism.[2][3][4]

Depending on the country, a royalist may advocate for the rule of the person who sits on the throne, a regent, a pretender, or someone who would otherwise occupy the throne but has been deposed.

  1. ^ Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, 1989 edition, p. 924.
  2. ^ Bohn, H. G. (1849). The Standard Library Cyclopedia of Political, Constitutional, Statistical and Forensic Knowledge. p. 640. A republic, according to the modern usage of the word, signifies a political community which is not under monarchical government ... in which one person does not possess the entire sovereign power.
  3. ^ "Definition of Republic". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved 2017-02-18. a government having a chief of state who is not a monarch ... a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law
  4. ^ "The definition of republic". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 2017-02-18. a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them. ... a state in which the head of government is not a monarch or other hereditary head of state.