CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY: HISTORY, CHARACTERISTICS AND COUNTRIES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The constitutional monarchy is a political system in which the King is the Head of State, but where his powers are not absolute, but are limited by a constitution that includes a series of rights.

According to the political thinker, Vernon Bogdanor (1997), the term constitutional monarchy was used for the first time by the French writer W. Dupré, author of La monarchie constitutionelle and Un roi constitutionel, works published in 1801.

Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

characteristics

-It consists of a form of government in which the monarch shares power with a constitutionally organized government.

-The monarch / King can be something simply ceremonial, without real power when making decisions that affect the government of a country.

-Some constitutional monarchies are England, Spain, Jordan, Belgium, Thailand or Cambodia.

-The constitutional monarchy arises in the seventeenth century coinciding with the beginnings of liberalism in Europe.

-It differs from the absolute monarchy in the origin of power. While in the absolute monarchy the power is attributed to the King by divine grace, in the constitutional monarchy the power emanates from the people. This means that the monarch must abide by a series of rules or rights contained in a constitution.

-This political system must be differentiated from other similar forms of government such as the parliamentary monarchy. Both agree that sovereignty resides in the people. However, in the latter, the figure of the monarch only has symbolic power, since both legislative and executive powers reside in the Cortes Generales or in Parliament.

Origin

The constitutional monarchy finds its beginnings in the thinkers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries who advocated the division of powers and the political reform of European countries.

In these centuries, two fundamental historical events occurred that brought with them a series of cultural and mental changes that facilitated the implementation of this system of government: the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment or Enlightenment. The thinkers of this cultural current defended a series of ideas that were reflected in the publication of The Encyclopedia of Diderot and D'Alambert at the end of the 18th century.

Among those ideas published in the great work of the Enlightenment was palpable the spirit of progress and reform that these thinkers had.

In the pages of the Encyclopedia, where all the knowledge of the time is collected, a spirit of love for science, progress and tolerance is reflected. To achieve that progress, it is necessary to put religion aside to answer all universal questions.

After leaving aside the theocentric theories, the happiness of man and, therefore, society becomes the ultimate goal. Little by little, these theoretical thoughts are being translated into real political reforms.

It must be remembered that the justification of the absolute monarchy was God, who had given power to the figure of the King. With the loss of importance of religion and the Church, this political system is slowly losing meaning.

Enlightened Despotism

As these reformist thoughts grow stronger, the absolute monarchy gives way to enlightened despotism.

Enlightened despotism is a new political system, accepted by some reformist thinkers because it allowed the progress of society. All powers remain with the monarch, but he makes a series of concessions to the common people and limits the power of the noble estates and the clergy. The motto of this system is "all for the people but without the people."

The process of change of monarchies in the world was slow, because in the seventeenth century, Louis XIV, one of the best known absolute monarchs in history, continued to demonstrate his splendorous power on the throne of France.

Returning to the thinkers of the time, there are two that were of vital importance for the development of the constitutional monarchy in Europe and to put an end to the Old Regime once and for all. These intellectuals were John Locke and Baron de Montesquieu.

Influential authors

John Locke (1632-1704)

Portrait of John Locke

John Locke belonged to the empiricist current, one that obtains knowledge through experience and the sensible world or the senses. His political theory contributed decisively to the establishment and maturity of the constitutional monarchy in England.

His ideas differ radically from those of another English thinker who influenced him during his early years, Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), defender of political absolutism, a system that he justifies in his most important work: Leviathan.

John Locke's political theory is found in his Two Treatises of Government. Locke was an active participant in the reign of Charles II of England, but some of his ideas did not triumph until the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

Locke defends in his second treatise that man is free by nature, but in order to avoid harming each other with natural laws, they must make a pact. This is how political power is formed.

It is in this work also where he defends a political system based on the constitutional monarchy. In his essay, Locke speaks of an independent community that has the legislative power, the common-wealth. The King is the one who has the executive power and abides by the laws dictated by the Commonwealth. It is the first hint of separation of powers that is observed in the thought of Locke.

Montesquieu (1689-1755)

Montesquieu

Charles Louis de Secondat, Lord de la Brède and Baron de Montesquieu was a French enlightened thinker. His most important work is The spirit of laws (1748) where he analyzes the political systems of the time and develops his own theory on how the form of government of the States should be.

Montesquieu, following the English model, developed the principle of separation of powers in his work The Spirit of Laws. For the baron, the legislative, executive and judicial powers must be in different hands to guarantee the freedom of the people.

To the original division that Locke had made, Montesquieu adds the judicial power. In addition, the enlightened thinker goes a step further and distinguishes three forms of government that exist in the society of the time:

• Monarchy. The King has the power. According to The Political Theory of Montesquieu, by Melvyn Richter, the thinker defines this form of government as adequate for modern European states. Richter also affirms that the enlightened thinker defines parliaments as essential in the constitutional monarchy.
• Republic. Power resides in the sovereign people.
• Despotism. Power is unlimited and is in the hands of a single person.

According to Mansuy in an analysis of Montesquieu's work: Liberalism and political regimes: Montesquieu's contribution, after analyzing the English model, the thinker takes another criterion to differentiate whether a state model is good or not for his society: moderation.

Montesquieu's thoughts will have a great influence on the French Revolution and will lay the foundations of the democracy that little by little will be formed in Europe.

The Revolution of 1688 or Glorious Revolution

María Ángeles Lario, citing the expert in political science, Bogdanor, affirms in an article in the Journal of Political Studies, that the English define the constitutional monarchy as the moment in which the King is obliged to respect the Bill of Rights or Declaration of Rights. This is what happens with the Glorious Revolution.

The Glorious or Bloodless Revolution is named after the little bloodshed that occurred. Even the political Margaret Thatcher, who came to occupy the position of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the philosopher Karl Marx coincide in their definition of the Revolution as a peaceful process, contrary to what happened in other European revolutions and uprisings.

However, there are those who do not agree with the qualification of this historical event because, according to what they affirm, it is not faithful to reality and justifies the vision of history that the promoters of this revolution, the Whigs, have.

With the restoration of the monarchy in England under the reign of Charles II, the religious confrontation between Catholics and Protestants increases, which are divided into two parties: the Whigs (liberals) and the Tories (conservatives).

The problems came when the monarch wanted James II (James II), his brother and Duke of York, to succeed him on the throne. Before he came to the throne, the Whigs tried to pass an Exclusion Act to put James II out of the line of succession. The refusal of his predecessor, further heated the conflict between Catholics and Protestants, although finally the Duke of York came to the throne.

The reign did not last long, since the Whigs managed to overthrow James II in 1688. A group of conspirators managed to defeat James II with the help of the Protestant Prince of Orange, William and his wife Mary, also a Protestant.

After appearing in London with a large army, they forced the king into exile with his family. After the throne was vacated, William went on to occupy the throne as William III alongside his wife Mary, previously signing the English Bill of Rights in 1689.

From this moment on, the constitutional monarchy was established in England, which would end up giving way to the parliamentary monarchy that is today Great Britain with Elizabeth II as monarch.

The constitutional monarchy in Germany or continental Europe

Most of the countries in Europe followed the English model, which predates the parliamentary monarchy. However, the German definition of constitutional monarchy is different from that of the English. The liberalism that is implanted in Germany is much more conservative.

According to Lario, the German conception of the constitutional monarchy is what defines a political system where power continues to reside in the figure of the King. It is a much more concrete definition than the English one and it arose at the beginning of the 19th century.

The constitutional monarchy in continental Europe was a reaction to the revolutions that had been happening in Europe since the French Revolution.

In this model of government, the representation of the people and the monarchy are at the same level. It is a response to the revolutionary process, since through the constitutional monarchy those revolutionary attempts were managed to moderate.

Following Lario, the Constitution of this system designed by the Germans used to be granted by the King. This Basic Law attributed only a function related to the laws to the ministers, so they do not have political responsibility before the Courts. Nor is the position of minister compatible with that of parliamentarian, as had already happened in France and America, following the English model.

Finally, there is a contradiction between what states establish in political theory or in constitutions and what happens in practice, which ends up adapting to English parliamentarism. Little by little, without renouncing the principle of the monarchy, the regimes are making their system more parliamentary, leaving the monarch with less power and a more undefined role.

Countries that have constitutional monarchy today

Albert II of Monaco and Philip V of Spain

Today, there are still countries that continue to maintain a constitutional monarchy, without becoming parliamentarians. In these States, the figure of the King is active and has political powers, it is not a symbolic representation as in Spain with Felipe VI or in other European countries such as Belgium, Denmark or England. These countries with constitutional monarchy, according to a list compiled by the Wikipedia website are:

- Kingdom of Bahrain (Asia). King: Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

- Kingdom of Bhutan (Asia). King: Jigme Khessar Namgyal Wangchuck.

- Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Asia). King: Abdullah II.

- State of Kuwait (Asia). Emir: Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Yaber Al-Sabah.

- Principality of Liechtenstein (Europe). Prince: Louis of Liechtenstein.

- Principality of Monaco (Europe). Prince: Albert II of Monaco.

- Kingdom of Morocco (Africa). King: Mohamed VI.

- Kingdom of Tonga (Oceania). King: Tupou VI.

References

1. Bogdanor, V. (1997). The Monarchy and the Constitution. United States, Oxford University Press.
2. Dunn, J. (1969). The political thought of John Locke: An Historical Account of the Argument of the "Two Treatises of Government."
3. Lario, A. (1999). Constitutional Monarchy and Parliamentary Government. Journal of Political Studies. 106, 277-288. 2017, January, 13 of Dialnet Database.
4. Locke, J. (2016). Second Treatise of Government. Los Angeles California. Enhanced Media.
5. Mansuy, D. (2015). Liberalism and political regimes: The contribution of Montesquieu. 10, 255-271. 2017, January, 13 of Dialnet Database.
6. Richter, M. (1977). The Political Theory of Montesquieu. Cambridge, University Press.
7. Vallance, E. The Glorious Revolution: 1688- Britain's Fight for Liberty. Hachette Digital.
8. Varela, J. (1997). The monarchy in British constitutional theory during the first third of the 19th century. 96, 9-41. 2017, January, 13 of Dialnet Database.