This volume is extremely useful at providing an empirical base for further work, full of data on everything from referenda on retaining the monarchy to the per capita costs of the royal families … the book also invites further inquiry, both in extending the study beyond Europe as well as in delving into a deeper social scientific account of the variation this study has exposed.
- Tom Ginsburg, University of Chicago, International Journal of Constitutional Law
A scholarly yet enjoyable read. The commentary is thought-provoking and insightful with much for the reader to mull over … I recommend this book for all academic law libraries, academic libraries serving historians and political scientists, and government libraries with constitutional law collections.
- Sandra Geddes, Bennett Jones, Canadian Law Library Review
A meticulously researched volume that furthers our understanding of monarchy in advanced democracies … This volume is welcome for raising important questions concerning the feasibility of maintaining an institution which is often labelled backward and out of place in the modern world.
- Aidan Jones, King’s College London, Royal Studies Journal
An essential resource for anyone interested in monarchy and, perhaps more importantly, the collection effectively demonstrates why it matters now and why, for constitutional lawyers in particular, it is likely to matter more in the future. But the collection as a whole also presents an invitation to critical and socio-legal legal scholars interested in nationalism, celebrity, the media and the family, to name just a few issues, to consider looking more closely at the monarchy. Finally, Hazell and Morris’ conclusions ought to be required reading for any monarch intent on keeping his or her throne.
- Daniel Monk, Birkbeck, University of London, International Journal of Law in Context
This comparative work on eight monarchies is a valuable addition to the literature, providing a wealth of data to support further writing and research.
- Robert Blackburn, King’s College London, Public Law
How much power does a monarch really have? How much autonomy do they enjoy? Who regulates the size of the royal family, their finances, the rules of succession? These are some of the questions considered in this edited collection on the monarchies of Europe.
The book is written by experts from Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the UK. It considers the constitutional and political role of monarchy, its powers and functions, how it is defined and regulated, the laws of succession and royal finances, relations with the media, the popularity of the monarchy and why it endures.
No new political theory on this topic has been developed since Bagehot wrote about the monarchy in The English Constitution (1867). The same is true of the other European monarchies. 150 years on, with their formal powers greatly reduced, how has this ancient, hereditary institution managed to survive and what is a modern monarch’s role? What theory can be derived about the role of monarchy in advanced democracies, and what lessons can the different European monarchies learn from each other?
The public look to the monarchy to represent continuity, stability and tradition, but also want it to be modern, to reflect modern values and be a focus for national identity. The whole institution is shot through with contradictions, myths and misunderstandings. This book should lead to a more realistic debate about our expectations of the monarchy, its role and its future. The contributors are leading experts from all over Europe: Rudy Andeweg, Ian Bradley, Paul Bovend’Eert, Axel Calissendorff, Frank Cranmer, Robert Hazell, Olivia Hepsworth, Luc Heuschling, Helle Krunke, Bob Morris, Roger Mortimore, Lennart Nilsson, Philip Murphy, Quentin Pironnet, Bart van Poelgeest, Frank Prochaska, Charles Powell, Jean Seaton, Eivind Smith.
PART I
DEFINING THE PROJECT
1. Genesis of the Book
Robert Hazell and Bob Morris
2. Monarchy in the Constitutional Texts
Robert Hazell
PART II
MONARCHICAL FUNCTIONS
3. Constitutional Functions of the Monarchy
3.1. Introduction
Robert Hazell
3.2. Constitutional Functions of the Monarchy in the UK
Robert Hazell
3.3. The Monarch’s Constitutional Functions in Denmark
Helle Krunke
3.4. The King and Public Power in the Minimalist Monarchy of Sweden
Henrik Wenander
3.5a. Constitutional Functions in the Netherlands
Rudy Andeweg
3.5b. The Netherlands: From Personal Regime to Limited Role
Paul Bovend’Eert
3.6. Constitutional Functions in Belgium
Quentin Pironnet
3.7. Constitutional Functions in Norway
Eivind Smith
3.8. Luxembourg: Grand Duke Henri’s Refusal, in 2008, to Sign the Bill Legalising Euthanasia
Luc Heuschling
3.9. Spain: The Coup of February 1981
Charles Powell
3.10. Conclusions
Robert Hazell
4. Day-to-Day Political Functions of the Monarchy
4.1. Introduction
Robert Hazell
4.2a. The King and the Government in the Netherlands
Paul Bovend’Eert
4.2b. Political Functions of the Dutch Monarchy
Rudy Andeweg
4.3. Day-to-Day Political Functions of the Monarch in Denmark
Helle Krunke
4.4. Day-to-Day Political Functions of the Monarchy in the UK
Robert Hazell
4.5. Political Functions of the Monarchy in Norway
Eivind Smith
4.6. Political Functions of the Monarchy in Sweden
Henrik Wenander
4.7. Political Functions of the Monarchy in Belgium
Quentin Pironnet
4.8. Conclusions
Robert Hazell
5. Ceremonial Functions of Monarchy
5.1. Introduction
Bob Morris
5.2. Monarchies and Religion in Europe
Frank Cranmer
5.3. The Religious Dimension of Monarchy
Ian Bradley
5.4. Norway: Ceremonial Functions
Eivind Smith
5.5. European Royal Ceremonial Functions: Summary
Bob Morris
5.6. Conclusions
Bob Morris
6. Service and Welfare; and International Functions
6.1. Introduction
Bob Morris
6.2. Welfare: The Feminisation of the British Monarchy
Frank Prochaska
6.3. Service: How Monarchies have to be seen to be Believed
Bob Morris
6.4. State Visits Made and Received by the British and other European Monarchical Heads of State
Philip Murphy
6.5. State Visits Made and Received by King Juan Carlos I and King Felipe VI of Spain
Charles Powell
6.6. Conclusions
Bob Morris
PART III
REGULATING MONARCHY
7. Regulation of the Monarchy: Regulating the Size of the Royal Family, the Line of Succession, and Royal Finances
7.1. Introduction
Bob Morris
7.2. Defining a Royal House: Continental Monarchy and the Netherlands
Bart van Poelgeest
7.3. Norway
Eivind Smith
7.4. Sweden
Axel Calissendorff
7.5. The UK
Bob Morris
7.6. Gender Equality and the Line of Succession
Olivia Hepsworth
7.7. Comparative Summary and Conclusions
Bob Morris
8. Constraints on the Monarchy
8.1. Introduction
Robert Hazell
8.2. The Royal Family’s Lack of Human Rights
Robert Hazell
8.3. Constraints on the Monarchy and Royal Family in Sweden
Axel Calissendorff
8.4. Constraints on the Monarchy and Royal Family in Norway
Eivind Smith
8.5. Education, Training and Career Choices of Heirs Apparent
Olivia Hepsworth
8.6. Conclusions
Robert Hazell
9. The Monarchy, Public Opinion and the Media
9.1. Introduction
Robert Hazell
9.2. Modern Forms of Legitimisation of the Monarchy
Helle Krunke
9.3. Polls and Public Opinion
Roger Mortimore
9.4. The Legitimacy of the Swedish Monarchy: The Different Perceptions of Parliamentarians, Journalists and the People
Lennart Nilsson
9.5. The Monarchy, ‘Popularity’, Legitimacy and the Media
Jean Seaton
9.6. Conclusions
Robert Hazell
PART IV
CONCLUSIONS
10. Towards a New Theory of European Monarchy
Robert Hazell and Bob Morris
A venue for works exploring the full range of modern scholarship in comparative public law.
The series is catholic in coverage, embracing topics as diverse as constitutional design and reform, judicial reasoning in constitutional law, Bills of Rights, international administrative law and justice, and comparative constitutionalism. The series welcomes work by legal scholars and embraces a wide understanding of comparative public law scholarship in the pursuit of a better understanding of the world's diverse public law traditions.