Monarchist

A monarchist is a person who endorses monarchy as a form of government or as a long-standing national institution. Monarchists may support different arrangements, ranging from constitutional monarchies in which the monarch has a largely symbolic role to absolute monarchies in which the sovereign exercises substantial political power.

Within monarchist thought, constitutional monarchists seek a political system where elected representatives govern through a constitution, while the monarch serves as a nonpartisan head of state. Absolute monarchists defend dynastic rule and hereditary succession as the rightful basis of political legitimacy. Historically, monarchist movements have coalesced around particular dynasties or historical claims, such as legitimist or royalist factions in 19th-century Europe.

In the contemporary world, many monarchies are constitutional and ceremonial, exemplified by the United Kingdom, Sweden, Japan, Spain, the Netherlands, and Canada. Monarchists in these settings often argue that the monarchy provides continuity, national identity, and a stabilizing symbol, even within a democratic framework. In other regions, monarchist currents may be smaller or fringe, appearing in times of political crisis or in debates over succession and legitimacy.

Critics contend that hereditary rule conflicts with democratic equality and accountability, and may involve costs or elitism. Proponents argue that a legitimate and well-constituted monarchy can offer nonpartisan leadership, constitutional checks and balances, and ceremonial unity without undermining democratic processes. The term monarchist thus denotes a political stance expressed in support for monarchy, rather than a single policy position.