Royalism
Royalism is support for monarchy as a form of government, especially loyalty to a reigning monarch or advocacy of restoring a royal dynasty.
Divine Right of Kings: A doctrine holding that a monarch's authority comes directly from God, not from subjects or institutions. It supplied a religious justification for royal authority and resistance to deposition.
Republicanism: A political tradition favoring a state without a monarch, with public authority grounded in citizens or their representatives. It rejects hereditary monarchy as the basis of political authority.
Charles I of England: King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1625 until his execution in 1649. His supporters defined English Royalism through loyalty to the reigning king during civil war.
Monarchy: A form of government in which a monarch serves as head of state, usually through hereditary succession. Royalism is a political commitment to this form of government.
Glorious Revolution: The 1688 overthrow of James II and accession of William III and Mary II to the English throne. It displaced a monarch and sharpened disputes over allegiance and hereditary succession.
English Civil War: A series of conflicts in the 1640s between supporters of Charles I and Parliament, ending in the king's execution. The Royalist side fought for Charles I against Parliament's forces.
Popular Sovereignty: The principle that legitimate political authority ultimately belongs to the people. It locates sovereignty in the people rather than a royal person or dynasty.
James II of England: The last Catholic monarch to rule England, Scotland, and Ireland, deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. His displacement generated lasting efforts to restore the Stuart succession.
Hereditary Succession: The transmission of an office or title through an established family line. Dynastic succession often supplies the rule royalists invoke to identify a rightful monarch.
Jacobite Rising of 1745: The last major Jacobite attempt to restore the Stuart dynasty, defeated at Culloden in 1746. It demonstrates how dynastic royalism could culminate in armed revolt.