Spanish Kings

The Monarchy of Spain , constitutionally referred to as the Crown of Spain ( de la Corona de España ) and commonly known as the Spanish Monarchy ( Monarquía española ), is the constitutional institution and the historic office comprised of a King or a Queen regnant of Spain ( Rey de España or Reina de España ), their legal spouse and family, and the Royal Household origanization which supports and facilitates the monarch in the exercise of his royal duties and prerogatives. The Spanish monarchy today is represented by King Juan Carlos I, his wife Queen Sofia, and their children and grandchidren. Opinion polls routinely reveal that the monarchy remains popular by a wide majority of citizens in contemporary Spain.

The Spanish Constitution of 1978 establishes a constitutional monarchy ( monarquía parlamentaria ) in which the king is the personification and embodiment of the Spanish State and, as a symbol of its enduring "unity and permanence", is the head-of-state and commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armed Forces. The constitution codifies the use of royal styles and titulary, royal prerogatives, hereditary succession to the crown, compensation, and a regency-guardianship contingency in cases of the monarch’s minority or incapacitation. According to the constitution, the monarch is also instrumental in promoting Ibero-American relations, the "nations of its historical community". In this capacity, the King of Spain serves as president of the Ibero-American States Organization, representing over 700,000,000 people in twenty-four member nations worldwide. In 2008, Juan Carlos I was considered the most popular leader in all Ibero-America.

The Spanish monarchy has its roots the Visigothic Kingdom founded in Spain and Aquitainia in the 5th century, and its Christian successor states which fought the Reconquista following the Muslim conquest of Spain in the 8th century. A dynastic marriage between Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon united Spain in the 15th century. The Spanish Empire became one of the first global powers as Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand funded Christopher Columbus's exploratory voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. This led to the discovery of America, which became the focus of Spanish colonization.

History

The Spanish monarchy has its roots in the Visigothic Kingdom and its Christian successor states which fought the Reconquista following the Muslim conquest of Spain in the 8th century. A dynastic marriage between Isabella I of Castille and Ferdinand II of Aragon united Spain in the 15th century.

In the early 16th century, the Spanish monarchy was united with much of Europe in the person of Charles I, the Habsburg Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, who claimed Spain through his mother Joanna. His reign ushered in the Spanish Golden Age. In 1700, Charles II, the last of the Spanish Habsburgs, designated his sister’s grandson Philippe de Bourbon, duke of Anjou, as his heir. The possible unification of Spain with France sparked the Spanish War of Succession in the 18th century, culminating in the treaties of Utrecht (1713) and Rastatt (1714) which preserved the European balance of power. Philippe de Bourbon, who reigned as Philip V, was the first member of the House of Borbón to rule Spain.

During the Napoleonic Wars, the French forced Ferdinand VII to abdicate in 1808, and the Borbóns became a focus of popular resistance against French rule. However, Ferdinand’s rejection of the liberal Spanish Constitution of 1812, his erratic ministerial appointments, his favoring conservatives to the exclusions of liberals, and the chronic bankruptcy of the government eroded popular support for the Spanish monarchy. With the Pragmatic Sanction of 1830, Ferdinand set aside House of Borbón succession laws prohibiting women from succeeding by naming his eldest daughter, Isabel, as his heiress. This sparked the Carlist Wars against those who preferred to bar women from rule and secularism. Queen Isabel II, whose main support came from centrist and moderates, was beset by Carlist forces on the extreme right and radicals on the extreme left. Faced with these challenges, Isabel's rule became increasingly reactionary in her dealings with the Cortez and her authoritarian rule increasingly dependent on the army. Isabel's reliance on the military eroded her popular support from the moderates and centrists by 1868 when she was forced to abdicate, and in September 1873 the First Spanish Republic was founded.

A coup d’etat by conservatives restored the Borbón dynasty to the throne in 1874; however in 1931, a democratic election returned a republican majority to the Cortes Generales . With a program to abolish the monarchy, King Alfonso XIII went into exile, ushering in the Second Spanish Republic. The ensuing Spanish Civil War began in 1936 and ended in 1 April 1939 with the Carlist General Francisco Franco victorious. General Franco ruled Spain through the fascist Falange political party until his death in 1975. Despite Franco’s Carlist sympathies, Franco appointed as his successor Juan Carlos I de Borbón, who is credited with presiding over Spain’s transition from fascism to democracy by fully endorsing the liberal Spanish Constitution of 1978 and the reconciliation of the two factions. The constitution asserts Juan Carlos' right to the Crown of Spain is by dynastic succession in the Borbón tradition, "the legitimate heir of the historic dynasty" rather than as the designated successor of Franco, an important distinction.

The Crown and the Constitution

The historic Spanish monarchy, with its roots in the Visigothic kingdom from the 5th century and subsequent successor states, is recognized in Title II The Crown , Articles 56 through 65 of the Spanish Constitution of 1978.

According to Title II, Article 56, Subsection 1, the monarch embodies and personifies the unity and permanace of the Spanish State, representing the legal personality of the state in the concept "l'État, c'est moi" ("I am the state"), and by extension fulfills the "Father of the Nation" role. However, ultimate constitutional sovereignty in Spain is vested with the people.

The monarch "arbitrates and moderates the regular functioning of the institutions", and assumes the highest representation of the Spanish State in international relations. The monarch exercises the functions expressly conferred on him by the Constitution and the laws.

Title II, Articals 56
The King is Head of State, the symbol of its unity and permanence. He arbitrates and moderates the regular functioning of the institutions, assumes the highest representation of the Spanish State in international relations, especially with the nations of its historical community, and exercises the functions expressly conferred on him by the Constitution and the laws .

Title II, Articals 56
El Rey es el Jefe del Estado, símbolo de su unidad y permanencia, arbitra y modera el funcionamiento regular de las instituciones, asume la más alta representación del Estado español en las relaciones internacionales, especialmente con las naciones de su comunidad histórica, y ejerce las funciones que le atribuyen expresamente la Constitución y las leyes .

On accession to the crown, and on being proclaimed before the Cortes Generalas, the king swears an oath to faithfully carry out his constitutional duties and to obey the constitution and the laws. Additionally, the constitution gives the king the added responsibility to ensure that the constitution is obeyed. Lastly, the king swears to respect the rights of Spanish citizens and of the self governing communities.

The Prince of Asturias, on reaching his majority, and any Regent(s) on assuming the office, swears the same oath as that of the king with a further oath of loyalty to the monarch.

Title II the Crown, Artical 61
(1) The King, on being proclaimed before the Cortes Generales, will swear to faithfully carry out his duties, to obey the Constitution and the laws and ensure that they are obeyed, and to respect the rights of the citizens and the Self-governing Communities
(2) The Crown Prince, on coming of age, and the Regent or Regents, on assuming office, will swear the same oath as well as that of loyalty to the King .

Título II. De la Corona, Artículo 61
1. El Rey, al ser proclamado ante las Cortes Generales, prestará juramento de desempeñar fielmente sus funciones, guardar y hacer guardar la Constitución y las leyes y respetar los derechos de los ciudadanos y de las Comunidades Autónomas .
2. El Príncipe heredero, al alcanzar la mayoría de edad, y el Regente o Regentes al hacerse cargo de sus funciones, prestarán el mismo juramento, así como el de fidelidad al Rey

The oath;

I swear faithfully to discharge My functions, to sustain and see to it that the Constitution and the Laws are sustained, and to respect the rights of the citizens and of the autonomous communities.

Styles, titles, and the 'Fount of Honour'

Style and Titulary

See also: List of titles and honours of the Spanish Crown

The 1978 Constitution, Title II, Article 56, confirms the title of the monarch is King of Spain , but that he may also use other titles historically associated with the Crown.

The titles used by Alfonso XIII before his exile in 1931 which, with this provision of the constitution, the king is entitled to use include:

List of Spanish monarchs - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The monarchs of the Spanish throne, as well as of the Portuguese throne, were the following: Kings of the Visigoths; Suebi Kings of Gallaecia; Kings of Asturias

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