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Abstract

The place of royalism and royal heritage in the French Fifth Republic today is a complex one. There has been a lack of historical research on royalism in France since the end of the Second World War even though it has survived into the twenty-first century. Furthermore, as a country that is closely associated with its republicanism, its royal heritage is, in comparison, somewhat forgotten. Yet traces of its royal heritage can be found and are continuing to have an impact on French politics, government and society.
This study sets out to show how a fascination with royalty is not limited to the political minority in France. It aims to illustrate how royalism is part of French right-wing heritage. In doing so it seeks to assess the extent to which royalism exists solely within the minority and explore how traces of it could be deemed to exist within and have an impact on the French Fifth Republic, both in the political sphere and in the wider public. It aims to discover the ways a fascination with monarchy manifests itself outside of the political minority.
This dissertation explores and analyses aspects of France’s royal heritage both within minority political groups and in the political mainstream. It shows how a royalist ideology and a fascination with monarchy are separate and that the latter is not limited to the political minority in France. It demonstrates the complexities of French domestic politics, specifically highlighting the ways in which the institutions of the Fifth Republic and some aspects of republican ceremonial hark back to a royalist past and have therefore been described as a ‘republican monarchy’. It establishes how French citizens are becoming more interested in their royal heritage and sheds light on their wider fascination with monarchy by examining how the French media respond to the Duchess of Cambridge’s first pregnancy.

Course: Combined Modern Languages - BA (Hons) - C1492

Date Deposited: 2019-11-25

URI/permalink: https://library.port.ac.uk/dissert/dis13514.html