Popular monarchy

Popular monarchy is a system of monarchical governance in which the monarch's title is linked with a popular mandate rather than a constitutional state. It was the norm in some places (such as Scotland) from the Middle Ages, and was occasionally used in 19th- and 20th-century Europe, often reflecting the results of a populist revolution. Thus during the French Revolution Louis XVI had to change his title to indicate he was the monarch of the people rather than sovereign ruler of the land.

Currently, Belgium has the only explicit popular monarchy. Constitutional monarchy in the modern sense can be considered an evolution of the idea, as such constitutions generally place sovereignty with the people, not the monarch.