This book challenges existing accounts of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in which
political developments are explained in terms of the rise of the nation-state. While monarchies
are often portrayed as old-fashioned - as things of the past - we argue that modern monarchies
have been at the centre of nation-construction in many parts of the world. Today roughly a
quarter of states define themselves as monarchies as well as nation-states - they are Royal
Nations. This is a global phenomenon. This volume interrogates the relationship between royals
and 'their' nations with transnational case studies from Asia Africa Europe as well as South
America. The seventeen contributors discuss concepts and structures visual and performative
representations and memory cultures of modern monarchies in relation to rising nationalist
movements. This book thereby analyses the worldwide significance of the Royal Nation.
