Constitutional Monarchy of the Twenty-First Century

Professor Naotaka Kimizuka, Kanto Gakuin University, College of Intercultural Studies, earned a Ph.D. in history from the Graduate School of History at Sophia University in Tokyo. He was born in Tokyo in 1967. He is mainly studying British political and diplomatic history of the nineteenth century and comparative studies of monarchies around the world. He has published more than twenty books in Japan, including Her Majesty’s Blue Ribbon: The Order of the Garter and British Foreign Policy; Queen Victoria; Queen Elizabeth II; and What is an Aristocrat? He won the Suntory Prize for Social Sciences and Humanities (Politics and Economy) in 2018 with his The Current State of Constitutional Monarchy, the Japanese original version of this book. He had been an advisor to the Department of Decorations and Medals in the Cabinet Office and also to the National Security Council in the Cabinet Secretariat.

Introduction.- What is a Constitutional Monarchy?.- The Formation of British Constitutional Monarchy.- The Completion of British Constitutional Monarchy.- The Modern British Royal Family.- The Nordic Royal Families – the Leading-edge of Modern Monarchy.- The Royal Households of the Benelux Countries – An Example of Abdication during Lifetime.- The Future of Monarchy in Asia.- Conclusion: Can the Japanese Maintain the Symbolic Emperor System?.