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Usually I hear pro-democracy protest, pro-democracy rallies, pro-democracy podcasts. I am seeing pro-monarchy rallies today in Nepal.

Details and clarity: https://esewanews.com/hundreds-people-join-pro-monarchy-rally/

So, my two questions are - is this rally in Nepal the only example of political movements which

  1. happen in countries with no monarchy or a relatively powerless one,
  2. want a more powerful monarch (or a monarch in the first place) and
  3. appear to have considerable public support?

And if yes, why so?

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    You see pro-democracy rallies happening in places where democracy is perceived as being under threat. For there to be pro-monarchy rallies of that sort you would have to find an example of a country where the monarchy is being removed. Probably against the wishes of the monarchs since if the monarch is stepping down voluntarily it's hard to justify forcing them to stay. In the UK there have been plenty of mass celebrations of the monarchy (look for various coronation, jubilee or royal wedding events). Those draw huge crowds of people but perhaps are not what you intended.
    – Eric Nolan
    Dec 1, 2020 at 12:42
  • @EricNolan UK, probably No. It will be Yes, if it needs removal of democracy. Maybe if I understand it correctly, more power to monarch. UK's monarch isn't very powerful, I think.
    – Gary 2
    Dec 1, 2020 at 12:59
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    I wouldn't know of a significant movement in the UK which wants more power to the queen. People in the UK seem to be pretty content with the status quo regarding the British monarchy: Everyone loves Her Majesty and pretends she is politically relevant, even though she isn't. The only people who want to change that usually want to abolish the monarchy officially instead of just unofficially.
    – Philipp ♦
    Dec 1, 2020 at 13:53
  • Do electoral rallies for a party whose platform includes the restoration of a monarchy count? In postwar Italy the PNM had quite a few of them, some with very high numbers.
    – Denis Nardin
    Dec 1, 2020 at 18:31
  • @DenisNardin Yes. However, after 1990s would be better because democratic movements became stronger.
    – Gary 2
    Dec 1, 2020 at 19:18

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Surely Nepal is not unique.

  • There have been pro-monarchy demonstrations recently in Thailand (as a counter-reaction to those calling for a reduction of the monarch's power).

  • After communism fell in Eastern Europe, there were various pro-monarchy parties formed there, calling for the new regimes to be constitutional monarchies, as some were before the Soviets occupied the region. See e.g. this paper on Bulgaria. Actually, Simeon II was probably among select few former monarchs who regained some power in a non-monarchy, becoming PM after his party won the 2001 elections. As one CBS article put it: "Throughout the campaign, the former king was mobbed by ecstatic crowds of Bulgarians." Although not enjoying the same success, I did find a US newspaper mention of such a rally in favor of the former king in Romania, in 1990. There was/is such a pro-monarchy political party in Czechia as well.

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    Thailand's king is already so powerful. Other than that, I like your answer. It has lots of information. I want to thank you for helping me again.
    – Gary 2
    Dec 1, 2020 at 19:22
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While there is a profound pro-monarchy movement in Nepal, it is far from the only example of such movements. The best example of vocal pro-monarchism other than in Nepal is Thailand.

In Thailand, the previous monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej was particularly revered, and seen as a bastion of continuity in a country frequently riven by coups and political disorder. He was also the second-longest reigning monarch of all time, and the world's longest-reigning head of state (1946-2016). Though his son, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, has not quite reached the intense popularity of his father, there still remains a fiercely loyal base of monarchists in Thailand who support the institution.

Thailand royalists show support for king (2020):

Chanting ‘Long live the king’, royalists stage pro-monarchy demonstration in Bangkok after protests demanding reforms of the monarchy.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/27/thailand-royalists-show-support-for-king

Some European countries have seen pro-monarchy movements, particularly after the turbulent period following World War I and the end of three major European monarchies: the Russian Romanov dynasty, the German Hohenzollern, and the Austro-Hungarian Habsburg dynasty. In Germany, after the fall of the Hohenzollern dynasty, there was a popular movement formed of monarchists demanding the return of the monarchy, and an end to the Weimar Republic, under the German National People's Party. The movement remained popular until the rise of Nazism in the 1930s.

There was a considerable republican/monarchist rivalry in Italy following World War II, in which the country voted in a referendum on whether Italy should become a republic or a monarchy. After the country narrowly voted to form an Italian republic, the monarchist movement declined.

After first the decline of multiple monarchies in Europe, followed by the decolonisation after World War II, and the championing of liberal democracy, support for monarchies in Europe and the world wained further, aside from the constitutional monarchy of the UK, which still retains significant support for the monarchy, although its power largely symbolic.

Seven in ten Britons support Britain continuing to have a monarchy:

https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2018/05/18/who-are-monarchists

An interesting case is the small European state of Lichtenstein, a democratic principality, whose small population has actually voted to give the monarch more power in recent years:

In a national referendum in March 2003, nearly two-thirds of the electorate voted in support of Hans-Adam II's proposed new constitution.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2853991.stm

The princely family and the Prince enjoy tremendous public support inside the nation, and the resolution passed with about 64% in favour. A proposal to revoke the Prince's veto powers was rejected by 76% of voters in a 2012 referendum.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-liechtenstein-vote-prince/liechtenstein-votes-to-keep-princes-veto-idUKBRE86009220120701

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While not a rally, there is a political organization that is called the Czech Crown that advocates the restoration of a monarchy in the Czech republic with the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. It was founded after the fall of the Marxist socialist dictatorship of the proletariat of Czechoslovakia due to the 1989 Velvet Revolution. They are still around and are involved in protest against the current Czech prime minister and President.

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