Monarchism in Poland refers both to classicalmonarchists seeking to restore theKingdom ofPoland undervarious noble families and theenthronement movement which seeks toenthroneJesus Christ as "King of Poland" in a largely symbolic sense, with little change to thecurrent Polish political system.
From its foundationc.960 byMieszko I, until its division during thethird partition in 1795, Poland had been ruled by a monarchy under the PolishPiast Dynasty until 1370, and then the LithuanianJagiellon dynasty during the formation of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.[1][2][3] With the death of the last Jagiellon king in 1572, anelective monarchy was established under theGolden Liberty.[4] Due to the elective nature of the Polish throne various foreign noble families would rule including theValois,Vasa,Báthory, andWettin as well as domestic noble families such as theWiśniowiecki,Sobieski,Leszczyński, andPoniatowski.[5]
After the third partition Poland would be divided amongPrussia,Russia, andAustria and its monarchy abolished.[6]Napoleon attempted to recreate a Polish state in the form of theDuchy of Warsaw in 1807, crowningFrederick Augustus I of Saxony of the house of Wettin as "Duke of Warsaw" and in 1812 as "King of Poland".[7][8] After Napoleon's defeat Russia would grant its portion of Poland extensive autonomy in 1817 in the form ofCongress Poland, formally known as the "Kingdom of Poland" with theRussian Tsar as "King", although the autonomy would be basically ignored resulting in theNovember andJanuary uprisings.[6] Congress Poland would be transformed by theCentral Powers into theKingdom of Poland duringWorld War I, ruled by aRegency Council with its monarch set to be elected at a later date with various German and Austrian candidates put forth.[6] However, as the Central Powers' started to wain the Regency Council would be overthrown and theSecond Polish Republic being declared, with the first Republic being the elective monarchy under the Golden Liberty.[6]
Despite its lack of popularity, support for the regency council and some form of constitutional monarchy continued into the Second Republic with organizations such as thePeople's Monarchist Union outright calling for a monarchy, while variousnationalist groups had members with monarchist sympathies such asNational Democracy.[9][10] Additionally, the land-owning gentry in the formerGalicia and Lodomeria continued to support the proposed RegencyHapsburg candidateCharles Stephen Habsburg, who spoke Polish and married into Polish noble families.[11] During theMay Coup of 1926 there was some brief optimism in Monarchists circles thatJózef Piłsudski might restore the monarchy, however, he would create theSanation regime which instead harshly cracked down on them.[12][13]
The enthronement movement has its origins in the encyclicalQuas Primas byPope Pius XI in 1925 urging Christians to ensure “that Christ reigns again” in society in a move against secularism.[14] In the late 1920's and early 1930's venerableRozalia Celakówna, anurse, claimed to receive visions calling for theSacred Heart ofJesus Christ to be enthroned as King of Poland.[15] AfterWorld War II lay activists and clergy kept the wishes of Celakówna alive despite communist persecution.[15]
In 1990Jesuit Fr.Tadeusz Kiersztyn founded theFoundation of the Heart of Jesus which actively supported the enthronement movement, and sponsored Celakówna's 1996 beatification and made a symbolic gold crown for theDivine Mercy Basilica inKraków.[16] At around the same timePolish American groups inChicago founded "Radio of Christ the King" and financed its broadcasts across Poland.[17] The radio show, with aTraditionalist bent strongly advocates for Christ's enthronement, although it has faced criticism for allowing known pedophiles on the air includingPiotr Glas.[17]
On 18 December, 2006,Law and Justice MPArtur Górski introduced a parliamentary resolution to give Jesus Christ the title "King of Poland", backed by 46 deputies, although the bill would pass the first reading in theSejm it was not adopted.[18] In 2012 thePolish Episcopal Conference rebuffed the enthronement movement, saying "thinking that it is enough to call Christ the King of Poland, and everything will change for the better, must be considered illusory, even harmful to the understanding and realization of Christ’s salvation in the world."[17] However, by 2013 the conference formed a committee to look into "intronization" and worked with lay groups both in Poland and among Polish Americans to draft aJubilee Act of Acceptance of Jesus Christ as King and Lord.[19]
On 19 November, 2016 the Jubilee Act would be carried out, attended by PresidentAndrzej Duda and Prime MinisterBeata Szydło where Jesus Christ was proclaimed King of Poland, although, there was no formal constitutional amendment to implement this proclamation.[18] This ceremony was not enough for die-hard members of the movement, who continue to call for Poland to be constitutionally transformed into the "Kingdom of Poland" and in 2019far-right personalityGrzegorz Braun founded his own political party, theConfederation of the Polish Crown, with a constitutional amendment to change the country into a symbolic monarchy being one of its main goals.[17]
On 21 August 2025,Maków County accepted a petition to enthrone Jesus.[20]
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Much like the enthronement movement, more classically minded Monarchists also survived the second world war as a fringe movement, and survived underground during the communist era. Starting in the 1980's these groups began to emerge in public. These include theConservative-Monarchist Club (KZM) established formally on 7 March 1988 which although they do not support a pretender and see it rather as an alternative to democracy.[21][22] It has been founded byArtur Górski.[23] On 16 November 1989 another group, theOrganization of Polish Monarchists (OPM) was registered, which explicitly set out to “restore a Catholic monarchy” in Poland in contrast to a democracy and combined that with traditionalist and free-market ideas and worked closely with the KZM in its early years. It has supportedJanusz Korwin-Mikke'sReal Politics Union[24] andCongress of the New Right.[25]Robert Iwaszkiewicz, a member of the OPM, would be elected to theEuropean Parliament as a member ofKORWiN from 2014 to 2019.[26]
In 1991,Leszek Wierzchowski, styling himself as "Regent of Poland" established thePolish Monarchic Movement (PRM) and calls for a monarch to be popularly elected, with hereditary succession thereafter.[27] In 1993 a group would split off from the PRM and form theUnion of Polish Monarchist Entities (UPUM) which seek a monarchy “representing the interests of the Polish nobility” and has created its own internal quasi-aristocratic structure complete with noble orders and medals.[28]
