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| Oath of allegiance | |
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 Major GeneralBenedict Arnold'soath of allegiance to the United States taken on May 30th, 1778, at the Artillery Park,Valley Forge. |
Anoath of allegiance is anoath whereby asubject orcitizen acknowledges a duty ofallegiance and swearsloyalty to amonarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country'sconstitution. For example, officials in theUnited States, take an oath of office that includes swearing allegiance to theUnited States Constitution. However, typically in a constitutional monarchy, such as in theUnited Kingdom,Australia, and otherCommonwealth realms, oaths are sworn to themonarch. Armed forces typically require amilitary oath.
Infeudal times, a person would also swear allegiance to their feudal superiors. To this day the oath sworn by freemen of theCity of London contains an oath of obedience to theLord Mayor of the City of London.
Oaths of allegiance are commonly required of newly naturalised citizens (seeoath of citizenship), members of the armed forces, and those assuming public (particularly parliamentary and judicial) offices. Clergy in theChurch of England are required to take anOath of Supremacy acknowledging the authority of theBritish monarch.
A typical example of an oath of allegiance is that sworn by members ofParliament in theNetherlands:
I swear (affirm) allegiance to the King, to theCharter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and to the Constitution. I swear (affirm) that I will faithfully perform the duties my office lays upon me. So help me God almighty! (This I declare and affirm)[1]
In many Commonwealth realms, all that is required is an oath to the monarch, and not the constitution or state. There have been moves in some of the realms to make the oath of citizenship sworn by new citizens refer to the country rather than the monarch. However, the oaths sworn by judges, members of parliament, etc., have not been changed. All of these moves have not succeeded as the King or Queen is the personification of the Canadian, British, or Australian state (or that of any other Commonwealth realm). Allegiance sworn to the monarch is the same as to the country, its constitution or flag. TheEuropean Court of Human Rights ruled in 1999 that the oath of allegiance to a reigning monarch is "reasonably viewed as an affirmation of loyalty to the constitutional principles supporting the workings of representative democracy."[2]
Media related toOaths of allegiance at Wikimedia Commons