On 28 October, the annual march for the monarchy was held by Czech monarchists in the city of Prague. They wish for a return of the Habsburg monarchy to the country. While the government officials celebrate the 101st anniversary of former Czechoslovakia, monarchist gathered at the St. Wenceslas Statue and walked through Prague.
In the welcome speech, Radim Špaček, chairman of the monarchist party of the Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia, stressed that monarchists gather at the same place, where demonstrations protesting against the communist regime traditionally took place.
Radim Špaček issued a statement where he says: “The monarchists suggest an obvious solution, entrust the ruling to the hands of a non-elected person, endowed with a profoundly different source of legitimate [sic] than the elected representatives”. Špaček underlined that monarchists are not a bundle of nostalgians dreaming about golden-hair princesses and princes on white horses; they rather put forward thoroughly considered and a well-reasoned option of installing a head of state that would be prepared to the role from his or her infancy and would be on very good terms with all ruling dynasties in Europe.
The march was attended by several hundred people and went peacefully through the streets of Prague, attracting a lot of attention. Several speeches were then held before the Austria-Hungary imperial anthem was performed. Among those who spoke was Nicole Fara, chairwoman of the Austrian royalist movement. Then the march was peacefully dismissed.
In June of this year, the monarchists were heavily involved in the massive protests in the Czech Republic against the government. Amidst the huge protests, one could see the flags of the former kingdom of Bohemia and hear people shouting monarchist slogans during the protests.
The monarchist part of the protest is organised by “The Monarchist Party of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia”, also referred to as “The Czech Crown”. This political party is a Czech monarchist political party that wishes the restoration of the Czech monarchy with the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. The party was founded in 1991. The current pretender to the Bohemian throne is, therefore, the head of the Habsburg family, Karl von Habsburg. He is also pretender to the throne in the other former Habsburg states such as Austria, Croatia, Hungary and several more.
