Royalist
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The noun or adjective, Royalist, can have several shades of meaning. At its simplest, it refers to an adherent of a monarch or royal family. It can mean a person who wishes to change the political system of his country into a monarchy, thus a monarchist.
Of the more specific uses of the term, the most common include:
- A supporter of King Charles I of England during the English Civil War. See Cavaliers.
- In the UK, a believer in the continued desirability of the royal family (the term "royalist" is still used almost interchangeably with "monarchist").
- In the context of the History of France since the 18th century, and especially during the French Revolution, a supporter of the House of Bourbon. The term is generally not applied to partisans of the monarchical claims of the line of Napoleon Bonaparte.
- A supporter of Ferdinand VII of Spain in Spanish South America during the South American Wars of Independence of the 1810s and 1820s.