This volume offers a comparative discussion of the role of monarchs in European colonialism, seeking to identify connections, parallels, and contrasts, from early modernity to present-day debates. This book presents a comparative history of the role of monarchs in European colonialism, with chapters on the Belgian, British, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Swedish royal houses. This volume offers a comparative discussion, seeking to identify connections and parallels, as well as contrasts, from early modernity to present-day public debates. Almost all of the European states under discussion here embarked on colonialism as monarchies. The authors in this volume emphasise that across time and place, monarchs supported colonialism in its early stages, including slavery — and none were actively, let alone decisively supportive of abolitionism in their own colonies. Monarchs retained their colonial mindset until the end; not one king or queen anywhere in Europe was known for even silently sympathising with the struggle for independence in the colonies until well after the Second World War. Contents Introduction. European Monarchs and Colonialism, Past and Present - Gert Oostindie & Karwan Fatah-Black The Portuguese Monarchy and Monarchs. Conquest, Empire, and Colonialism - Cátia Antunes The Spanish Monarchy between Empire and Colonialism - Regina Grafe The British Monarchy’s Links to Colonialism, Slavery, and Abolition - Brooke N. Newman An Unruly Collaboration. The French Monarchy and the French Atlantic - Laurent Dubois From Staunch Support to Apologies. The Dutch Monarchy, Colonialism, and Slavery - Gert Oostindie On The Kings’ Watch. The Role of the Monarchy in Danish Colonialism - Michael Bregnsbo A Modest Player with Active Royals. The Swedish Monarchy and Overseas Colonialism - Thomas Lindblad ‘We are off to Africa, for Mussolini, for Italy, and for the King’. Monarchy and Italian Colonialism - Giuseppe Finaldi From Private Ownership to Unconstitutional Interference. The Belgian Monarchy and Colonialism - Idesbald Goddeeris Significant Assistance? The Role of the German Monarchy in German Colonialism - Matthew P. Fitzpatrick Acknowledgements Notes Bibliography About the Authors Index of Names