Criticism of monarchy can be targeted against the general form of government — monarchy — or more specifically , to particular monarchical governments as controlled by hereditary royal families . In some cases , this criticism can be curtailed by legal restrictions and be considered criminal speech , as in lèse-majesté . Monarchies in Europe and their underlying concepts , such as the Divine Right of Kings , were often criticized during the Age of Enlightenment , which notably paved the way to the French Revolution and the proclamation of the abolition of the monarchy in France . Earlier , the American Revolution had seen the Patriots suppress the Loyalists and expel all royal officials . In this century , monarchies are present in the world in many forms with different degrees of royal power and involvement in civil affairs : The twentieth century , beginning with the 1917 February Revolution in Russia and accelerated by two world wars , saw many European countries replace their monarchies by republics , while others replaced their absolute monarchy with constitutional monarchy . Reverse movements have also occurred , with brief returns of the monarchy in France under the Bourbon Restoration , the July Monarchy , and the Second French Empire , the Stuarts after the English Civil War and the Bourbons in Spain after the Franco dictatorship . The selection of sovereigns generally does not involve democratic principles , such as in Elective monarchy in states they head . For hereditary monarchies royal power transmission is carried from generation to generation , with the title and associated power passing down to an heir . Several royal families are criticized in the world and their legitimacy challenged for example : The Bahraini protests were initially aimed at achieving greater political freedom and equality for the majority Shia population , and expanded to a call to end the monarchy of Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa following a deadly night raid on 17 February 2011 against protesters at the Pearl Roundabout in Manama , known locally as Bloody Thursday
Bloody Thursday
Bahrain Bloody Thursday
Criticism of monarchy