King of Castile

Rey de Castilla of Reino de Castilla
Rey de Castilla of Reino de Castilla
	File:Coat of arms King of Castile
Incumbent
	Jaime I de Castilla; since 3 May 2021
Details
Style	w:His Majesty
First monarch	Alfonso XII de Castilla
Appointer	Hereditary

The monarch of Castile, presently referred to as the King is the constitutional head of state of the Kingdom of Castile. The current monarch and head of state of Castile is James I who ascended to the throne following the abdication of his cousin Felipe V.

Summary

The King of Castile is the Head of State of the Kingdom of Castile, symbol of its unity and constancy, it is his responsibility to arbitrate and moderate the regular functioning of the institutions and to exercise the highest representation of the Castilean State, in addition to the exercise of the powers expressly attributed to him by The Constitution of Alfonso XII and other laws. He is Supreme Commander of the Royal Armed Forces, and as such, Captain General of the Armed Forces. He also holds the high patronage of the royal academies.

The Constitution of Alfonso XII defines the institution of the Crown, the person of the King and his functions. The current King of Castile is Jaime I. He has been designated by the rule of male primogeniture.

The person of the King of Castile

The title of King of Castile is endorsed by the Constitution, which incorporates and incorporates into its text all the express and tacit norms that have traditionally governed the monarchy in Castile. The Constitution also recognizes the right of the King to use all other titles that correspond to the Crown..

These historical titles that belong to the King of Castile are as follows.

King of Castile
Duke of Borgoña, Brabante y Lothier, Limbourg, Luxembourg,Güeldes.
Marquess of Namur, and Rosalmonte.
Count of Borgoña, Artois, Charolais, Flandes, Henao, Holland and Zeland, and Zutphen.
Baron of Les.

The Crown

The Crown is the constitutional institution that in Castile establishes the Head of State, with characteristics specific to the Castilean monarchy, which are:

the hereditary succession of its holder, by means of successive generations of the royal family;
the absolute inviolability and immunity of its holder;
lack of political initiative and effective power (potestas) ;
the possession of a high level of authority (auctoritas) ;
the execution by its holder of a series of acts defined with a view to regularising the functioning of the State.

The official residence of the Castilean monarchy is the Palacio del Marqués de La Hermida.

The king is the head of state and executive and the president of the government representation of the executive.

Functions and powers

The King of Castile, in order to fulfill his mission of symbolization and representation of the State and that of arbitration and regulation of the functioning of the institutions, carries out a series of actions that are more or less stated and fixed by the Constitution.

The following actions can be listed as the most representative and important among those within the jurisdiction of the Holder of the Crown:

sanction and promulgate laws. It is the royal signature that gives the law its enforceability, even if it has been approved by Parliament. The king must proceed to the promulgation and publication of laws to be brought to the attention of all, individuals and authorities, and thus assume them of a general binding force (constitutional principle of publicity of laws);
convene and dissolve Parliament (Cortes Generales) and convene new elections. On the proposal of the President of the Government, the holder of the Crown has the power to terminate early the term of office of senators and deputies, or of both chambers or of only one of them, by means of a royal decree of dissolution; this decree must also specify the date of the elections. The King shall convene new elections, either following the dissolution of one of the chambers or at the normal end of the term of office of these chambers;
convene the electorate for a referendum in the cases provided for in the Constitution. The King has the exclusive right to appeal to the people and to submit to the consultation of the nation any project or question proposed to him by the President of the Government, with the prior authorization of the Congress of Deputies. It is also the mandatory procedure for reforming the Constitution;
propose to the Congress of Deputies a person for the post of President of the Government, as well as appoint or terminate his functions. After each renewal of the Congress of Deputies or when the latter refuses its confidence in the government, the holder of the Crown consults the leaders of the political groups with parliamentary representation and proposes to the Congress of Deputies a candidate for the presidency of the government; he appoints him if the Congress grants him its confidence; he proposes another person if not. In addition, he appoints as President of the Government the candidate whose name is attached to a motion of censure approved by the Congress of Deputies against the overthrown government;
appoint and terminate the functions of the other members of the government, on the proposal of its president;
sign the royal decrees approved by the Council of Ministers (main executive acts);
preside over this Council at the request of the President of the Government, when he deems it appropriate, with the aim of being informed of the affairs of the State;
appoint persons to civilian or military posts;
grant honors and distinctions in accordance with the laws;
the right of pardon. The king has the right, on the proposal of the government, to hand over all or part of all convictions pronounced by the courts of justice, whether civilian or military; this pardon may be made conditionally or unconditionally;
the high patronage of the royal academies;
accredit ambassadors and other diplomatic representatives of the kingdom; it is also before him or her that foreign ambassadors and diplomatic representatives are accredited;
ratify international treaties with the consent of the State;
declare war and make peace, with the prior authorization of Parliament

Succession

Succession to the throne follows the order of male primogeniture, according to which the line will always be preferred before the posterior, in the same line the degree closest to the furthest, to the same degree the boy to the girl and in the same sex the oldest person to his younger ones. Although a woman can never be the holder of the crown, they and their successors are included into the line of succession.

This type of succession is called semisalic and is not Salic, because unlike Salic law, women are not excluded from the succession; but they aren't eligible to be Queen on their own right. Currently the idea of amending the Constitution to allow the succession to be in favor of the oldest person, regardless of sex, which would lead to a succession by strict primogeniture, is being discussed.

Persons who are entitled to succession to the throne may marry freely; however, if the marriage is subject to the express prohibition of the holder of the Crown and Parliament, the person in question loses his or her right of succession for himself or herself and his or her descendants. This means that any marriage is presumed to be solemnized with the consent of the holder of the Crown and Parliament, unless proven otherwise, and that opposition to such marriage must be expressly expressed by both of them.

Also, for any person to be placed in the line of succession, they must be an Infante of Castile, or at least be son of one. Outsiders who share no blood with the king can actually be placed in the line of succession as candidate for new succession in case of the main line being extinct. This has happened once, when King Alfonso XII created King Felipe V an Infante, before abdicating the crown. They cannot, in any case, hold the title of Prince of Toledo.

The current King of Castile is Jaime I.