Monarchy of Vietnam

The monarchy of Vietnam is the constitutional monarchy of the Kingdom of Vietnam. The current monarch and head of state is King Nicholas, who was crowned king on 16 February 2018.

The monarch and the Vietnamese royal family undertake numerous political, social, economic duties associated with the day-to-day governance of the country, as well as ceremonial and other diplomatic functions both domestically and abroad.

The king's most important duty is to "certify a Prime Minister to act as head of government" as written in the 1960 Vietnamese constitution. This means the king has the authority to remove the PM in dire situations as well as monitor the PM's actions in Parliament through the Privy Council.

The King is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Vietnamese Military which conducts military action both domestically and abroad. The King is allowed to add amendments through the Royal Speaker in the House of Lords on existing bills, however, cannot introduce them to either House. The King must sign bills into law (give Royal Assent) for bills to be official, however, the king may issue a Royal Notary to bills to allow for the temporary implementation of policies if Royal Assent is not or cannot be given. Ultimately, the King has final say on all domestic issues through royal prerogative and barring the Supreme Court's opinion, has the final say on clemency (the King's Prerogative of Mercy) if asked.

History
The Nguyen dynasty has ruled Vietnam since the defeat of the Tay Son in 1802. The Nguyen Lords were absolute (or near-absolute as in the case of Emperor Duy Tan who reigned as a boy). The original line ceased after a War Tribunal convicted Emperor Bao Dai of war crimes for actions in the Vietnamese Civil War and stripped the Emperor and all direct family of all titles and privileges. Following the forced abdication of Bao Dai, the Imperial Council declared General Nguyen Huu Khang, king and started the Second Nguyen dynasty.

After the War
After the Vietnamese Civil War, Bao Dai was deposed by the Imperial Council after the War Tribunal stripped the emperor of all titles and privileges; and declared the winning general General Khang, king of the Kingdom of Vietnam. Gen. Khang, a Catholic, became King Thomas taking his baptismal name as a regnal name. King Thomas instituted social and political reforms moulding the Kingdom into an Asian version of the British monarchy, with the King retaining significant executive power.

Contemporary monarchy
Main article: Privy Council of Vietnam

Royal Household of Vietnam
The Royal Household of Vietnam is the governmental organisation that handles the day-to-day operations of the King and royal family, including but not limited to: security, calendar setting, maintenance of the residences, and coordinating with Parliament offices.

Residences and royal sites
The King and immediate royal family are housed officially in the Royal Palace of Saigon. The royal family also has use of Gia Long Palace, also in Saigon and The Third Mansion, which is the official retreat residence of the King since 1957. Gia Long Palace originally served as the working office of the King until King Philip. Today, Gia Long Palace is used as a government operations centre for the King through the Royal Household of Vietnam and as a state guesthouse.

Historically, the royal family has access from the Imperial City in Hue, however, due to significant damage to the Citadel in the early years of the Vietnamese Civil War the Imperial City, was abandoned in favour of Saigon. Today, the royal family use the Imperial City for ceremonies, particularly Tet.

The extended royal family own their own properties in Dalat and Nha Trang. They are maintained by the Royal Household of Vietnam only. King Nicholas, while Crown Prince commissioned a 7,770 sqft log cabin built in Bao Loc, which the Royal Household of Vietnam now administers and coordinates while King.

Annual budget
The Royal Household of Vietnam's budget for the 2020 fiscal year is estimated to be ƒ1.8 billion. A 0.5 per cent increase of the previous year. Actual figures are not released to the public.

The annual budget of the RHV covers salary and maintenance for all residences and the King's operations for the year.

Royal transportation
The King is mainly transported by air with the use of one of two highly-modified Airbus A350 XWB aeroplanes flown by the Royal Vietnamese Air Force. For short-range and domestic travel, the King uses an Airbus Helicopters H155 operated by the Air Force. The state car is a highly-modified long-wheelbase version of the BMW 760iL.