Editing Constitutional monarchy (section)

====Continental Europe====
Poland developed the first constitution for a monarchy in continental Europe, with the [[Constitution of 3 May 1791]]; it was the second single-document constitution in the world just after the first republican [[Constitution of the United States]]. Constitutional monarchy also occurred briefly in the early years of the [[French Revolution]], but much more widely afterwards. [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] is considered the first monarch proclaiming himself as an embodiment of the nation, rather than as a divinely appointed ruler; this interpretation of monarchy is germane to continental constitutional monarchies. German philosopher [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel]], in his work ''[[Elements of the Philosophy of Right]]'' (1820), gave the concept a philosophical justification that concurred with evolving contemporary political theory and the [[Protestantism|Protestant]] Christian view of natural law.{{sfn|Hegel|1991|p={{page needed|date=December 2015}} }} Hegel's forecast of a constitutional monarch with very limited powers whose function is to embody the national character and provide constitutional continuity in times of emergency was reflected in the development of constitutional monarchies in Europe and Japan.{{sfn|Hegel|1991|p={{page needed|date=December 2015}} }}