Dios, rey y patria

Dios, rey y patria was a motto of Carlism.[1] These three words (which can be translated as God, King and Fatherland), have been the motto and cornerstone of Carlism throughout its existence. What Carlism understood by these was:

• Dios (God): Carlism believes in the Catholic Faith as a cornerstone of Spain, and must be politically active in its defense.
• Patria (Fatherland): Carlism is heavily patriotic, Traditionalism sees the Fatherland as the nesting of communities (municipal, regional, Spain) united under one.
• Rey (King): The concept of national sovereignty is rejected. Sovereignty is vested on the king, both legitimate in blood and in deeds. But this power is limited by the doctrine of the Church and the Laws and Usages of the Kingdom, and through a series of Councils, traditional Cortes and state-independent intermediate bodies. The King must also be the Defender of the Poor and Keeper of Justice.

Sometimes added to this at the time of the First Carlist War was a fourth tenet Fueros. Stipulating the desires of the regions of Navarra and the Basque provinces for regional autonomy and a preservation of the Fueros, which were rights granted to these provinces by the Spanish Crown in the Middle Ages. This call faded after the First War becoming distanced from traditional Carlism until the positions of Navarra and the Basque regions were on opposite sides during the Spanish Civil War.