Institutional trust plays a central role in the functioning of democratic societies, yet the factors that shape it continue to be widely debated. This study explores whether the presence of a constitutional monarchy is linked to higher levels of trust in political and legal institutions. By using cross-national data survey and comparing three types of regime structures, namely constitutional monarchies, Western European non-monarchies, and post-socialist republics, this research examines how different political systems relate to trust across a range of institutions. The findings show that constitutional monarchies consistently report higher and more stable levels of trust across seven institutional areas, including country’s parliament, legal system, police, politicians, political parties, the European Parliament and United Nations. In contrast, post-socialist countries show the lowest levels of institutional trust, while Western European non-monarchies fall in between. These patterns remain consistent even after accounting for individual-level factors. The results suggest that the symbolic and structural features of monarchies may contribute to greater institutional trust, offering insight into how traditional forms of governance can continue to shape democratic attitudes in contemporary Europe.