On Monday HM King Michael of Romania announced that his eldest grandson, Nicholas, son of his daughter Princess Elena, will henceforth be known as HRH Prince Nicholas of Romania and will take his place in the succession to the Romanian throne behind his mother and aunt the Crown Princess Margaret. There has been some controversy over the Romanian succession in the past and this move has not been without its detractors who point out that placing Prince Nicholas in the succession goes against the last constitution of the former Kingdom of Romania. Such attitudes are unfortunate but probably cannot be helped as such always seems to be the case as royal exiles try to adapt to new situations while historic constitutions remain frozen in time. The Mad Monarchist wishes the new Prince of Romania and his family all the best and prays that they may hasten the day that King Michael is properly restored to his rightful throne.
In Belgium HRH Crown Princess Mathilde and HM the Dowager Queen Fabiola voted with the rest of their countrymen in the Belgian general elections held on Sunday. These elections were seen as especially critical given the fall of the last government over the Flemish-Walloon divide. How the two charming royals voted no one knows, but sadly for Belgian patriots and monarchists worldwide, the result of the election was, for the first time, that the largest number of seats went to the New Flemish Alliance which advocates the secession of Flanders which would spell the end of Belgium as a country and the loss of the Belgian monarchy. Thankfully, they did not achieve an outright majority and must form a coalition government if they expect to get anything done which would hopefully prevent them from acting on their platform of Flemish nationalism. However, lest anyone think the problems are confined to one region alone, the most successful Walloon party was the socialists. God save the King of the Belgians from his feuding subjects! On the bright side though, taken as a whole more Belgians voted in favor of unity than otherwise.
In Sweden, the soon-to-be husband of Crown Princess Victoria, Daniel Westling had his official coat-of-arms revealed, his official monogram and an informal vote of confidence from the Swedish public. A poll taken found that the vast majority of Swedes think Daniel will be a good Prince of Sweden (heartening news) and that over half of those polled view Crown Princess Victoria as the best representative Sweden has. The poll (taken by a tabloid so -keep that in mind) showed that Mr. Westling has his strongest support amongst the older members of the population and among women. The royals started arriving for the wedding yesterday for a special concert in Stockholm but more on that will be forthcoming.
For the British it has been a mix of news since the cheerful pomp and ceremony of the Queen’s official birthday on Saturday. Princes William and Harry arrived in Botswana for a tour of Africa that will allow them to check up on their charities operating in the region and to take in the games of the World Cup in South Africa. However, memories of some sad history of republican-monarchist relations were also brought up recently with the publication of the official report, after a lengthy investigation lasting many years, on the events of “Bloody Sunday” in Derry, Northern Ireland. In 1972 British paratroopers fired on a crowd of Irish Catholic demonstrators (republican) which killed 14 and wounded 13 more. At the time the soldiers claimed they had been responding to attacks from the crowd. The report showed (nothing much new really) that there had been no provocation from the crowd and that a number of those killed had been shot in the back while trying to escape the gunfire. No real legal action is expected but Prime Minister David Cameron did apologize for the actions of the British troops on that occasion. The report also found that Martin McGuinness, currently the Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and a republican nationalist member of Sinn Fein, was present and “probably armed with a sub-machine gun” but took no hostile action while there. Martin McGuinness for some time tried to deny that he was ever a prominent member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army.
In southeast Asia HM the Sultan of Brunei, one of the wealthiest and most absolute monarchs in the world, announced on Wednesday that he will divorce his wife Princess Azrinaz Mazhar, a former journalist from Malaysia. The Sultan has long had two wives but the marriage to his first wife is the only one to have endured. His previous secondary wife was a former flight attendant who he divorced in 2003 after 21 years of marriage. He has only been married to Princess Azrinaz Mazhar for 5 years after a private ceremony in Kuala Lampur. Oil revenues have made the Sultan one of the richest men in the world, worth an estimated $20 billion.
In Belgium HRH Crown Princess Mathilde and HM the Dowager Queen Fabiola voted with the rest of their countrymen in the Belgian general elections held on Sunday. These elections were seen as especially critical given the fall of the last government over the Flemish-Walloon divide. How the two charming royals voted no one knows, but sadly for Belgian patriots and monarchists worldwide, the result of the election was, for the first time, that the largest number of seats went to the New Flemish Alliance which advocates the secession of Flanders which would spell the end of Belgium as a country and the loss of the Belgian monarchy. Thankfully, they did not achieve an outright majority and must form a coalition government if they expect to get anything done which would hopefully prevent them from acting on their platform of Flemish nationalism. However, lest anyone think the problems are confined to one region alone, the most successful Walloon party was the socialists. God save the King of the Belgians from his feuding subjects! On the bright side though, taken as a whole more Belgians voted in favor of unity than otherwise.
In Sweden, the soon-to-be husband of Crown Princess Victoria, Daniel Westling had his official coat-of-arms revealed, his official monogram and an informal vote of confidence from the Swedish public. A poll taken found that the vast majority of Swedes think Daniel will be a good Prince of Sweden (heartening news) and that over half of those polled view Crown Princess Victoria as the best representative Sweden has. The poll (taken by a tabloid so -keep that in mind) showed that Mr. Westling has his strongest support amongst the older members of the population and among women. The royals started arriving for the wedding yesterday for a special concert in Stockholm but more on that will be forthcoming.
For the British it has been a mix of news since the cheerful pomp and ceremony of the Queen’s official birthday on Saturday. Princes William and Harry arrived in Botswana for a tour of Africa that will allow them to check up on their charities operating in the region and to take in the games of the World Cup in South Africa. However, memories of some sad history of republican-monarchist relations were also brought up recently with the publication of the official report, after a lengthy investigation lasting many years, on the events of “Bloody Sunday” in Derry, Northern Ireland. In 1972 British paratroopers fired on a crowd of Irish Catholic demonstrators (republican) which killed 14 and wounded 13 more. At the time the soldiers claimed they had been responding to attacks from the crowd. The report showed (nothing much new really) that there had been no provocation from the crowd and that a number of those killed had been shot in the back while trying to escape the gunfire. No real legal action is expected but Prime Minister David Cameron did apologize for the actions of the British troops on that occasion. The report also found that Martin McGuinness, currently the Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and a republican nationalist member of Sinn Fein, was present and “probably armed with a sub-machine gun” but took no hostile action while there. Martin McGuinness for some time tried to deny that he was ever a prominent member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army.
In southeast Asia HM the Sultan of Brunei, one of the wealthiest and most absolute monarchs in the world, announced on Wednesday that he will divorce his wife Princess Azrinaz Mazhar, a former journalist from Malaysia. The Sultan has long had two wives but the marriage to his first wife is the only one to have endured. His previous secondary wife was a former flight attendant who he divorced in 2003 after 21 years of marriage. He has only been married to Princess Azrinaz Mazhar for 5 years after a private ceremony in Kuala Lampur. Oil revenues have made the Sultan one of the richest men in the world, worth an estimated $20 billion.
This is not good for Sweden.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thelocal.se/27212/20100614/
http://www.thelocal.se/27322/20100619/
Rather pitiful really. The royal wedding has brought more world attention on Sweden than any other event in recent history and despite republican moanings has brought in a great deal of money to the country, moreso than is being spent on the festivities. Any honest person should be able to put ideology aside and see that the wedding has been a great thing for Sweden.
ReplyDeleteFrom the 8th comment in the first link:
ReplyDeleteWow-such bitterness and spite from the republican party. Could it be that Madgelena Streiffert wants to wear the crown for herself? Maybe she is jealous that she wasn't born into a royal family and that is why she is so bent on trying to destroy the wedding of Princess Victoria and Daniel. She should be ashamed of herself for being so mean spirited and hateful. I love the Swedish Royal Family. I have read a lot of books on the history of Sweden and it has always impressed me that the love the people have for their royal family.
I think that's the issue in a nuthsell. I say that republicans are merely want to be kingmakers in a Cromwellian republic so that they can outlaw anything that might so disagree with their puritan ideology. In the case of Sweden, that would be being Swedish.
It's exceedingly ironic that this is happening across the entire Western world that the PC puritans are keen to outlaw being Australian, British, American, French, etc. Restorations may ultimately be the only way these nations can survive. Given that parliaments are complicit in this cultural neglect, it may very well be that assemblies will restore the Crowns, and then disband, rather than follow the English in 1660.