Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Favorite Royal Images: Swedish Princess
Princess Ingrid of Sweden, who became Queen consort to King Frederick IX of Denmark
Monday, May 30, 2011
Memorial Day
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| King George V of Great Britain decorating a soldier of the AEF |
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| King George VI inspecting the crew of USS George Washington |
My Favorite Kings of Spain
II - King Carlos I: better known by his superior title, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, one of the greatest Hapsburg monarchs in European history, despite some problems in his private life, was an upstanding monarch is almost every way. His Hapsburg connections made Spain part of the largest Christian realm in the world and it was the empire of Charles V upon which it was first said that “the sun never set”. He urged the Church to deal with the corruptions that led to the rise of Protestantism but few listened to him and in the end he was forced to fight the French in the west, the Lutherans in the north and the Turks in the south. Yet, his forces overcame and either triumphed or at least broke even and avoided total defeat. He also presided over the further expansion of Spanish power in America as well as the continued rise of Spain as a great power in Europe. There were scars on his reign, the worst certainly being the “sack of Rome” but his victories were more numerous, the most prestigious probably being his defeat and capture of the King of France, who was a longtime rival.
III - King Philip II: Felipe II to the Spanish of course, is rightly celebrated in Spain and reviled in England where he very nearly put an early end to the rise of England to naval dominance. Philip II presided over the zenith of Spanish power and greatness and he was, by far, the most powerful man in the western world in his time. Often at odds with the Church, despite his association with zealous Catholicism and the Counter-Reformation, his forces nonetheless bore the brunt of the fighting in the religious struggles that engulfed Europe. He defeated the French at San Quentin, relieved the siege of Malta, very nearly stamped out rebellion in the Netherlands but was at least able to retain Belgium for the Hapsburgs and his forces ended the Turkish naval threat with their victory at Lepanto. After the regicide of the Queen of Scots, he sent the Armada against England, which met with disaster but he took great care of the survivors and accepted the defeat with dignity. Philip’s timely intervention saved the Catholic cause in France and he expanded Spanish power from the Americas in the west to the Philippines in the east.
IV - King Philip IV: Felipe IV, perhaps, benefits from coming along during a time when good leadership was rather lacking in Spain. Under his reign the Spanish empire reached its peak, in size if not in power, and the arts flourished. Spanish forces won many victories in the Thirty Years War and Felipe IV did his best to bring about a revival of Spanish fortunes which had been on the decline, mostly due to political and economic problems. He was a deeply religion man and patron of the Church, successfully pushing for the canonization of Queen Isabella of Portugal in 1625. He exchanged letters with the mystic Venerable Mary of Agreda on matters of moral, kingly leadership. He was patron to some of the greatest artists in Spanish history and his forces won victories on many battlefields but the enemies Spain faced were too widespread for any conclusive military resolution. Nonetheless, he did the best he could to maintain his vast empire in the twilight days of Hapsburg Spain.
V - King Ferdinand VI: The reign of Fernando VI is usually pointed to as the most glorious period of Bourbon Spain before conditions really started to deteriorate. After so many costly wars, he enacted a policy of neutrality with France and England. He instituted many reforms, some beneficial, some less so, aimed at improving the Spanish government and though different factions tried to tempt him into taking the side of Britain or France in their continuing conflicts, he held firm and refused to do so. As a result, after so many years of economic struggle, the Spanish treasury was able to recover and Spain began, again, to become a quite wealthy country. He increased colonial commerce, founded the Royal Academy of the Fine Arts of San Fernando and was particular known for his musical patronage. He expanded and improved the Spanish Navy and signed a concordat with Pope Benedict XIV which stabilized Church-state relations. His reign was not without its problems (sadly common for the period) but it was an era of prosperity.
Dishonorable Mention: King Carlos III -not only were his “enlightenment” tastes not to my liking, the man outlawed bullfighting. Not cool Your Majesty. Not cool. Also, while I do not have a problem with the absolutism of King Ferdinand VII, he made many big mistakes, his last being flouting the law (when he didn’t have to) in order for his daughter to succeed him, setting Spain up for numerous civil wars.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Today in Mexican History
Happy Royal Oak Day
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Royal News Roundup
Friday, May 27, 2011
New Tiara for the Pope
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| Bl. John Paul II and his Hungarian tiara |
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| Benedict XVI presented with his tiara |
Mad Monarchist Fan Mail
hi! this article sucks! (Short and to the point, always a winner)
You are truly disturbed. Obviously you never took a history course in your life. Nazism was right wing, you can’t change the truth no matter how much you hate moderates. (Actually I majored in history and if Nazism was right wing it was an odd bird in deed, preaching socialism, abolition of class distinctions etc)
DIRTY FILTHY INBRED B******! (And in all caps so you know how much he meant it!)
Your “great monarchist” was nothing but a petty thief and a bloodthirsty war criminal, but it suits your amoral Machiavellian world view quite well that anyone who fights in the name of monarchism is a saintly figure. Greetings from someone whose unarmed civilian great-grandfather and his family were butchered by the forces of your favorite war criminal. (This was rather shocking to me -a man and his entire family are massacred and yet still managed to have great-grandchildren. Miraculous)
Hard to believe there’s idiots like you who bow at the feet of these over-inflated, self-centered monarchs. Congratulations you’re a bona fide slave! (Heh, heh, hear that? I’m bona fide!)
you are such an obsessive monarchist and traditionalist because you are most likely a f****** loser piece of s***. you should have been an abortion. (Don't worry, the world will be rid of me soon enough)
Lies, absolute lies. How can so many people believe this bull**** (Would have helped if the person had pointed out exactly what this was supposed to refer to but, alas, most do not)
Royals are nothing but a bunch of inbred, imbecilic parasites on society and anyone who would carry water for them is a retard. Why should anyone care about them? They’re thieves and murderers with jewelry. What heroes you have. (Well, you cared enough to look up a monarchist blog, come up with my email and send me a letter about the subject)
The British monarchy is the biggest criminal organization in the world. You can (unable to print suggestion) all you want, it only shows what a freak show YOU are. Quebec will soon be rid of them! (Oh, be honest, if Quebec wanted to be independent they would be by now, most just like being "precious")
I bet I know exactly who you are, you’re a fat, broke loser sitting in your basement and ****** out of your mind. (Afraid not. Truth be told, I'm skinny as a rail, not hurting for money and I don't have a basement -not too common in this part of the world)
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Monarch Profile: James V, King of Scots
In 1525 the Earl of Angus, who was stepfather to James V, took the young king prisoner and ruled Scotland on his authority until James escaped in 1528 and took power himself for the first time. It was also in 1525 that the Protestant doctrines first began to spread into Scotland and James V was determined to resist them. He had parliament pass an act forbidding the importation of Lutheran books and the following year James wrote a letter to Pope Clement VII in which he promised to use all the power at his disposal to combat the spread of Protestantism in Scotland. In 1528 James V had Patrick Hamilton, a commendatory abbot with connections at court, burned at the stake at St Andrews for preaching heresy. The Protestant leader John Knox credited this action with being the starting point of the Protestant Reformation in Scotland. However, in Scotland as in other areas, there were power hungry men who adopted the Protestant cause simply because they were interested in revolt rather than reformation. Had they only been concerned with reforming the Church they would have found a useful ally in King James V who was himself devoted to reforming the clerical abuses that existed in his country. To deny the problem was no longer possible as the Catholic Church in Scotland had, by that point, become rather infamous across Europe for corruption and immorality.
In political matters James took immediate action against the Earl of Angus who had imprisoned him as well as cracking down on rebel factions along the border and troublesome chieftains in the Western Isles. He improved the financial situation of the monarchy by keeping a closer watch on the royal estates and by taking advantage of his traditional feudal rights over the nobles. James V spent much of this money on building projects at Stirling, Falkland, Holyrood and Linlithgow. On January 1, 1537 he renewed the alliance with France by marrying Madeleine of Valois, daughter of King Francis I. However, Madeleine died only a few months after being married and so as to maintain the political situation James marred Marie of Guise on June 12, 1538. Marie of Guise was a devout Catholic woman, the daughter of Duke Claude of Guise (the Guise family were the leaders of the Catholic League in France) and she was the widow of Louis of Orleans, Duke of Longueville by whom she already had two children. Together James and Marie had two sons, the Duke of Rothesay and the Duke of Albany, in 1541 and 1542 but neither of them survived. In 1542 the couple gave birth to a daughter, Princess Mary, on whose shoulders the future of Scotland and the Stuart dynasty would one day rest. However, showing his major weakness, James fathered at least nine illegitimate children (3 before he was even 20 years old) of whom James, Earl of Moray would prove the most troublesome in the future for his legitimate heir.
Probably the most pressing issue for James V was the overflow into Scotland of the religious divisions his uncle King Henry VIII introduced to England by breaking with Rome and establishing his own Protestant church. Just as this divided the English into Catholic and Protestant camps, so too would Scotland be likewise. King Henry tried to persuade his Scottish nephew to follow his example and break from Rome as well but the staunchly Catholic James V refused to do so. Scotland became divided between those who favored the position of Henry VIII of England and those who were loyal to the Church and King James. The, essentially, Protestant camp included most of the nobles, the English Queen mother and religious dissidents. The Catholic camp included some powerful nobles, most of the clergy and the vast majority of the common people who were loyal to their King and the old religion. One of his most faithful servants was James Beaton who was made a cardinal in 1538 and shortly thereafter Primate of Scotland. It is a mark of his quality that Henry VIII of England considered him his greatest nemesis north of the border. The King of England was further enraged when the pope transferred to the King of Scots the title, Fidei Defensor, which Pope Leo X had originally awarded to Henry VIII for his refutation of Luther.
Matters came to a head after the death of the English queen mother in 1541 after which war soon broke out between England and Scotland. King Henry VIII, angry that King James V had rejected his offer, ordered an invasion of Scotland and this raid forced James to order his own forces to assemble for war. At first things seemed to go very well when, on August 24, 1542, Lord George Gordon, Earl of Huntly, soundly defeated the English army of Robert Bowes at the battle of Haddon Rig. However, Scottish hopes were soon dashed when the Scots were defeated at the confused battle of Solway Moss on November 24, much of it caused by the breakdown of the Scottish command after the death of Lord Robert Maxwell, before the battle, which caused the remaining Scottish leaders to start feuding amongst themselves for command. There were relatively few losses but many Scots were captured and the battle was a humiliation since they had the English considerably outnumbered. King James V was not present on the battlefield but was then at Lochmaben. He reportedly fell into a feverish despair when news of the defeat reached him and he withdrew to Falkland Palace in a state of nervous collapse.
James V took to his deathbed and was there when his only living heir, a daughter, was born on December 8. That girl would soon become the famous but tragic Mary Queen of Scots. King James V was alleged to have said on his deathbed when word of the birth came that, "It began with a lass and it will end with a lass". This was a reference to the origins of the Stuart dynasty with the daughter of Robert the Bruce and would prove to be true as the last reigning monarch of the House of Stuart would be Queen Anne; a lass. King James V died on December 14 and was immediately succeeded by his daughter, Mary Queen of Scots, and he was buried at Holyrood Abbey alongside his first wife Queen Madeleine and his sons by his second wife Queen Marie of Guise who would soon be ruling as regent on behalf of her daughter. In many ways his reign had been the last gasp of Catholic Scotland. The country would never be quite the same again, neither was independent Scotland ever to be quite the same as it had been under King James V. It would for some time be a rather unequal partner with England, for some time be held under the boot of England and then finally restored to her full rights, but all in all things would never be quite the same as it had been before. It was only left to Queen Mary to carry the cause of Catholic Scotland to its tragic end.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Consort Profile: Queen Marie d'Guise
Despite his rather “colorful” private life, King James V and Queen Marie d’Guise both endeavored to due their royal duty but the royal couple’s only child, the famous Mary Queen of Scots, was born only a few days before the death of King James V. Queen Marie d’Guise was immediately faced with a crisis when King Henry VIII of England (always looking for ways to increase his power, at home, in France or northward) tried to take advantage of the situation and conquer Scotland, but was unsuccessful. No doubt he was also a bit disappointed that a previous English victory over the Scots had been won while he was away with his wife Catherine of Aragon acting as regent during the Scottish invasion. So, suffice it to say, there was danger and crisis from the beginning when Marie d’Guise was left alone in Scotland following the death of her husband. The child Mary Queen of Scots was spoken for by James, Earl of Arran (a Protestant pro-England Scot who later became a Catholic pro-French one and thus not entirely trusted by all) until 1554 when Marie d’Guise deposed him and became regent of the Kingdom of Scotland herself.
Queen Marie d’Guise faced a difficult situation. Come from the family that was well known as the leaders of the Catholic faction in France, she was a devout daughter of the Church of Rome which made her unpopular with many of the Scottish nobles who were adherents to the new, more austere, Protestantism of John Knox. However, Marie d’Guise was tolerant toward the Protestants and ruled in such an open manner that she made friends out of many who would have been her enemies. In fact, any claim that the Queen was intolerant is easily disproven by the fact that the Protestants even backed her decision to marry their young Queen to the Dauphin of France, Francois II. The Prince of Wales had been an earlier candidate and it proved extremely difficult to keep religion out of politics when England supported the Protestants and France supported the Catholics. Thus, Scotland easily could and often did become a battleground for the two more powerful nations to the south.
The Queen wanted to avoid this, knowing that the fragile coalition she had built between the Catholics and Protestants could be easily shattered. Nonetheless, problems soon arose with England. English support for the Scottish Protestants had dried up when the Catholic Queen Mary I was on the throne in London, but that changed with the accession of her Protestant sister, who soon began sending support to the Protestants in Scotland. Although Queen Elizabeth I had signed a peace treaty with Marie d’Guise, she sought to arouse the Protestants against their regent as a way to remove French influence in Scotland. Civil war broke out anew and Queen Marie d’Guise showed no hesitation in crushing the rebellion. Indeed, her forces had all but destroyed the Protestant rebels when the timely arrival of the English fleet staved off disaster. Marie d’Guise was forced to call in French troops and England forged an alliance with the Protestant Scottish nobles and supported them with an English army sent to invade Scotland. Fortunately for her, Queen Marie d’Guise defeated the English in a stunning victory at Leith. However, the resulting crackdown against the Protestants only widened the civil war.
In time, the Queen-regent was driven from power, but was later able to return. France and England continued to support the opposing sides but the Queen managed to hold the government together by sheer determination; the determination that she did not want her daughter to endure the same problems she had been forced to deal with. Her work was far from complete when Queen Marie d’Guise died of dropsy on June 11, 1560. However, even as her health failed her, she had continued to lead. While on her deathbed she gathered the Scottish nobles around her and pleaded with them to come to an agreement and restore the peace that had existed between the two groups at the beginning of her regency. Sadly, she died before the conference came to a conclusion and the divisions would outlive her. Her daughter, Mary Queen of Scots, was summoned from France and would continue to rule according to the dictates of her faith and sense of duty but, like her mother, would also be plagued by religious attacks, the conflicting interests of France and England until she too was driven from the country and eventually executed by Queen Elizabeth I.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Favorite Royal Images: A Viet Queen
Empress Nam Phuong of Vietnam, not the first time she's been featured in the FRI series and I think the reason for that goes without saying. A great lady who left this world far too soon.
Video: The True Cost of the Royal Family Explained
A bit irreverent but full of important things people used to call *facts* that are all too often ignored.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Monarchist Profile: Fra Diavolo
Fra Diavolo was a good fit in the army, stationed on the northern frontier of Naples and soon became a non-commissioned officer. In 1798 he was among the Neapolitan forces that marched to the rescue of the Papal States when they were invaded by French revolutionary forces. However, the defense did not go well and they were forced to retreat with the French then invading southern Italy. Fra Diavolo was almost captured while fighting with a rear-guard action but escaped in disguise. In quick order he organized other soldiers and local irregulars to resist the French advance. Using their knowledge of the terrain, Fra Diavolo and his men harassed the French at every opportunity as they swept through the country, finally taking Naples itself and declaring a republic, planting “Liberty Trees” as they went.
However, in spite of their high-sounding ideals, the revolutionaries turned the people against them through their high-handedness, cruelty, theft and rapine. With every attack by Fra Diavolo or any other of the counterrevolutionary bands there was swift and brutal retaliation against the populace, which only served to make the republic ever more hated. Fra Diavolo was given further justification for his war when republican forces sacked his hometown, his father being among the 60 men, women and children massacred. Finally, the resistance received official sanction and support as Queen Maria Carolina (who had a rather more ‘take charge’ attitude than her husband King Ferdinand IV) appointed HE Fabrizio Cardinal Ruffo to command the counterrevolutionary forces.
In time the enemy was driven out, Naples was retaken and Neapolitan troops went on north to liberate Rome. Fighting not only for the freedom but the life and the very soul of his country, Fra Diavolo was merciless toward his enemies, which at times put him at odds with Cardinal Ruffo, nonetheless he had been of invaluable service and the King appointed him to the rank of colonel in the royal army, made him Duke of Cassero and granted him a generous pension. In 1799, while on his way with the army to liberate Rome, he had married a teenage beauty and once peace was restored he settled down to a quiet life and had two sons.
Despite inflicting heavy losses on the French, the partisans were finally defeated. Fra Diavolo escaped but the British withdrew their support and most opposition died down. Not, however, for Fra Diavolo who continued to resist as he always had done until his forces were pinned down and all but wiped out, near his hometown, on August 28, 1806. Still, he escaped and carried on, struggling against hopeless odds until November when he was betrayed and taken prisoner by the French. They first tried to bribe him into joining their army but he refused and when Queen Maria Carolina offered 200 French prisoners in exchange for Fra Diavolo the proposal was turned down. He was hanged on November 11, 1806 for “banditry”. Nonetheless, the inspiration to resist that he provided meant that the counterrevolutionary forces continued until the French were finally driven out and the Bourbon monarchy restored.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Israel and a Jewish Monarchy
Saturday, May 21, 2011
The Queen in Ireland
I am not as opposed to the Irish republic as most monarchists might be. As I have mentioned before, Irish republicanism is something that I do, at least *understand* even though I still oppose it and would prefer to see an independent Ireland become again a confederate monarchy as in the days of old. It is also specifically because of my very pro-British standpoint that I find republicanism in Ireland at least understandable and more understandable than in other areas. The reason for that being that, in terms of the historic relations between Britain and Ireland, my disappointment arises from the certain knowledge that the British rule or misrule of Ireland was the exception rather than the norm. Given all the Irish suffered over the centuries it is understandable, though no less unfortunate and unnecessary, that they should be republicans. My disappointment with some of the historical actions of Britain in Ireland arises from my certain knowledge that the British were better than that. In fact, as controversial as this may be, if Britain had governed and behaved in Ireland as they did in almost any other of their numerous colonies I doubt there would be an Irish republic today.
The reasons for this are many, complex and not worth going into at the moment. They have also been shifting, from dynastic disputes to religious bigotry to nationalism and ethnic prejudice. However, in recent years at least, it is important to make a distinction between Anglo-Irish relations and the quite separate ugly events that have plagued Northern Ireland. Just as past or present British bigotry against any and all things Irish is unjustified, so to is past or present Irish bigotry against any and all things British, especially in terms of the situation in Northern Ireland as the “British” public has long had a very different attitude than the Unionist community in Northern Ireland that most Irish have a problem with. Yet, this situation has tainted, for a long time, Anglo-Irish relations in general. In spite of the fact that, especially as concerns the monarchy, this is totally unjustified.
What about Ireland though? Has the republic moved on and let bygones be bygones? Perhaps, but it seems to me at least, that if so, certainly not to the same extent. This is, again, somewhat understandable given that in terms of Britain and Ireland it was undeniably Ireland that suffered more. However, especially given the recent visit by the Queen, there is now absolutely no hindrance to Ireland moving on and becoming a fast friend with their nearest neighbor. The opportunity is here for Ireland to put the past behind them and move on and I sincerely hope they do so. Frankly, given the itinerary of the Queen, I am surprised even the most radical republicans found anything to complain about. It seemed to me, if anything, there would have been more room for British grumblings about the Queen being *too* conciliatory in the places she went and the sites she visited.
For example, the Queen visited the Garden of Remembrance which honors all those who have fought for Irish independence from Britain, even though some of those episodes were really less than admirable enterprises. I do not say the Irish should not commemorate them, but it might be a bit much to expect the British Sovereign to honor those who were their inveterate enemies, even those whose rebellions occurred in cooperation with powers like republican France or Imperial Germany against whom Britain herself was engaged in a war for her survival at those times in history. Yet, the Queen did so, and I noticed no serious voices of complaint from Great Britain on the subject. By now, just about everyone in Europe has fought everyone else at one time or another and if everyone dwelled on every past conflict there would be little or no discourse between anyone. That, national duty, can justify such a visit. I will, however, admit to a bit of a cringe at the Queen visiting Croke Park.
I say all of this because, as I have stated before, the “victim mentality” does no good for Ireland or any other nation or individual person. Ireland will never achieve a true feeling of national equality with the UK so long as they continue to define themselves only as constant victims of British cruelty. Likewise, while Britain as any country should be ashamed of past crimes, that does not mean they need to be constantly expected to feel ashamed of themselves. For me at least, part of the reason why I so sympathize with the Irish is because British behavior in their regard was so out of the ordinary. Taken as a whole, the British Empire was not a cruel or oppressive force in the world and subject peoples were generally governed efficiently, humanely and quite often to their benefit. Britons should feel justifiable pride in the fact that the treatment of Ireland was an obvious aberration and that nations raised up by the British Empire have done comparatively better than those of any other.
The Queen was her usual flawless self on this visit and certainly seemed to impress the Irish officials, particularly when she opened her speech at dinner with a few words in Gaelic. However, that is the Queen, that is someone who is a veteran of such affairs and who has spent a lifetime gaining experience at how to hit just the right note. This visit gives both countries the opportunity to start over and for those who insist on clinging to the adversarial mentality, I think the Queen, by being so conciliatory, claimed the moral high ground on this visit. She acknowledged the failings of her own country, she honored the founders of Irish independence, in short did everything to express British support and acceptance for the Irish republic. I hope Ireland will join her on the moral high ground.
God Save the Queen and Ireland Forever!
Friday, May 20, 2011
Norwegian National Day
There was no brutal war, there was no social chaos, no guillotines in the town square. The union with Sweden was dissolved and the issue was put to the public; to become a republic or a monarchy. Showing their great wisdom and common sense the Norwegian people opted for a monarchy and Prince Carl of Denmark was imported to become HM King Haakon VII of Norway, taking a name from Norwegian history to reiterate the fact that this was not a "new" nation but an ancient one resuming full independence. As it happens, they chose wisely as King Haakon VII proved in establishing good relations with all of Norway's neighbors, turning even the Norwegian republicans into monarchists and finally leading the country with great heroism during the dark days of World War II and the Nazi invasion. In the post-war era they have, as stated, suffered many of the problems that their neighbors have though, to their credit, Norwegians have refrained from joining the European Union.
HM King Harald V has been a solid and admirable constitutional monarch. Like the rest he has been obliged to go along with some less than positive changes but he had also done very praiseworthy things such as his 'behind-the-scenes' defense of the established Church of Norway (Lutheran) when the government wanted to cut all ties with Christianity in the largely secular country. The monarchy remains popular, has as strong a position going into the future as one could expect in this day and age and if they do not make the news all that often, it is only because the Norwegian royals have been pretty good about staying out of trouble. Other than one very colorful cousin (by marriage) I have no personal connection with the country, but I salute the Kingdom of Norway for their Royal Family, their history of good decisions and, I confess, especially for being the only Scandinavian country to say "no" to the European Union. Well done the Norwegians I say! I wish the Kingdom a belated happy independence day and long life to the King.
My Favorite Kings of France
(since the accession of the Capet dynasty)
I - King Philippe II Augustus: Philip II was a success in almost every way a King of France from his era could be judged. He built up his own estates and forces until he was the most powerful man in his kingdom, unified the squabbling factions under his leadership and launched a war against the King of England that brought down the Angevin Empire from its peak of greatness. He went on the Third Crusade and participated in the siege of Acre until ill health and tensions with England caused him to return home. He fought King Richard I to stalemate in France, not winning but at least avoiding defeat. He later defeated the forces of King John, driving him back to England and taking control of a great deal of English territory in France. When England, the Germans and the Flemish all allied against him, he still emerged victorious. He improved the French government and economy and though he was unpopular with many nobles and Churchmen, he was adored by the people.
II - King Louis VIII: Known as “Louis the Lion” began his reign by immediately taking the battle to the English in their on-going struggle and steadily regaining ground for France. During his reign the French knights seized Poitou, Saintonge, Avignon and Languedoc. He also made efforts to improve the economic situation and to improve relations with the Church. King Louis VIII was also one of the major leaders (on the Catholic side of course) of the Albigensian Crusade in the south of France, leading the French crusading forces into the fight in 1226. Unfortunately, he did not live to rule for very long and after taking the throne in 1223 he died later in 1226 while still on crusade against the Albigensians. His reign had been short but eventful and had seen the forward momentum continue of French victories and defeats for the English as well as local rebels and the heretical dissidents in the south. He was also father to one of the greatest kings of France: Louis IX.
III - King Louis IX: Better known as St Louis, set the standard by which all subsequent monarchs, not only in France but across Christendom, would be judged. His endeavors were not always unqualified successes, but his character and behavior were unparalleled. Because of him, in France as in no other country, the person of the King took on a sacred nature in the hearts and minds of the people. He was a devoted husband and despite coming to the throne at the age of 11, was a successful ruler overall. His combat against the English was mostly indecisive but he won several important victories over other enemies within France. He was a fair and just ruler, deeply religious even though the full extent of his devotions were never known to the public. When peace in France was secure his paramount objective was a crusade to retake the Holy Land, which was attempted but never successful. Still, he was brave, generous, just and upright in every way and as such was canonized after his death by Pope Boniface VIII.
IV - King Charles V: Known as “Charles the Wise”, King Charles V was not perfect but was ultimately the man who saved France from irrevocable disaster in the Hundred Years War. He intervened successfully in a civil war in Castile, blocking English influence there, but his greatest victories came when he renewed the war against the “Black Prince” of England. Disregarding traditional confrontation, his forces focused on wearing down the English and in the end they succeeded in driving the feared Black Prince back to England. As a result of the campaigns of his reign, earlier English conquests were reversed and Charles V restored his rule over all of France save for Calais and Aquitaine. His relations with the Church were not very admirable but were fairly common for the time. Charles V also embellished France a great deal, building or rebuilding the Bastille, the Louvre and a number of famous French castles.
V - King Louis XIV: The Grand Monarch, the Sun King, Louis the Great, is probably the only monarch I can like and dislike to the same great extent at the same time. He enacted many policies that were to have devastating consequences in the future, he led a very immoral lifestyle and his foreign relations were often despicable. Yet, at the same time, he was French greatness personified. All of Europe, and to a large extent the world, revolved around him. Virtually everything that was done by all the major powers in his lifetime was done in reaction to some action of his. During his reign France was the envy of the world with the most feared army, the brightest thinkers, the most astoundingly magnificent palaces, the most pious saints and some of the greatest sinners as well. He hoped to extent French power to the Rhine but did not quite make it though it took nearly every power in Europe to stop him. His relations with the Church were almost always strained yet he never crossed the line. His efforts to put the Stuarts back on the British throne failed but his effort to put the Bourbons on the Spanish throne did not. Today he is still remembered as the very personification of absolute, divine-right monarchy. No other monarch before, perhaps even since, embodied and exuded greatness to the same extent as Louis XIV. He is a hard man for me to admire and yet simultaneously hard for me not to.
Honorable Mentions: King Louis XVI for being a good man of upstanding moral character and King Charles X for his preference to chop wood ;-) I think you all know what I mean on that one.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Monarch Profile: Queen Christina of Sweden
Christina was born in Stockholm on December 8, 1626 to Maria Eleanor of Brandenburg and King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, the “Lion of the North”. Her Hohenzollern mother was rather unkind to her and her father ordered that she be raised as a boy. A true military genius who became the Protestant champion of Europe during the 30 Years War he would have preferred Christina to have been a son. When her father was killed at the battle of Lützen she became Queen of Sweden at only six years old. As she grew up she quickly displayed an independent streak and a very active mind. Educated as a boy and taking her coronation oath as a king rather than a queen, as per the wishes of her father, Christina was often referred to at court as the Girl King. She had an interest in a variety of subjects and loved long discussions with educated people on any subject which caught her interest. She also loved ballet, opera, theater and riding horses which necessitated wearing more masculine styles of clothing.
Queen Christina continued to make tongues wag across Sweden, though her most controversial studies, on the topic of religion, were kept secret. She met with Jesuit priests to learn more about the Catholic Church and in it, for once, she found a faith she could sink her teeth into; one that satisfied her fiery intellect as well as her heart. Where others saw idolatry and traces of paganism, Christina saw faith alongside reason, mysticism along with philosophy. Eventually, she determined that the Catholic Church was the true Church and made up her mind to convert. However, she tread softly and slowly, wishing no harm to come to her beloved country. If word had got out prematurely it might have meant chaos, her own death or even civil war. She was, after all, Queen of an officially Protestant country where Catholics were put to death and she was the daughter of the Protestant champion of the 30 Years War, the undeniably great man Gustavus Adolphus.
In 1649 Queen Christina had named her cousin, Charles X Gustav, as her heir though he had no role in government at all so long as she was on the throne. This set the stage for her abdication as well as being a way to stop the various European princes who had been seeking her hand in marriage. She had no desire to marry and preferred to devote her time to the arts and education. She was also eager, frankly, to leave behind the prejudices of her government. Officials groaned over her lack of attachment to Lutheranism and the more deeply she came into agreement with the Catholic Church the harder she found it to disguise her low opinion of Protestantism. The government also objected over her proposed alliance with Catholic Spain in which Sweden was to share the spoils of a new invasion of Portugal. Some attributed this to a total lack of understanding of statecraft on her part, but Spain was a major power and could have been a useful ally. The real reason for the opposition seems to have been simply the fact that the Lutheran elites of Sweden were repelled by any friendliness to Spain which was long considered the Catholic champion of Europe.
Despite the efforts of her detractors to portray her as a woman out of control at the end of her reign, the care she felt for her country is clearly seen in the plans she put into effect over a considerable length of time to ensure a peaceful transition of power when the time came for her to leave. That time came on June 5, 1654 when Queen Christina abdicated the Swedish throne and passed power to her cousin who became King Charles X Gustavus. She disguised herself as a man under the name of Count Dohna and left the country on a transcontinental trek to Rome. At Innsbruck in the Spanish Netherlands she was met by a Church delegation and was officially received into the Roman Catholic faith taking the name Maria Christina Alexandra.
A little over a year after her arrival she traveled to France as the guest of the preeminent European monarch of the day King Louis XIV. The very proper and protocol conscious ladies of the French court were shocked by her casual manner and doing such outrageous things as not sitting properly and clapping at a ballet. Hardly what anyone today would consider shocking behavior. The French elites were impressed by her but often with the attitude of being impressed by an oddity rather than by her own merits. She let her hair down, as we might say, but there was nothing truly scandalous about her actions and she was undoubtedly enjoying the freedom of being beyond the control of her gloomy government ministers and stuffy bureaucrats. She lived essentially the life of an Italian Renaissance prince and of course no Italian Renaissance prince worthy of the name did not have some political intrigue under his belt and Queen Christina was no different.
In 1656 a plan was conceived to put Queen Christina on the throne of the Kingdom of Naples; that part of southern Italy nominally under the rule of Spain but long neglected and finally being contested by France. The French army promised her support and Cardinal Mazarin, the power behind the French throne, was involved in the enterprise. However, this scheme fell apart as the result of the treason of the Italian master of horse for Queen Christina at Fontainebleau. He learned of the plot and in 1657 made it known. He was called before the Queen and presented with evidence of his betrayal and was summarily executed by members of her household staff. This caused quite a stir in France and subsequent historians have made quite an issue out of it, however, it was perfectly legal in the time and place as the prince (or princess) of any court at that time was judge, jury and executioner over those of his or her household. The man had betrayed his mistress and such treason would have resulted in death one way or another in any court or country in the world at the time.
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| Queen Christina and Pope Innocent XI |
In 1662 she again sent word out of her desire to return to her homeland even if she would not be Queen. However, the prejudiced government insisted on such restrictions placed on her residence that she would have been little more than a prisoner in her own home and for an independent woman like Queen Christina this was totally unacceptable. She remained in Rome, keeping up with the latest discoveries and theories as she always had done until her death on April 19, 1689. She left her massive library and exquisite art collection to the Pope and named her friend Cardinal Decio Azzolino, leader of the so called Catholic Flying Squad, heir to her estate. She was buried in the crypt beneath St Peter‘s Basilica and has a prominent monument on display there in her honor; Queen Christina being one of only three women to be so honored in the basilica.
Were all things as they should be, that is where the story of Queen Christina would end. Instead, there are the lingering, modern day controversies which must also be addressed. In the many works concerning her written long after her life she has been portrayed as a lesbian, a bisexual or owing to her occasions of wearing masculine attire as a transgender person. However, there is absolutely no factual basis for any of these accusations. As a matter of fact there is not one shred of hard evidence of her ever having a sexual affair with anyone. The most that can be presented are letters to female friends, none of which actually suggest anything more than strong personal friendship and her letters to her friend Cardinal Decio Azzolino, none of which, again, convey anything but strong friendship and one would have to do some extremely stretched reading between the lines to make anything more of them and in such cases one is usually able to find whatever one wishes, seeing things that are not there and twisting words so far out of proportion as to be totally unrelated to the original work.
As for Queen Christina dressing like a man and having male mannerisms, it must be remembered that she was purposely raised as a boy, encouraged to act like a king rather than a queen and many of her hobbies like horseback riding necessitated wearing something more practical than feminine attire. We should also keep in mind that by modern standards most of the men in her day dressed in a way we would consider feminine with long, flowing hair, earrings and lacey collars and cuffs. She also enjoyed study, learning and other things which were, at the time, considered the domain of men and her attire may have been no different from women today who are in big business that wear pantsuits to fit in better with their male counterparts and keep from drawing undo attention to their gender. As to the transgender issue itself, the body of the Queen was examined in our own time and no evidence of any sexual abnormalities were found. All in all the adoption of Queen Christina by the gay, lesbian or transgender communities as some sort of icon really represents nothing more than people grasping at straws in an effort to write themselves into the history books by claiming figures long gone as their own.
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| Greta Garbo as Queen Christina |