Royal News Roundup

First, we have the tragedy in the Kingdom of Norway. According to authorities, yesterday a Norwegian man, Anders Behring Breivik, age 32, exploded a car bomb in downtown Oslo, near the office of the Prime Minister and other government officials and then proceeded to a Labor Party youth camp at Utøya where he gained entrance disguised as a policeman and proceeded to shoot a huge number of people, mostly teenagers (last report I saw put the number at around 80). His Majesty King Harald V took to the air waves to address his people in this time of crisis:

“Today we have witnessed horrific acts both in Oslo and Utøya. Our thoughts go naturally to the survivors and the relatives. I would like to thank all those who have helped to rescue people out of this situation … In such a horrible situation it is important to stand together and support each other so that we can rise up again,” the King repeated, “Now it is important that we stand together and support each other. The fact that we do not let fear prevail. As we support each other we come through this terrible situation that we have experienced”.

King Harald was noticeably upset as he spoke to his people and it is no wonder. The normally peaceful Scandinavian monarchy has not experienced such a bloody attack since the Second World War. Some reports describe the arrested Breivik as a “right-wing extremist” while other experts have said they know of no right-wing extremists in Norway capable of carrying out such an attack. So far the motivation remains unknown. Early suspects were Al-Qaeda, opponents of the Norwegian contribution to the war in Afghanistan or the bombing of Libya, and terrorists of that type. The Somalian community in Norway, in the past, provided recruits for terrorist groups operating there. Few of the initial suspect profiles fit the 32-year-old Norwegian farmer now in custody.

Some cannot help but think there is some Islamic terrorism connection and this has led to greater criticism of Norwegian involvement in places like Afghanistan and Libya (which has been nominal in any event, a few hundred support troops and a few fighter jets) as well as the printing of the infamous Danish “Mohammad cartoons”. However, I would caution that even if this man has nothing to do with any of that, there is still a connection in the immediate “it is our own fault” response. When European nations cave in to terrorist attacks, such as Spain did by pulling out of Iraq after the Madrid bombings, it sends the message to everyone that terrorism works. Not a good idea folks. I was also particularly moved by a text message sent out from the island, describing a gunman shooting people and asking when the police were going to arrive. It is chilling and, I am a Texan and I cannot help it, but my first thought is that if someone else, just one person, at that camp had had a weapon of their own they could have put one in the guy’s head and saved a lot of lives.

But, that has not been the Scandinavian way. Even the long-neutral Kingdom of Sweden has not been spared as we can recall the Iraqi immigrant who bombed a crowd of Swedish Christmas shoppers last year. This is the world we live in and so long as things continue as they have been, I cannot see it changing. God bless the Kingdom of Norway and all those affected by this tragedy.

Moving as far away as we can from that scene, we have some royal scandal within the African Kingdom of Swaziland, whose king probably already has the worst reputation of any reigning sovereign in Africa or Europe. That is HM King Mswati III of Swaziland, often criticized for his excess in the midst of poverty, absolutist rule and the small army of wives he has collected. On that score, readers may recall that last year wife number 12 (approximately, there are conflicting accounts as to how many wives the king has) was accused of being “caught in the act” of adultery. The wife in question, Nothando Dube, is claiming to being held prisoner, under house arrest, though she has managed to go public with a story in a South African newspaper. She complains that she has suffered emotional abuse from being cut off from her friends and family and being kept under constant surveillance. She married the King in a traditional festival ceremony when she was 16 and has three children by the King. The Palace has denied the accusations and says she has a home of her own, a maid and government cars that will drive her wherever she wishes to go. Two other wives of the King have fled the small kingdom in the past. What can I say? Someone is not telling the truth here but, one would think that a person would be extra careful about avoiding even the hint of adultery when marrying an absolute monarch. Did this woman ever hear about Henry VIII? There are also other countries in the world today where ordinary women found guilty or even accused of adultery are given a punishment considerably worse than house arrest in a big house with a maid and personal driver.

Also in the scandal department, TSH Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco have become quite fed up with the rumors about their marriage, put out by the French media, picked up by the British and others and then carried around the world ever since the day before their wedding. Legal action has been threatened and after the Prince and Princess of Monaco returned from their honeymoon in Mozambique and the Prince met with three members of the French press for the nice-guy equivalent of a dressing down at the palace. Monegasque Minister of State Michel Roger has also said the Grimaldis intend to sue the first mainstream paper to run with the story and added, again, that stories of Princess Charlene trying to “escape” are false and he asserted, regarding the paternity allegations, that, “We have proof that this is false”. It doesn’t help the credibility of the rumors that they were first put out by someone with a well known vendetta against the Prince, who also happens to be your resident mad man’s only (so far) “e-stalker”. Anyway, you can read more about this and the Prince’s response at Mad for Monaco.

To the north, the Kingdom of Belgium celebrated the 180th anniversary of the start of their monarchy when the Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha became King Leopold I of the Belgians. However, it was also a less admirable anniversary as well marking 400 days without a government. As a result, for the second National Day in a row, King Albert II refused to grant any titles or to attend any of the more festive celebrations of the occasion. As duty demanded he went along to the Church services and military parade but, like last year, said he could not celebrate when the Belgian people have been left in the lurch by their feuding politicians. He also made a very animated speech in which was more blunt than usual in criticizing the politicians for their failure to reach a compromise as well as warning them about the dangers of the continued state of limbo. Unfortunately, one of the major tools he used in making this argument was how the division of Belgium could adversely affect the future of the European Union. Please Your Majesty! I’m begging you! Why do you try to hitch your wagon to the falling star that is the EU? They are not your friends or your allies, trust me sire. Good grief, I’m trying to contain an outbreak here and he’s driving the monkey to the airport.