In the Far East, Cambodians are still dealing with the death of King-Father Norodom Sihanouk. Opposition party leader Sam Rainsy has formally requested permission from the ruling Prime Minister/dictator Hun Sen to come back to Cambodia to pay his respects to the late monarch. Rainsy was charged with a number of crimes, many consider politically motivated, and has been in exile in Paris for the last three years. A letter was sent to HM King Norodom Sihamoni but his office stated it was a government matter and not something the King could intervene in, however, they also stated that an amnesty for all political prisoners would be a good way to honor the late King-Father. Sam Rainsy was originally a leading member of the royalist Funcinpec party but broke away after disagreements with royalist leader Prince Norodom Ranariddh and his (then) co-Prime Minister Hun Sen of the Cambodian People’s Party. Since that time he has led the opposition Sam Rainsy party which opposed Hun Sen (first put in power by the Vietnamese communists after their invasion of the country) as well as the royalists who have cooperated with his government. Also in Cambodia, a Chinese merchant woman will be deported from the country after desecrating a picture of the late King-Father. She had shouted abuse about the late monarch and destroyed a portrait of him when she was grabbed by authorities and an angry mob that forced her to burn incense at a recently erected shrine to the late King. In Phnom Penh, some 2,000 Buddhist monks gathered for prayers and 20 minutes of silent meditation at the Royal Palace in honor of King-Father Norodom Sihanouk last Saturday.
Last Saturday, Her Majesty the Empress of Japan celebrated her seventy-eighth birthday and the Imperial Household Agency released some new portraits of the Empress, videos and a press conference with Her Majesty about the occasion. The Empress spoke about the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Olympics, the loss of HIH Prince Tomohito, the global economic crisis, natural disasters and even the new yokozuna (honestly, that surprised me). Her Majesty also talked about the two hospitalizations of His Majesty the Emperor, meeting HM Queen Elizabeth II at the Diamond Jubilee celebrations and how she is beginning to feel her age. Of course, we send Her Majesty the Empress congratulations on her 78 years and hope for many, many more to come. In other Asian royal news, the growing and increasingly energy-hungry republic of India has been reaching out to the oil-rich Sultanate of Brunei to meet their growing need for oil and liquefied natural gas. India is currently the third best customer of the Brunei, ruled by the world’s wealthiest monarch, coming in behind South Korea and Japan. Brunei has also been becoming friendlier with India as India has become an increasingly powerful country in economic and military terms. The Sultanate of Brunei hopes to invest in the hospitality industry in India.
In the Middle East, a documentary on the making of a film by the Egyptian Royal Family about the downfall of a monarchy shortly before their own overthrow debuted at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival. It featured members of the old Egyptian aristocracy, chronicled the coup that brought down the Egyptian monarchy, the events outside the palace, the British officials who supported the King and the American officials who supported the coup. In Bahrain the 10-year jail terms for two dissident Shiite teachers have been reduced by half and in Kuwait, after violent clashes in the streets, the authorities have now banned all large-scale demonstrations in an attempt to restore calm and normality. In Oman, eleven dissidents who were sentenced to a year in jail for insulting the Sultan have appealed their case. The big royal news from the region though was the visit of the Emir of Qatar to the Gaza Strip, making him the first head of state to visit the Palestinian-held territory since Hamas came to power in 2007 (which the west considers a terrorist group but they wanted there to be elections so…). The Emir called for Palestinian unity between Hamas and Fatah (the faction of the Palestinian Prime Minister Abbas). The leader of Hamas called the Emir’s visit a “victory”.
European has seen some good and not so good news this week. HRH Felipe Prince of the Asturias came under criticism for (gasp!) shaking the hand of a poor woman while leaving a Church where he was attending the funeral mass of a friend. What’s wrong with that you ask? Well, she was holding her hand out for money, not for a royal greeting and rabble-rousers are trying to cite this as an example of the monarchy being “out of touch” with the suffering of ordinary people. Only royals can be accused of being out of touch with the people for actually touching one of their people. Go figure. In better news, the Prince and Princess of Monaco were in New York City for the thirtieth anniversary of the Princess Grace Awards to encourage the advancement of performing arts. However, it was bad news in Belgium where a new book has leveled all sorts of ridiculous accusations against the Royal Family. And I do mean *ridiculous* such as the marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Brabant being an arranged sham just for appearances (and all their children being the products of IVF) and Queen Paola (yes, Queen Paola, not the King) being guilty of a number of affairs. Ridiculous. In a statement from the palace the King of the Belgians said he feels deeply insulted by the allegations. Extracts from the book were first leaked by Flemish news outlets but the author is Francophone, a television journalist but his employer, the public broadcaster RTBF has now banned him from appearing on-screen for a month and sought to distance itself from the book.
Lastly, we have probably the “biggest” news of the week insofar as coverage goes and that is the official announcement of the engagement of HRH Princess Madeleine of Sweden to New York high society playboy, I mean serious businessman Chris O’Neill. He was born in London, was educated in Switzerland, Boston and New York and has dual U.S.-British citizenship. His official job is financier and he is currently a partner at Noster Capital (which has branches in London and New York). He formerly held positions at Steinberg Asset Management and NM Rothschild and Sons. His religion is Roman Catholic but, given his reputation, I doubt he is regularly at mass on Sunday (though I could be wrong). Princess Madeleine effectively moved to New York after her last engagement was broken off when pictures surfaced showing her husband-to-be frolicking with a snow bunny. The Princess is 30, O’Neill is 38 and Princess Madeleine seems quite happy about this turn of events, calling O’Neill her “soul mate”. The wedding will likely be held next summer and the Princess said that, for now, they will continue to live in New York City. Also “thrilled” is the German mother-in-law to be, a thrice divorced former “girlfriend” of the Prince of Wales (he was still married to Diana at the time). That is according to her at least, St James’s Palace denies the relationship. I will admit, I’m not terribly thrilled about this news. I think the Princess could do better and, though I could be completely wrong, I’ve just never had a good feeling about O’Neill. Nonetheless, I wish them nothing but the best, I hope it all works out and they have a lifetime of happiness together. Truly and sincerely.
The visit to Gaza is a milestone as it is the first visit by a head of state, let alone a royal one, since Hamas took over and created its de facto indepenent state. It can be interpreted in a number of ways:
a) firstly, Qatar and the UAE have funded housing projects in Gaza, to improve living conditions and greatly alleviate the suffering of its inhabitants. This is a positive, given there is a certain perception that there are some elements in the Muslim world who really don't care about the Palestinians' welfare and only wish to exploit their suffering for propaganda purposes.
b) Qatar and Saudi Arabia have played a central role in the Arab Spring, and the changing political landscape with Syria in war and its protector Iran under the spotlight, could lead Hamas to seek a new "protector" in Qatar. However, Qater and Saudi Arabia's role in Islamic movements is more likely to be one of a moderating or restraining influence.
c) Qatar can play a positive role in negotiating a just and lasting peace in the region.
Israel is certainly not blameless, but a lot of propaganda directed against it is unreasonable. Just the same some people are foolishly willing to defend the Assad regime, but overlook its litany of crimes in Lebanon.
I hope something can be done but my expectations are not high. There is blame enough to go around but what worries me the most is the record of what Israel has offered in the past which the Palestinians have turned down. I don't see how peace can be negotiated until everyone truly wants to achieve it.
King Hussein of Jordan offered the most reasonable proposal in 1972 (the United Arab Kingdom dual monarchy) but neither Israel nor the Arab world wanted anything of it.
The Hashemites once envisioned a Greater Syria in which modern-day Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Israel would be under one king, and Abdullah I pursued this as recently as the 1940s. Faisal I was meant to be King of Syria, after all. The SSNP and Baathists appropriated the idea in far more sinister form, which is what led Hafez al-Assad and Saddam Hussein onto their wicked adventures.
MM: I had been thinking, do you think that in a country with an empty throne (because the monarchy has been abolished a long time ago, like in Latin America, Ireland or the USA, or because anyone has right to rule to the eyes of THE BOSS), if someone steps foward and sits in the chair and makes his own dinasty and tries to restore the old order (not the case of Napoleon). He would be the Legitimate King, or just another Bokassa?.
I'm not entirely sure what you're asking. That has happened before, there's just not a good record of success for it. Would such a person be the legitimate king? To my mind, no, but they would BE the king nevertheless and I would say that is probably better than having none at all.
Ok, i wasn't enought clear i was asking if someone who is tired of republics, decides to make an counterrevolution and end all the republican madness in his country, he is Crowned as King. So that new monarch would have Right to Rule, to the eyes of God or not (i am asking it to you because i think that you are the expert in divine right here)?
Since legitimacy of a monarch is based on the law of succession and the length of time his/her family has ruled, I would say a new monarch can have legitimacy if that country never have a monarchy before as long as he gain the respect and loyalty from everyone else in the country. In China, the condition is different because the Mandate of Heaven gives the people the right to overthrow their imperial family if the emperor is not doing a good job and then install a new dynasty, which would automatically have the legitimacy to rule China. That is probably why most of the Chinese people are currently satisfied and not opposed to the CCP rule.
If you are talking about Argentina, your country had a monarchy before it gained independence as a republic.
TertiumAntilles: I believe that god installs the monarch, and because of that he has legitimacy because he was born to rule, and perhaps this right extends to all the members of the family (obviously respecting the line of succesion). But there is a very big BUT, sometimes God could select someone else that is not from the Royal House and he could have right to rule, based on the case of David deposing Samuel if the Royal House became unworthy of the office. How God whould reveal that new King?. If i am right, it is a mistery that would only be revealed when the times comes. Speaking of the right of the people to depose, they don't have the "Right" to put a new house, they have the right to rebel and with the help of god bring down the King or House that lost the Right and install God's chosen one.
In a country where the monarchy was abolished, but there is a pretender, if someone steps foward and picks up the crown only time will tell us if he has right to rule or not, if he doesn't lose power he has right to rule if he lose it, he didn't and the pretender still have it. So the right to rule is something that can be gained and lost.
The visit to Gaza is a milestone as it is the first visit by a head of state, let alone a royal one, since Hamas took over and created its de facto indepenent state. It can be interpreted in a number of ways:
ReplyDeletea) firstly, Qatar and the UAE have funded housing projects in Gaza, to improve living conditions and greatly alleviate the suffering of its inhabitants. This is a positive, given there is a certain perception that there are some elements in the Muslim world who really don't care about the Palestinians' welfare and only wish to exploit their suffering for propaganda purposes.
b) Qatar and Saudi Arabia have played a central role in the Arab Spring, and the changing political landscape with Syria in war and its protector Iran under the spotlight, could lead Hamas to seek a new "protector" in Qatar. However, Qater and Saudi Arabia's role in Islamic movements is more likely to be one of a moderating or restraining influence.
c) Qatar can play a positive role in negotiating a just and lasting peace in the region.
Israel is certainly not blameless, but a lot of propaganda directed against it is unreasonable. Just the same some people are foolishly willing to defend the Assad regime, but overlook its litany of crimes in Lebanon.
I hope something can be done but my expectations are not high. There is blame enough to go around but what worries me the most is the record of what Israel has offered in the past which the Palestinians have turned down. I don't see how peace can be negotiated until everyone truly wants to achieve it.
DeleteKing Hussein of Jordan offered the most reasonable proposal in 1972 (the United Arab Kingdom dual monarchy) but neither Israel nor the Arab world wanted anything of it.
DeleteThe Hashemites once envisioned a Greater Syria in which modern-day Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Israel would be under one king, and Abdullah I pursued this as recently as the 1940s. Faisal I was meant to be King of Syria, after all. The SSNP and Baathists appropriated the idea in far more sinister form, which is what led Hafez al-Assad and Saddam Hussein onto their wicked adventures.
MM: I had been thinking, do you think that in a country with an empty throne (because the monarchy has been abolished a long time ago, like in Latin America, Ireland or the USA, or because anyone has right to rule to the eyes of THE BOSS), if someone steps foward and sits in the chair and makes his own dinasty and tries to restore the old order (not the case of Napoleon). He would be the Legitimate King, or just another Bokassa?.
ReplyDeleteHi from Argentina.
I'm not entirely sure what you're asking. That has happened before, there's just not a good record of success for it. Would such a person be the legitimate king? To my mind, no, but they would BE the king nevertheless and I would say that is probably better than having none at all.
DeleteOk, i wasn't enought clear i was asking if someone who is tired of republics, decides to make an counterrevolution and end all the republican madness in his country, he is Crowned as King. So that new monarch would have Right to Rule, to the eyes of God or not (i am asking it to you because i think that you are the expert in divine right here)?
DeleteSince legitimacy of a monarch is based on the law of succession and the length of time his/her family has ruled, I would say a new monarch can have legitimacy if that country never have a monarchy before as long as he gain the respect and loyalty from everyone else in the country. In China, the condition is different because the Mandate of Heaven gives the people the right to overthrow their imperial family if the emperor is not doing a good job and then install a new dynasty, which would automatically have the legitimacy to rule China. That is probably why most of the Chinese people are currently satisfied and not opposed to the CCP rule.
DeleteIf you are talking about Argentina, your country had a monarchy before it gained independence as a republic.
TertiumAntilles: I believe that god installs the monarch, and because of that he has legitimacy because he was born to rule, and perhaps this right extends to all the members of the family (obviously respecting the line of succesion). But there is a very big BUT, sometimes God could select someone else that is not from the Royal House and he could have right to rule, based on the case of David deposing Samuel if the Royal House became unworthy of the office. How God whould reveal that new King?. If i am right, it is a mistery that would only be revealed when the times comes. Speaking of the right of the people to depose, they don't have the "Right" to put a new house, they have the right to rebel and with the help of god bring down the King or House that lost the Right and install God's chosen one.
DeleteIn a country where the monarchy was abolished, but there is a pretender, if someone steps foward and picks up the crown only time will tell us if he has right to rule or not, if he doesn't lose power he has right to rule if he lose it, he didn't and the pretender still have it. So the right to rule is something that can be gained and lost.
Hi from Argentina.