MM Video: King Albert II of the Belgians

MM Video: Albert II of Monaco

The Prince and the Pest

Some might recall a moment in the news last year when a man claiming to be a former intelligence agent sued HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco in California over an alleged breach of contract, making all sorts of lascivious accusations along with but quite unrelated to his claim for tens of thousands of dollars. Of course the case was immediately thrown out as no court in California would have jurisdiction over the Prince of Monaco who is also protected from prosecution by sovereign immunity as a sitting head of state. I said as much at the time in my own comment on the spat which attracted the attention of the accuser. At the time I did not believe it was actually the person in question (thinking he would have better things to do than troll forums and blogs to call names of anyone who questioned the merits of his case) but I was certainly wrong there. Not only was it the actual person (I use the term lightly) in question but it was recently brought to my attention that he has been obsessively following my little blog on Monaco ever since, hanging on my every word.

Evidently this extremely thin-skinned person adopted your humble blogger as his secondary arch-enemy after the Prince of Monaco himself. Showing how valid his claim to be an “intelligence agent” was, he tried without success to uncover my “true” identity. I can only feel a little sorry for whoever “Joe Mann” is for enduring the juvenile name-calling of this individual on the belief (or intentional lie) that he is me (well, if he’s not my man he must be Joe Mann I guess). However, aside from being your humble blogger’s most devoted “fan” he has also evidently made it his primary occupation to slander the Prince of Monaco. Coming out with new tirades and conspiracies on a daily basis he has accused Monaco’s Albie of everything but stealing the Lindbergh baby. Recently he has managed to gain a few mentions on internet news sites for accusing Prince Albert II of taking bribes as a member of the International Olympic Committee, sending a letter stating such to the president of the organization (which is probably the only reason anyone mentioned it at all).

The IOC, of course, is not even bothering to investigate such a ridiculous claim. Given the history of this man he could hardly be taken as a source worthy of serious consideration. There is the fact that he has a grudge (some would say obsession bordering on a severe case of the notgay’s) against the Prince, there is also the fact that Prince Albert is hardly someone liable to take bribes considering that he makes more money each day than he could spend tomorrow and finally there is the fact that this same individual has accused Prince of Albert of every sort of malicious deed imaginable, being involved in every sinister global conspiracy and being associated with everyone from the Russian mob to Islamic terrorists. Given that, (and the fact that even by saying this on my dusty little corner of the internet I can guarantee that this man will respond vociferously to me as he does my every utterance -he may in fact be the most religiously devoted reader I have) no matter what the facts or allegations of this case entail it will be dismissed as no more than the ravings of a captain of the tin foil hat brigade and left at that. So far, the Prince of Monaco has considered this crank unworthy of response. Given that his wedding is coming up next year and that there will be an historic papal visit the year after, this course will probably be continued no matter how irritating such ravings might be.

(this is a double post from my blog Mad for Monaco)

Belgian King in the Congo

Today is independence day in the Congo and a couple days ago HM King Albert II of the Belgians arrived to participate in the festivities of the former Belgian colony. The trip has been controversial since the first mention of it. Relations being somewhat rough between the two countries as of late there was doubt as to whether or not the King would attend or even whether or not it would be safe for him to do so. There were many protests; some by those who never tire of dragging up ugly memories from the colonial days and trying to blame the current generation for past misdeeds and by those who did not want the Belgian monarch to give any attention to what is, by many accounts, a government that continues to preside over rampant corruption, crime and so on.

Their Majesties King Albert II and Queen Paola arrived Monday in the capital city formerly known as Leopoldville (in honor of Belgian King Leopold II) and were reportedly greeted by a crowd of well-wishers, which is good to hear, but nothing was said about how big these crowds were. Because so much hatred and hysteria has been drummed up over Belgium and the Congo the entire trip seemed to be like walking on egg shells and it was finally decided that the King would make no public speeches or statements at all. In the end, his silence may speak more truth than any words from him ever could. I cannot help but think about the day 50 years ago when the Belgian King Baudouin came to the Congo to officially hand over the independence of the country to the new republican government.

It has become very popular and fashionable in recent decades to harp about the many evils of colonialism and even 50 years ago many were offended by the speech that King Baudouin gave, but he was speaking the truth and it took courage for him to say some things that many would have rather ignored. What stays in my mind the most was his warning to the new republic that with independence comes great responsibility. This is something that has been sorely lacking, not only in the Congo but in countries and a great many formerly colonial countries particularly. In the Congo, Belgium was blamed for keeping them under colonial rule and when independence was granted and the Belgians went home they were blamed for pulling out too quickly and leaving things a mess.

That blame game has been going on ever since, even when foreign countries contribute money to ease the suffering the local republican government has imposed on its people these countries are blamed for not giving enough. Even when they send troops to stop warring factions, fighting for power in the “Democratic Republic” and murdering innocents along the way, these other countries are blamed for not doing enough. No matter what the problem, it is never the fault of the populace or the government but rather is invariably the fault of some foreign country or countries that is keeping them in misery. This does, of course, help the elites in power to stay there when they are never responsible for the problems the people are facing. In the same way this ‘victim mentality’ only makes it that much harder for the people to act responsibly and take charge of their own lives.

King Albert II reigns over a country that certainly has its own share of problems but people are not starving, crime is not out of control, the system of government is not broken down and the people are not killing each other. The Kingdom of Belgium is, on the whole, a free, stable and peaceful country and an all around wonderful place. On the other hand, the Democratic Republic of the Congo contains a population still largely in misery, plagued by corruption, civil wars, exploitation and crime. They are presided over by a president, Joseph Kabila, who was once the general of an “army” of children with machine guns, a man who was trained by the Communist Chinese, a socialist who came to power after the previous president was assassinated, has had to put down efforts to overthrow him and whose only election is widely considered suspect. It may be popular and convenient to point to the bad aspects of colonialism but the simple fact is that independence and the adoption of the republican government in the Congo has not brought the freedom and prosperity that was promised. Now, 50 years later, things are no better than they were before and in some ways much worse.

These are sad facts and it is also sad that so many would rather worsen the situation than face reality. It is also, unfortunately, a situation that is far from uncommon across the formerly colonial nations of the world. If anyone dares say anything about it, you will be branded a villain. Yet, as I said at the beginning, King Albert II will not be saying anything and does not really need to. A simple look around at the current situation should tell everyone all that they need to know.

Belgian King Doing His Job

HM King Albert II of the Belgians has been at work, showing how invaluable even a very limited monarchy can be, in the wake of the recent elections which gave the largest number of seats to the openly separatist New Flemish Alliance. Although most Belgians still voted for parties which support national unity it is disturbing that, for the first time, the largest number of seats were won by Flemish nationalists who support the secession of Flanders and thus the destruction of the Kingdom of Belgium. Since then the King has been meeting with political leaders in an effort to quickly form a coalition government before the lack of a government makes the political and particularly the economic situation even worse (Belgium ranks third in terms of overwhelming debt which has been dragging down European countries lately). As it stands now (though not exactly a pleasant prospect in my view either) it seems possible that the winning socialists of Walonia could join with the Flemish socialists to form a national government without the support of the separatists. It is important for monarchists to remember the crucial role played by the King in all of this as the one figure in government who has the prestige and the (even if symbolic) authority to bring the various parties together to work in the national interest. In a way almost unique to Belgium in the degree to which this is true, the King is also virtually the only man in government who can stand above the regional differences of the country. As the saying has long been, everyone else may be Flemish or Waloon but the King is Belgian. Hopefully, for the sake of the country, his efforts will be successful and Belgium will have a government, dedicated to national unity, that can quickly get down to taking care of the business of the country.

MM Video: Belgian Pride

HM King Albert II has finally been forced to accept the resignation of Leterme's government. The King is now trying to come up with an acceptable compromise to keep things functioning to avoid an early election.

MM Video Series: The Belgian Kings

Can the King Save Belgium?

Once again, the news media is howling that the end may be at hand for the Kingdom of Belgium. Prime Minister Yves Leterme presented his letter of resignation to HM King Albert II after the Flemish party, Open VLD, left the coalition government leaving only French-speaking Walloon members and no Dutch-speaking Flemish representation. The break came after disputes involving the re-drawing of electoral boundaries around Brussels. So far, King Albert II has not accepted the resignation of the Prime Minister, fearing that giving up on the coalition could spell disaster during the current economic crisis and the upcoming EU-presidency for Belgium. The King of the Belgians has been working hard the last few days trying to convince the Flemish party to come to the government and for the two sides to work out a compromise. The Flemish have held out some hope but so far no agreement has been reached. The media was quick to pounce (yet again) saying that this could be the end of the Belgian monarchy, that the country does not "make sense" and that the will to exist seems to be gone.

All of that is frustrating enough, moreso since we have heard this same song and dance before every time there is a political stand-off. It does wear on the nerves but it also cannot be easily dismissed. The whole issue frankly baffles me. Europe would simply not be the same without the Kingdom of Belgium and it seems incredible to me that after a history longer than many other countries around today, after going through so many trials, tragedies and triumphs and so on that the Belgian people could be so divided as to 'give up' on their country. We can only hope that this disaster is avoided as it has been in the past and give some deserved credit to the King, both Albert II and his predecessors, who have done more than any others in keeping the country together throughout threats of "divorce" in the past.

Belgian King to Visit Former Colony

HM King Albert II of the Belgians has officially been invited to attend the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the independence of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly the Belgian Congo, which gained independence from Belgium in 1960. PM Yves Leterme has said that the government has agreed "in principle" to the King visiting the Congo which will be the first time a Belgian monarch has been there in 25 years. Tensions have long been high between Belgium and the Congo. The area was first acquired by King Leopold II as the Congo Free State in 1885. After reports of gross abuses by local officials became widespread Leopold II sent a royal commission to investigate the reported atrocities and as a result of the findings the government took control of the territory which then became the Belgian Congo. In 1960 King Baudouin went to officially hand-over independence to the Congo and was even then met with considerable animosity. Once the Belgians evacuated the country many Congolese who had been calling for independence then blamed the Belgians for pulling out too quickly when political chaos ensued (something King Baudouin had warned them about in his final address to them). As recent as last year diplomatic relations were efffectively broken off between Belgium and the Congo which has had a chaotic and often bloody history since independence but which remains very sensitive about any remarks about such events, particularly from Belgium. It remains to be seen whether the situation has improved sufficiently for King Albert II to actually attend the independence anniversary festivities. There will be more about the history of the Congo, Belgium and King Leopold II in a future post.

Happy Birthday Prince Albert!

Today HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco celebrates his 52nd birthday. You can read the formal announcement from that day in 1958 at Mad for Monaco. The Mad Monarchist joins all the Monegasques and Grimaldi loyalists around the world in wishing the Sovereign Prince a very Happy Birthday with many more to come. Long live the Prince!

Monarchy and Micro-States

Read about the recent visit of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco to the Republic of San Marino and consider some of the benefits the micro-states of the world enjoy, the top benefit being (for most of them) a monarchy.

Belgian King Displays Christmas Spirit

His Majesty King Albert II of the Belgians has responded to the particular hardships the recent extreme cold have brought in a practical way for some of the least of his subjects. Two homeless families, suffering from the especially harsh winter, have been taken in by the monarch and given shelter at the Royal Trust properties in the royal apartments at the castle in Ciergnon Ardennes. Secretary of State Philippe Courard commented that, "This is truly the will of the King and the royal family to this provision. I emphasize this strong positive step in the right direction." Homeless people have been appealing for shelter from the government in the harsh conditions this year, some sleeping in train stations. Many of the homeless are people who have applied for political asylum in Belgium. Putting all other issues aside King Albert II has displayed the best attitude of the Christmas season, giving shelter to those in need.

Belgian Royals at Papal Ceremony

Their Majesties King Albert II and Queen Paola of the Belgians met with HH Pope Benedict XVI in Rome on the occasion of the canonization of five new saints, one of which was St Damien of Molokai, a Belgian priest who served the afflicted people of the leper colony of Molokai island in the Kingdom of Hawaii, eventually contracting the disease himself, as expected, and passing away in 1889. For a country as relatively young (at least in its current form) as the Kingdom of Belgium the ties between the Belgian monarchy and the Holy See are very strong. During the Risorgimento in Italy many Belgians went to fight in defense of the Papal States with the Papal Zouaves. It was a Belgian, Msgr Xavier de Merode, whom Bl. Pope Pius IX appointed Minister of War to deal with that crisis. After the war the Belgian royal court sent the "prisoner of the Vatican" a very magnificent papal tiara (one of my favorites) to show that his authority remained untouched in the hearts of the faithful. King Albert I and King Leopold III were well known for their devout faith and the late King Baudouin was the last living knight of the Papal Supreme Order of Christ; then the highest papal honor possible given only to Catholic heads of state for certain actions or occasions by the Pope himself. King Albert II and Queen Paola previously attended a special mass in honor of St Damien before going to Rome for the formal canonization in St Peter's Basilica.

Glimpse of Royalty: Prince Albert II

In 1998 then HSH Hereditary Prince Albert of Monaco appeared in a cameo in the film "One Man's Hero" about the career of the San Patricio Battalion; a group of predominately Irish deserters from the US Army who fought for Mexico in the Mexican-American War. Largely considered traitors in the United States the San Patricios are still celebrated heroes in Mexico. They left the US Army largely because of religious persecution and became an artillery battalion in the Mexican army and quickly earned a reputation of an elite unit. Prince Albert played the part of Private James Kelly, probably a reference to the Irish heritage of his late beloved mother Grace Kelly, who had seen previous service in Her Majesty's Royal Artillery. When he informs his commander of this (John Reily played by Tom Berenger) he is complimented on his valuable experience but reminded, in what I am sure was the film crew having a bit of fun with the Monegasque prince, that there are no royals around anymore and that they serve a republic. Listed in the credits as "Albert Grimaldi" the Prince has a double connection with a film like this. Aside from his Irish ancestry through his mother, he also has some Mexican blood in his veins via his grandfather Prince Pierre of Monaco, Duke of Valentinois, whose mother was the Mexican lady Susana Maria de la Torre y Mier.