The Prince of Wales in Afghanistan

I wanted to post on this earlier but was holding out for a better photo -no luck. In any event, in one of the little acts that I favor most when it comes to royals HRH the Prince of Wales made a swift, surprise visit to the British troops in Afghanistan. This was no formality-laden trip to Kabul, the Prince visited troops at forward positions in Helmand Province, the most Taliban-ridden part of the country. Some areas were so far forward the Prince had to don a helmet and body armor (ever seen a president or vp do that?). There is nothing I like better to see royals in uniform visiting their troops in the field (and if I can be a military fashionista for a moment I think the British desert camo duds are the best -even had to get some myself) and the Prince of Wales can relate to them in a special way as the father of an Afghanistan veteran (which he spoke about). The Prince also met with Afghan military and civilian officials and visited some local sites of interest. The British have been the most active in the Afghan war after the U.S. and this visit has also shown how the American fascination with the British monarchy still survives. Royals from numerous European countries (Denmark, Holland etc) have visited the front in Afghanistan but it did not make the news on U.S. TV and yet I first heard of Prince Charles visiting the front on the uber-American Fox News Channel. It seems you can take the colonies out of the empire but you can't take...

Globe Trotting Royals

HRH Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg (above) will be visiting the U.S. cities of Los Angeles, Phoenix, Seattle and San Francisco as part of a delegation to meet with the heads of companies with a history of doing business with Luxembourg and to encourage more businesses to move or open new branches there (many businesses are fleeing California in particular these days) and likewise to meet with those companies interested in the opportunities Luxembourg offers.

HRH the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall have been on a tour of Eastern Europe and have just finished their visit to Poland where the Duchess had to take a break from the activities of the day due to back pain. The royal couple will next be visiting Hungary. The Prince of Wales hopes to strengthen ties with the eastern countries that have recently been coming into the European Union. Just after his arrival in Poland the Prince of Wales visited the grave of Father Jerzy Popieluszko, a priest murdered by the communists who the Vatican is set to beatify next year this summer. The couple have also met with the Polish President and First Lady and visited a group of Muslim Tatars on the Belarussian border.

Last week HM King Norodom Sihamoni of Cambodia visited France to accept his place in the French Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-lettres. The King formerly lived in France and in his acceptance speech talked about the veneration of the Khmer people for their ancient temples and of the great work done by his father, Senior King Norodom Sihanouk. Cambodia became a French protectorate in 1863 and became independent in 1953 under King Sihanouk.

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.

The Canadian Royal Visit

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall have ended their trip to the Dominion of Canada and everyone seems to be using this as an excuse to take swipes at the monarchy. It is astounding to me; the United States gloats, the Canadian republicans sneer and even British malcontents retroactively proclaim that the whole purpose of the visit was to strengthen monarchist support so the 'Great White North' does not slip away when Charles takes the throne. The media reports that the visit attracted little attention after a conscious decision on their part not to cover it thoroughly -go figure. They did, however, make sure to point out every place along the war where anti-monarchy protestors were present to cause a delay or make a scene. To top it all off, I am told, upon the departure of the couple the CBC ran a news documentary on how the days of the monarchy in Canada were numbered.

This is all simply absurd. Charles and Camilla are not my favorite royal couple in the world but they do not deserve being the subjects of protest, nor should their be any doubt about the ability of Charles to be a decent 'King George VII'. The media, the educational system and etc in Canada, like most of the rest of the world, is dominated by the liberal elites. They see to it that Canadians are not taught about the importance of the monarchy and then proudly report that Canadians feel no connection to the Crown. They do no news stories on the monarchy, and when they do always refer to it as "British" rather than "Canadian" and then merely mention that the royals attract little interest. And, of course, any time the subject comes up the republican retinue is let out of their cages to pour scorn on the monarchy. Opposition is largely not allowed but when they do trot out the odd monarchist it is usually one so safely half-witted that their only argument is something along the lines of 'we should stay a monarchy because we've always been a monarchy'. Not exactly a rousing defense of the Canadian Crown.

Maybe it is coming from the place I do but I cannot fathom so many people being ignorant, indifferent or hostile to the very foundation of their government and their entire national history and culture. Of course this is the same Canada that a few decades back decided to scrap their national flag for a new design -something else I cannot comprehend, not that there is anything wrong with the modern Maple Leaf flag but there was nothing wrong with the Red Ensign either. I would also point out that Canada had at least two opportunities to become a republic in the past; during the American War for Independence and the War of 1812 and they certainly didn't seem very keen on the idea back then. I also cannot abide those who seem to think that becoming a republic will mean an end to hereditary privilege. Have these people never heard of the Kennedy dynasty, the Bush clan or the number of seats in the U.S. senate that have been held by the same family for generations?

Monarchists in Canada are putting up a fight, but if I could be so bold as to offer some advice they need to put aside their traditional Canadian politeness and point out that even the most successful republics are far from the utopia many seem to think (and give examples) and also point out that in most republics they would not be able to argue against their own form of government as they currently have the freedom to. It also seems particularly distasteful this soon after Armistice Day (or whatever you choose to call it) considering how many Canadians fought and died in the cause of King and Country. Turning your back on history will not change it or make it go away and there are many people living in republics around the world who would love the chance to enjoy the freedom, stability and prosperity that Canada has enjoyed as a constitutional monarchy.