Saturday, January 8, 2011

Royal News Roundup

This week Prince Felipe of the Asturias was in the New World, attending the inauguration of the first female President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff. Back in Spain on Thursday to honor the Spanish military the Prince and Princess joined the King and Queen at Zarzuela Palace. King Juan Carlos I praised the service of Spanish forces around the world and urged the government not to pinch pennies when it came to national defense. The Defense Minister concurred saying that, “the defense of Spain should be above any economic climate”. Last year saw the end of the Spanish military mission to Bosnia & Herzegovina and the occasion was also used to discuss the end of Spanish service in Afghanistan. The day before, Wednesday, HM King Juan Carlos I also celebrated his 73rd birthday. The Mad Monarchist wishes His Catholic Majesty a very happy birthday with many more to come.

A number of monarchs gave New Year speeches as is traditional in their countries. HM King Harald V of Norway called for his people to be better human beings. HM Queen Margrethe II of Denmark remarked on the economic crisis and stressed the interdependence of modern society. HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco also called for greater solidarity to face the economic, environmental and humanitarian dangers facing the world today (full text). In Tokyo, HM the Emperor of Japan wished for peace and tranquility in the world and happiness for all people. In Luxembourg there was a special occasion on Wednesday as the former reigning Grand Duke Jean celebrated his 90th birthday. The Grand Ducal family were all on hand for the celebration as was King Albert II and Queen Paola of the Belgians (brother and sister-in-law of the former Grand Duke). The Mad Monarchist wishes His Highness a very happy birthday on such a special, even historic, occasion.

In Great Britain, just before the New Year, HRH the Princess Royal became a grandmother and HM the Queen and HRH the Duke of Edinburgh became great-grandparents for the first time when Peter Phillips (son of Princess Royal Anne) and his wife Autumn welcomed their first child into the world; a special moment for Canadian monarchists in particular as there is now a Canadian 12th in line for the British & Commonwealth thrones. Congratulations to the new proud parents and given the joy expressed north of the border I can only reiterate my oft-repeated belief that if Prince William (too late!) or Prince Harry were to marry Canadian or Australian girls it would be the death of republicanism in those countries. More details have also been released on the upcoming wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton which will be held at Westminster Abbey at 11 in the morning on Friday, April 29 with the Dean of Westminster conducting the service and Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury performing the marriage.

3 comments:

  1. I believe the Emperor of Japan is His Imperial Majesty - not His Majesty and the Spanish King is His Most Catholic Majesty - not His Majesty

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  2. True with the Emperor of Japan, but not entirely with the King of Spain; although he has the right to use the title His Catholic Majesty, he chooses not to use it; instead, he chooses to be addressed as His Majesty.

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  3. That is correct -chalk the Emperor's "HM" up to laziness on my part. As for the King of Spain, I know he is known as HM but being the old fashioned sort I still ocasionally refer to him as 'His Catholic Majesty' (not sure about 'Most Catholic Majesty' -I've heard it both ways). I also still say Bombay instead of Mumbai, Leopoldville instead of Kinshasa and I will ocasionally still refer to Beijing as Peking.

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