tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77295629801327208152024-03-13T01:38:07.336-05:00Royal WorldTheodore Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242452485576182841noreply@blogger.comBlogger1010125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729562980132720815.post-56677655250240163882024-02-22T14:05:00.004-06:002024-02-22T14:05:33.289-06:00Frederick III and William II<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">My friend </span><span class="xv78j7m" spellcheck="false" style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Christina Croft</span><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"> (author of <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Innocence-Kaiser-Wilhelm-II-First/dp/1514759977">The Innocence of Kaiser Wilhelm II</a></i>) has written an excellent rebuttal to the frequently regurgitated myth (common in discussions of 19th-century royal history) that "if only Kaiser Friedrich III (1831-1888) had lived longer, World War I would have been prevented." I think many years ago I used to believe this myself, as it is the impression one can get from some superficial reading, until I learned better. Writers in English on royal history have tended to be myopically pro-"Fritz" and anti-Wilhelm, determined to paint the former as a dovish liberal and the latter as a hawkish reactionary, when the truth was more complex. Of course, no counterfactual proposition (and I think about counterfactual history a lot) can ever be either proved or disproved, but there are substantial reasons _not_ to believe in this particular one. None of this is to deny that Frederick III's death at 56 from throat cancer after a reign of only 90 days was a personal tragedy for his family, especially his wife Victoria, but it is unrealistic and unhelpful to blame the events of 26 years later on it or on his son. With Christina's permission I reproduce her comments here.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div style="text-align: left;">"This is a complete myth for so many reasons and it stems from the usual thing of making Fritz into a hero and Wilhelm into a villain. Neither man was a saint and neither was a villain - they were both just doing what they thought was right. Here are just a few reasons why Fritz would not have prevented war:</div></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div style="text-align: left;">Firstly, it suggests that kings/emperors were responsible for the war - they were not. The politicians and the press brought about the war.</div></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div style="text-align: left;">Secondly, the King of Prussia might have been an autocrat but the German Emperor was not and so it would be impossible for a German Emperor to cause (or prevent) a war single-handedly.</div></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div style="text-align: left;">Thirdly - there is a misconception that Fritz was far more liberal than Wilhelm was. This is not the case - Wilhelm was praised by socialists across Europe (including the extremely radical George Bernard Shaw and the Germano-phobic French socialists) because of his genuine concern for workers and their rights. Fritz, on the other hand, had no direct contact with workers as Wilhelm did and he was out of touch with them. A contemporary German diarist wrote of Fritz: "He intended to rule with and for the bourgeoisie, and is thrown into perplexity by the more rapid emergence of the workers."</div></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div style="text-align: left;">Fourthly, Fritz fought in 3 wars. Wilhelm (who is wrongly labelled a warmonger) maintained peace for 25 years. [Added by TRH: in 1913 on the 25th anniversary of his accession, the New York Times, not exactly a bastion of monarchism, effusively praised Kaiser Wilhelm II for his then-seemingly-successful efforts to preserve the peace in Europe.]</div></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div style="text-align: left;">Fifthly - People say Fritz would have maintained good relations with Britain. In fact, when Queen Victoria asked him to treat the defeated states in the Austro-Prussian War more leniently, Fritz basically said it was not Britain's business and he would always put Prussia first. Wilhelm, on the other hand, repeatedly tried to form an alliance with Britain.</div></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div style="text-align: left;">Sixthly, Fritz was so Russophobic that he was asked not to go to the coronation of Tsar Alexander III for fear that he would make trouble. Wilhelm wanted to befriend the Tsar.</div></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div style="text-align: left;">Seventhly, Fritz was an authoritarian. When the German states were reluctant to join the unification, he said they must be FORCED to join and he deceived Ludwig II of Bavaria about it (in fact the Bavarians hated him for it).</div></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div style="text-align: left;">Eighthly, apart from anything else, Fritz would have been 83 in 1914.</div></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div style="text-align: left;">I could go on..."</div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixZZZFeP6xIljFm4BFUkekXsqN9gMWJN5x_S8q5te7H4giMJKYxgP2YVX8IpDI226Imtk9Fu-5BL_gTV6veZh3krStUR87Ysmxhyriq_l_oqInBtQwREvxo0Lo4XmhSzZu3q6GyU1Et5zHXeoEyS6P_P3TN1oDbP6aWyifMpFpITHWC3ymWahEQesy/s763/Kaiser_Friedrich_III_Anton_von_Werner.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="763" data-original-width="468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixZZZFeP6xIljFm4BFUkekXsqN9gMWJN5x_S8q5te7H4giMJKYxgP2YVX8IpDI226Imtk9Fu-5BL_gTV6veZh3krStUR87Ysmxhyriq_l_oqInBtQwREvxo0Lo4XmhSzZu3q6GyU1Et5zHXeoEyS6P_P3TN1oDbP6aWyifMpFpITHWC3ymWahEQesy/w196-h320/Kaiser_Friedrich_III_Anton_von_Werner.png" title="Kaiser Friedrich III" width="196" /></a></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi30Q-sKDhg-uuUFaVP7AkdZkDDUtiajOKXLxlOK4M0mo0cLVwHvOpV34C0hyphenhyphennxduMdGUBjpwAOxMn9qTkeaSHX0Chp95hQbADNXoKqZyTTmliFf6fQ6svKjodrq7nTOLidaj9ayDv__KTfW3uHUTDmRIzi8imMZ3cBCRygn3o0X1PKKYPNo3OzNNEp/s1098/Kohner_-_Kaiser_Wilhelm_II12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1098" data-original-width="742" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi30Q-sKDhg-uuUFaVP7AkdZkDDUtiajOKXLxlOK4M0mo0cLVwHvOpV34C0hyphenhyphennxduMdGUBjpwAOxMn9qTkeaSHX0Chp95hQbADNXoKqZyTTmliFf6fQ6svKjodrq7nTOLidaj9ayDv__KTfW3uHUTDmRIzi8imMZ3cBCRygn3o0X1PKKYPNo3OzNNEp/w216-h320/Kohner_-_Kaiser_Wilhelm_II12.jpg" title="Kaiser Wilhelm II" width="216" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>Theodore Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242452485576182841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729562980132720815.post-18560864742630198612024-02-15T18:44:00.005-06:002024-02-15T18:50:08.702-06:00A rant...<p> ...that would probably cause too much trouble if I actually put it on Facebook so I'm putting it here since hardly anyone reads my blog anymore anyway.<br /><br /><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Just so you know, no one on either side of the fake American political spectrum is ever going to get anywhere with me by appealing to Democracy. I hate Democracy. And I will not be voting for either of those two annoying old men and there is nothing you can say to change my mind. </span><br /><br /><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">Democracy means accepting that wicked parties like the Scottish National Party and Sinn Fein can hold office. I don't accept that. I hate them. I don't like it that I have to put up with whatever the majority of voters in any part of the United Kingdom decide and I never get a say. I know more and care more about British history than most people in Britain. I have British flags and decor all over my home including a portrait of HM The King over the fireplace. I should get my way, not stupid people who live there and think that Sadiq Khan's idiotic new London Overground names are acceptable.</span><br /><br /><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">I am mildly on the autistic spectrum (in case you haven't figured that out) and the British Monarchy is my Special Interest and I do <i>not</i> accept that anyone in the UK has the right to try to take it away from me, ever, just because they live there and I don't. I don't give a damn about republicans' "human rights." Anti-monarchists are garbage and I am not ashamed of how much I hate them because I know God hates them too. If that makes me selfish and evil so be it. At least I'm not a republican. There is <i>nothing</i> worse than being a small-r republican.</span></p>Theodore Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242452485576182841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729562980132720815.post-24347598801635537882024-01-04T12:32:00.004-06:002024-01-04T12:33:31.998-06:00Peace, Goodwill, and Harmony: On King Charles' Christmas Speech<p>Very few published commentators (<a href="https://www.theamericanconservative.com/philosopher-prince/">Rod Dreher in 2012</a> was another) understand King Charles. But I think <a href="https://europeanconservative.com/articles/essay/peace-goodwill-and-harmony-on-king-charles-christmas-speech/">this one does</a>.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7T14HbUIhKU" width="320" youtube-src-id="7T14HbUIhKU"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p>Theodore Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242452485576182841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729562980132720815.post-1717519050076820792023-09-08T10:15:00.002-05:002023-09-08T10:15:32.971-05:00Queen Elizabeth II, one year on<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgc3N2TVqV7siTT-BQbjsjZQIWVdzYPmzSVGFVbxGAei1W6F1OtcEZmFBPS7RjwBhBXXeVle-CF8iuyn67C4NZb_WKXCGSMEEyR90WsNQRsD1-ZG3XUE8elW7mhQx94xS1bF5mrrGSDSx9qMYKMSG-vtiK8zUzyRa-txyPxZKq4wURaSkqubFE40O46" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1008" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgc3N2TVqV7siTT-BQbjsjZQIWVdzYPmzSVGFVbxGAei1W6F1OtcEZmFBPS7RjwBhBXXeVle-CF8iuyn67C4NZb_WKXCGSMEEyR90WsNQRsD1-ZG3XUE8elW7mhQx94xS1bF5mrrGSDSx9qMYKMSG-vtiK8zUzyRa-txyPxZKq4wURaSkqubFE40O46" width="168" /></a></div><br />Today we remember the one and only Queen Elizabeth II on the first anniversary of her death.<p></p>I remember waking up a year ago to the news that she was under medical supervision at Balmoral. I posted the 1662 BCP prayer for the Sovereign. Actually she had probably already passed away by then, and being frequently online I saw the news a few hours later as soon as The Royal Family page posted it. Stunned and shaken, I didn’t cry yet, though I would later.<br /><br />Queen Elizabeth II had seemed eternal. An institution in her own right who had been on the throne since my parents were little children. Old enough to remember the difficult 1990s, I saw her grow more radiant and joyous as she aged, as if the fairytale lustre of the young Queen had somehow been magnified in a different way. There was something so comforting about images of the Queen. While not “ruling” as her ancestors did, she was a benign authority figure not only for her official subjects in 15 countries, but also for those of us in other countries who looked to her as the sentimental focus of our earthly allegiance, a far more satisfactory head of state than any president could ever be.<br /><br />One paradox of Queen Elizabeth II was that she was simultaneously both timeless and of her time, a living link to a very different past yet surprisingly adaptable, letting her delightful mischievous sense of humour show more as she aged as seen in the 2012 Olympics and 2022 Jubilee videos.<br /><br />Occasionally tabloids would claim that the Queen was “furious” over some real or alleged “violation of protocol.” But that wasn’t who she was at all. To the contrary her grandson Prince William said in an interview that she loved it when something went wrong at official occasions so that she and Prince Philip could laugh about it later.<br /><br />While she had access to grand palaces suitable for the performance of her duties, her private tastes were simple, less grand than many celebrities. She kept leftover cereal in Tupperware, put on a sweater rather than turning up the heat, and was never happier than when in the countryside with her dogs and horses. Now she is in a different and better countryside where there is no more duty, only joy.<br /><br />We miss her. I miss her. But the Monarchy to which she devoted her life continues under the different but equally dutiful stewardship of her son and successor King Charles, who I have long admired in his own right. The best way to honour her memory is to support him as he serves what are now his realms and to emulate her devotion to duty in our own lives, whatever our duties may be, in my case to the Symphony. <br /><br />Unlike so many people, I never got to meet her, though at least I saw her in person a few times. But I like to think she knew how many millions of people loved her, even if it was surprising for her in her humility, and she knows even more fully now. Remember the Queen. God Save the King. 🇬🇧Theodore Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242452485576182841noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729562980132720815.post-23344862530637760282023-07-27T01:18:00.002-05:002023-07-27T11:21:05.445-05:00Musicians and Monarchy<p>A lot of great figures in classical music have held political views diametrically opposed to mine. Beethoven's admiration of the "ideals" of the French Revolution is well known, though he had many aristocratic friends and patrons. Wagner, before he discovered that the support of the King of Bavaria could be useful to him, was a supporter of the Revolutions of 1848 and was a wanted man in Saxony for a time. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) disliked his former mentor Mily Balakirev's pious Orthodox monarchist conservatism, was critical of the Tsarist regime towards the end of his life, and sympathised with student protests against it. Conductor Arturo Toscanini (1867-1957), who according to Norman Lebrecht had only turned against Mussolini when it became clear that Mussolini would not abolish the Italian monarchy, said after World War II that he would not return to Italy as long as the House of Savoy were still reigning. Cellist Pablo Casals (1876-1973), despite having owed his early training to the generosity of Queen Maria Cristina (1858-1929), supported the Spanish Republic that ousted her son Alfonso XIII.</p>Of today's classical musicians, I've heard that one very well-known British conductor is privately a republican, though as he has made no public comments to that effect I won't name him here. The less said about a certain Australian conductor, the better. I hope that none of the British performers I admire are republicans.<br /><br />In general I don't envy Soloists, who fly from hotel room to hotel room, and am happy to be an orchestral cellist. However, sometimes I wish I were prominent enough in classical music for my monarchist views to be Noticed.<br /><br />But I can take comfort in the fact that Brahms, despite a youthful essay arguing that music should be "republican" in the sense of being accessible to all, was politically a staunch monarchist and once got very angry at a friend who had mocked the young Kaiser Wilhelm II. Haydn was a monarchist as well; the last music he played when he was dying in 1809, reportedly with great feeling, was his own Kaiserhymne. Verdi, near the end of his own life, was overcome with grief at the assassination of King Umberto I in 1900, wondering if his own 1859 opera "Un Ballo in Maschera" (inspired by the 1792 assassination of King Gustaf III of Sweden) could be in some way to blame. (It must be admitted that most Italians were probably rather more moved by Verdi's death the following year.) Brazilian composer Carlos Gomes (1836-1896) remained loyal to Emperor Pedro II after the 1889 coup and refused the new Republic's request to compose a new national anthem. Bruckner, a devout Catholic who was humbly moved to be decorated by Emperor Franz Joseph and considered moving to Mexico to serve his brother Emperor Maximilian, was a staunch monarchist. Perhaps more surprisingly, as <a href="https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/april-2023/modernists-can-be-monarchists/">an article in <i>The Critic</i></a> revealed, so were musical modernists Schoenberg and Stravinsky, who long after the Revolution never lost his reverence for the Russian Imperial Family. Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) was famously pacifist, but as far as I know had no problem with the British Monarchy and counted Prince Ludwig of Hesse (1908-1968) & his wife and the Queen's cousin the Earl of Harewood (1923-2011) as friends.<br /><br />I guess this just goes to show you that musicians can be all over the map politically!Theodore Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242452485576182841noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729562980132720815.post-50580517530405751012023-06-10T12:48:00.008-05:002023-06-10T13:29:13.398-05:00Jordanian Royal Wedding<p>On June 1, Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-12147795/The-royal-wedding-summer-Crown-Prince-Hussein-Jordan-ties-knot-Rajwa-Al-Saif.html">married</a> Rajwa Al Saif in Amman. Congratulations to the newlyweds! The <a href="https://rhc.jo/en">Royal Hashemite Court</a> has released this splendid photo of most of the distinguished guests. <a href="https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a44117942/prince-hussein-rajwa-al-saif-official-wedding-portrait/">This article</a> helped me identify almost everyone in the picture.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTEcyStzSuaBHLSEw7io4gTDOvnV_L8C9bKe-bf6bOCPmwTwcMEWtDcBFbP1JZV6MNxV0xmpxeGKByISPTjBHUZW8gADbqbczAHcGMagiIRDhipW6ae6-LbupzOZB-ou-VThHckX6SvYvPBz0BNsEd8pUn42sR1CgC5dI15FNR2fy4zGT64mB3jw/s2048/JordanWeddingForeignGuests.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTEcyStzSuaBHLSEw7io4gTDOvnV_L8C9bKe-bf6bOCPmwTwcMEWtDcBFbP1JZV6MNxV0xmpxeGKByISPTjBHUZW8gADbqbczAHcGMagiIRDhipW6ae6-LbupzOZB-ou-VThHckX6SvYvPBz0BNsEd8pUn42sR1CgC5dI15FNR2fy4zGT64mB3jw/w400-h267/JordanWeddingForeignGuests.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Front row: King Philippe of Belgium, Queen & King of Malaysia, First Lady & President of Iraq, Sultan of Brunei, King Abdullah, the Bride & Groom, Queen Rania, parents of the Bride Khalid al-Saif & Azza Al Sudairi, Queen Maxima & King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, Queen Emerita Sofía & King Emeritus Juan Carlos of Spain.</span><br style="text-align: left;" /><br style="text-align: left;" /><span style="text-align: left;">Behind them, more or less left to right except when listing couples together:</span><br style="text-align: left;" /><br style="text-align: left;" /><span style="text-align: left;">Prince Sebastien of Luxembourg, Crown Prince Theyazin of Oman, Princess Beatrice of York, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, Ilham Yassin (Queen Rania's mother), Princess Salma, Crown Prince Frederik & Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, between them Prince Hashem, Princess Takamodo of Japan, Former First Lady & Former President of Iraq, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Prince Mateen of Brunei, King Simeon & Queen Margarita of Bulgaria, Princess Elisabeth of Belgium Duchess of Brabant, US First Lady Jill Biden, Princess Muna (King Abdullah's mother), President & First Lady of Rwanda, Hereditary Princess & Prince of Liechtenstein, May Mikati & Prime Minister Najib Mikati of Lebanon, Sheika Mozha (in lime green) of Qatar, Princess & Prince of Wales, between them Prime Minister Masrour Barzani of Iraqi Kurdistan, Queen Jetsun Pema of Bhutan, Sheikha Muna Al-Klaib (in blue) of Kuwait, First Lady Philippa Karsera (in green) of Cyprus, Crown Princess Margareta & Prince Radu of Romania, Sheikh Ahmad Al Abdullah Al Sabah of Kuwait, Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa of Bahrain, Princess Iman & Jameel Thermiotis, Princess Felicitas & Prince Johann Wenzel of Liechtenstein, Crown Princess Victoria & Prince Daniel of Sweden, Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece, Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands Princess of Orange.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p>Theodore Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242452485576182841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729562980132720815.post-27288739406745916962023-05-15T12:30:00.022-05:002023-07-31T11:58:52.888-05:00Coronation of King Charles III<p>While I'm obviously no longer the frequent blogger I used to be, since I don't want this blog to be considered completely defunct, I can hardly ignore here the glorious historic Coronation of last Saturday 6 May (covered extensively on my social media), in which Charles III was crowned King of the United Kingdom in <a href="https://www.westminster-abbey.org/">Westminster Abbey</a>. I was of course up at 4:15 AM Dallas time to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8HVnAXZI1I">watch the event live on YouTube</a>, following along in my printout of the <a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/coronation/liturgy">liturgy</a>, and with millions around the world was thrilled by the spectacle, the spiritual power of the occasion, and the music. As a Loyalist I joined enthusiastically in the Homage of the People. God Save the King!<br /><br />I assume that readers (if I still have any) have by now seen plenty of Coronation coverage elsewhere, so I will not attempt to be comprehensive in this rather belated post. Instead, I wish to share some links to photo galleries, videos, and thoughtful articles (more or less in reverse chronological order of appearance, as is fitting for the blog format) that you might not have seen, as well as the official photographs taken in <a href="https://www.royal.uk/">Buckingham Palace</a> after the event.<br /><br />Alexandra Wilson, <a href="https://thecritic.co.uk/music-fit-for-a-king">Music fit for a king</a><br /><br />Charles A. Coulombe, <a href="https://europeanconservative.com/articles/essay/after-the-crowning/">After the Crowning</a><br /><br />Fr. Steve Rice, <a href="https://covenant.livingchurch.org/2023/05/19/god-bless-america-god-save-the-king/">God Bless America, God Save the King</a></p><p>Zewditu Gebreyohanes, <a href="https://historyreclaimed.co.uk/britain-is-lucky-to-have-a-monarch/">Britain is Lucky to Have a Monarch</a> <i>(<a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/05/06/the-young-will-inherit-the-beauty-of-monarchy/">Telegraph</a>)</i><br /><br />Benjamin Guyer, <a href="https://covenant.livingchurch.org/2023/05/15/charles-iii-and-kenotic-monarchy">Charles III and Kenotic Monarchy</a><br />Ruth Dudley Edwards, <a href="https://www.ruthdudleyedwards.co.uk/2023/05/coronation-of-king-charles-is-a-reminder-of-what-a-wonderful-privilege-it-is-to-live-in-a-country-that-cherishes-its-long-and-complex-history/">Coronation of King Charles is a reminder...</a></p><p>John Martin Robinson, <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/coronation-diary/">Coronation Diary</a></p><p>YouTube: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cb6ruEWxFAE">The Coronation Weekend</a> (Prince & Princess of Wales)<br /><br /><a href="https://www.saintthomaschurch.org/">Saint Thomas Church</a>: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc2jvz1kqd8">A Service of Thanksgiving for the Coronation of HM King Charles III</a></p><p><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/06/uk/gallery/coronation-king-charles/index.html">CNN: In pictures: the coronation of King Charles III</a><br /><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-0de6e8ac-7a8a-4a6f-8748-89e874eb7bfa">BBC: Extraordinary photos from King Charles III's Coronation</a></p><p><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12054795/MAIL-SUNDAY-COMMENT-heeded-republican-wails-ditch-monarchy-afternoon.html">Mail on Sunday: If we heeded republican wails...</a></p><p><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12054267/Newly-crowned-King-Charles-Queen-Camilla-Buckingham-Palace-balcony.html?fbclid=IwAR0Iae7gn9aqL4h_NKdS4mPOX4LGpZmWO4J4lWNKZsBBuQdS2Bw-KG7GyAs">Daily Mail: The new Firm assembles</a></p><p>Paul Shakeshaft, <a href="https://providencemag.com/2023/05/why-a-coronation-matters/">Why a Coronation Matters</a></p><p>Sohrab Ahmani, <a href="https://unherd.com/2023/05/the-coronation-is-a-humiliation/">Coronation is a ritual humiliation</a></p><p>Esmé Partridge, <a href="https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2023/05/in-defense-of-the-philosopher-king">In Defense of the Philosopher King</a></p><p>Rebecca Mead, <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/05/08/the-self-justifying-philosophy-of-king-charles">The Self-Justifying Philosophy of King Charles</a></p><p>Tom Holland, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/apr/30/bronze-age-coronation-rites-seem-to-speak-to-a-modern-love-of-the-sacred?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=news_tab&mibextid=q5o4bk&fbclid=IwAR0Iae7gn9aqL4h_NKdS4mPOX4LGpZmWO4J4lWNKZsBBuQdS2Bw-KG7GyAs">Our bronze age coronation rites seem to speak to a modern love of the sacred</a></p><p>Aris Roussinos, <a href="https://unherd.com/2023/04/britain-needs-king-charles-the-weird/">Britain Needs King Charles the Weird</a></p><p><a href="https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/may-2023/crowning-moment/">The Critic: Crowning Moment</a></p><p>Anna Tyzack, <a href="https://www.countrylife.co.uk/comment-opinion/what-sort-of-man-is-king-charles-iii-and-what-sort-of-king-will-he-be-249758">What sort of man is King Charles, and what sort of king will he be?</a> <i>(2022)</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjYwteLzwFd4KnGHImNXfYhJVK1_bGeYCw5Rf6oYEOhjxthWQz6ivSwaYNqW2rIFDBBuvrMp7xCUB-LhDgxtt9lXJNtLDmik7uvtwtCawl-PH--GjOxTiF_JKYaMfQYBVtDKsICyjUODM6YF8EnR-Z557MUqzZste8veeKUot-HWp-_MuiQTd7vw/s2048/Coronation3gen.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1582" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjYwteLzwFd4KnGHImNXfYhJVK1_bGeYCw5Rf6oYEOhjxthWQz6ivSwaYNqW2rIFDBBuvrMp7xCUB-LhDgxtt9lXJNtLDmik7uvtwtCawl-PH--GjOxTiF_JKYaMfQYBVtDKsICyjUODM6YF8EnR-Z557MUqzZste8veeKUot-HWp-_MuiQTd7vw/s320/Coronation3gen.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUUxIWfSmRLOto5whmh-tNY_47XTz8DT0COe8XDmlzt64ledgo_LOuNw6meg_peb6ggrA3mJQn8VtbBVHpgOn4qT0UhYdrl4IVhb2Bz32eL6PWHAcb4GyIEUeSXd5mbmmzRM_mqkRyXoyk6twvjKPbp6YjtLGJ0YJnoUe4YcB9I9teNjgI-yWxcw/s2048/CoronationAttendants.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1638" data-original-width="2048" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUUxIWfSmRLOto5whmh-tNY_47XTz8DT0COe8XDmlzt64ledgo_LOuNw6meg_peb6ggrA3mJQn8VtbBVHpgOn4qT0UhYdrl4IVhb2Bz32eL6PWHAcb4GyIEUeSXd5mbmmzRM_mqkRyXoyk6twvjKPbp6YjtLGJ0YJnoUe4YcB9I9teNjgI-yWxcw/s320/CoronationAttendants.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzcqzKx4-6SCUenBaoJb_56vz1BHY6vxjgoM9h4PZ73st_NqpwAKcg6TxpGybKdQsUNc4SjyYH-8P55i_etubGZeLFUIUNIsy4WEz9e9Q9HwnWozeyarzqYg4Bcs5vwpTAutQkogUxZC7EUYa6AyeYl6HX4beMbPtEmvbt6zB5knUXPNe8UnrD_w/s2048/CoronationGroup.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1582" data-original-width="2048" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzcqzKx4-6SCUenBaoJb_56vz1BHY6vxjgoM9h4PZ73st_NqpwAKcg6TxpGybKdQsUNc4SjyYH-8P55i_etubGZeLFUIUNIsy4WEz9e9Q9HwnWozeyarzqYg4Bcs5vwpTAutQkogUxZC7EUYa6AyeYl6HX4beMbPtEmvbt6zB5knUXPNe8UnrD_w/s320/CoronationGroup.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZnbXNBFR4_MP5v6TvrLiW_G_f1wBis5IASGTkDD3WAsVK2cqqIDe-TDLiIzPjk6npw-W1v2qTPcLSvccFBiXL0VcUNRZCNbF_F8PUcN9sOe0ipZfkmyIU-hOqyA5tPrAGKZMQi_6UFJVuC8H3h0ObtPugpbkRrmUh16YGJkWLlMR21WX85ozAqw/s2048/KingCharlesIII.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1583" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZnbXNBFR4_MP5v6TvrLiW_G_f1wBis5IASGTkDD3WAsVK2cqqIDe-TDLiIzPjk6npw-W1v2qTPcLSvccFBiXL0VcUNRZCNbF_F8PUcN9sOe0ipZfkmyIU-hOqyA5tPrAGKZMQi_6UFJVuC8H3h0ObtPugpbkRrmUh16YGJkWLlMR21WX85ozAqw/s320/KingCharlesIII.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-sqOh-8arUJzFJ9omTm0ihrhedIk9ogNUQ5KYtABSQkDPGMFsfXFi0lLaA57o10As4eiVDQjHBAGQNkpCEOZVPVmKO9XJrNtObk3gKidGWzbTPmzYXhS5wZhz2EfNoalNVn5yYVlRXKHS7zDZOX0zxXT8YACCBr4rBxUprT7zX9zgKWhrn7v7VQ/s2048/KingCharlesIIIQueenCamilla.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1638" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-sqOh-8arUJzFJ9omTm0ihrhedIk9ogNUQ5KYtABSQkDPGMFsfXFi0lLaA57o10As4eiVDQjHBAGQNkpCEOZVPVmKO9XJrNtObk3gKidGWzbTPmzYXhS5wZhz2EfNoalNVn5yYVlRXKHS7zDZOX0zxXT8YACCBr4rBxUprT7zX9zgKWhrn7v7VQ/s320/KingCharlesIIIQueenCamilla.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGCKr9cXdF7e4C93qFSnuqipX3lNXHM-G3gi74qwuUZ8XTXCOD353Hf1Yfw_pm0YA3-1jmuNcEdj95t5VSqkzhYSKq3YCZwhnmGD6ICiuAHRNSkxyuTwSv92aUIkTNFsRWdSvnFFLXsexPHbTKwiT1WD181WypDtMbSlXJtz34XH6z8GBTc8Ssvw/s2048/QueenCamilla.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1582" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGCKr9cXdF7e4C93qFSnuqipX3lNXHM-G3gi74qwuUZ8XTXCOD353Hf1Yfw_pm0YA3-1jmuNcEdj95t5VSqkzhYSKq3YCZwhnmGD6ICiuAHRNSkxyuTwSv92aUIkTNFsRWdSvnFFLXsexPHbTKwiT1WD181WypDtMbSlXJtz34XH6z8GBTc8Ssvw/s320/QueenCamilla.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p>Theodore Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242452485576182841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729562980132720815.post-18721944684376323612023-03-13T20:41:00.007-05:002023-03-14T20:52:09.647-05:00Review: Elena Maria Vidal's "My Queen, My Love"<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Most Americans are probably not aware that the US state of <a href="https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/name.html">Maryland was originally named after Queen Henrietta Maria</a> (1609-1669), daughter of King Henri IV of France (1553-1610) and wife of the ill-fated King Charles I of England (1600-1649). Readers seeking an introduction to this unjustly neglected historical figure would do well to immerse themselves in this charming and engaging book by <a href="https://teaattrianon.blogspot.com/">Elena Maria Vidal</a>, who appropriately enough lives in Maryland.<br /><br />"My Queen, My Love," which covers the title character's life from her childhood in France through the births of her own children in the 1630s on the eve of the English Civil War, is a historical novel, so includes fictionalized dialogue, but is firmly based on historical research like any biography. Its style vividly brings the complex and colourful world of the 17th century to life, from Italy [homeland of her mother Marie de Medici (1573-1642)] to France to England. The central importance of religion is evident from the outset. Daughter of the pragmatic convert Henri IV, the devoutly Catholic Henrietta Maria finds herself in an impossible situation as wife of the staunch Anglican Charles I in what is by then a predominantly and fervently Protestant country, with even the King's own high church Anglicanism increasingly deemed too "catholic" by some. While the author clearly shares Henrietta Maria's devout Roman Catholicism, it is to Vidal's credit that the sincerity of King Charles who believes that <i>his</i> Church of England is truly Catholic is depicted in a well-rounded manner. I particularly appreciated the writer's evident love of liturgical beauty as reflected in lavish descriptions of Catholic ceremonies including sacred music. Henrietta Maria's enjoyment of the secular arts, so scandalous to the dour Puritans especially her own participation in Masques, is a consistent theme as well.<br /><br />Anglicans like me who revere Charles as a <a href="http://www.skcm-usa.org/">Martyr</a>, aware of his and his wife's fervent loyalty to each other during the terrible trials of the Civil War which (after the time period covered by this book) would end in his execution and her widowhood, are accustomed to thinking of their marriage as an ideal devoted Christian one, as indeed it later became. However it must be admitted that this was not always the case. While vaguely aware that King Charles and Queen Henrietta Maria had had difficulties in the early years of their marriage, I had not thought much about the details until I read this book. One sensitive issue is that in order to gain French approval for their 1625 marriage Charles had had to make various promises, particularly those related to the Queen's Catholicism, that once back in England he finds himself unable to keep. It particularly galls her, understandably, that money from her dowry ended up being used to fund a war with her native France! While Vidal's Henrietta Maria never falters in her ultimately heroic love for Charles, the reader can also see without dismissing his point of view how Charles might have felt frustrated at times. <br /><br />To the extent that the narrative of the challenging early years of their marriage has a villain, it is surely George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham (1592-1628). A favourite of Charles's father James I (1566-1625), Buckingham continues his leading role in British affairs as a sort of substitute older brother (Charles's real older brother Henry having sadly died at 18 in 1612) of the young and insecure new king. Wary of losing his pre-eminence should the Queen replace him as the King's most trusted confidant, Buckingham (though capable of great charm) does everything he can to undermine the Queen's position and behaves with shocking disrespect to her, while also being egotistically heedless of his unpopularity among the common people who tend to blame him rather than the King for the failures of his aggressive foreign policy. Charles either cannot or will not see this other side of him, and when Buckingham meets his end the reader is likely to feel that he had it coming. Whether the final chapter's theory about who was ultimately behind the assassination is true, I cannot say, but there is no doubt that Buckingham's death finally smoothes the path for Charles and Henrietta Maria to eventually enjoy a happier marriage.<br /><br />Whether new to the period or an experienced student of Stuart history, any reader will be sure to finish this delightful book knowing Queen Henrietta Maria better than before, almost like a personal friend. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in royal history and look forward to further installments as given her tumultuous life there is certainly more material to come.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjueKPB4lMsLb3XJ85pp7LhnylHAlE5QaYgTx1lvUjii0tMr7_-TkiqYyDJ4KkEjhI82SpNZWyWHgcDVImtijUngzpdyA5aRGzUSFrFwV54lFlSuziizJsKC-npEReLXEQLSyqUPDMaouAoeHCmqszlhtoWUw5sqNnxuimzgzzhkevAwHEJjKoFKg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjueKPB4lMsLb3XJ85pp7LhnylHAlE5QaYgTx1lvUjii0tMr7_-TkiqYyDJ4KkEjhI82SpNZWyWHgcDVImtijUngzpdyA5aRGzUSFrFwV54lFlSuziizJsKC-npEReLXEQLSyqUPDMaouAoeHCmqszlhtoWUw5sqNnxuimzgzzhkevAwHEJjKoFKg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>Theodore Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242452485576182841noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729562980132720815.post-18022325694882214292023-02-24T14:01:00.003-06:002023-02-24T14:06:00.683-06:00175 Years Without A French King<p>Today is the 175th anniversary of the abdication (24 February 1848) of the last French king to date, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Philippe_I">Louis Philippe</a> (1773-1850). The fall of the "July Monarchy," itself a product of the revolt against the last Legitimist Bourbon king Charles X (1757-1836) eighteen years earlier, was the first of the Revolutions of 1848, which shook thrones across Europe, with Bavarian and Austrian monarchs also abdicating, though only the French Bourbon-Orléans dynasty lost their throne entirely. With the fall of Louis Philippe (a direct male-line descendant of Louis XIII), the last compromise between the Capetian dynasty that had reigned in France since 987 (except for the period between 1792 and 1814) and the more moderate components of the legacy of the French Revolution failed, and while there would be one more Emperor, no more Kings have reigned in France since then. 🇫🇷</p>Supported by the new liberal capitalist bourgeoisie, the initially popular Louis Philippe (who reigned as "King of the French" rather than "King of France") never won the hearts of either the traditional Right (who resented his 1830 usurpation) or the growing industrialized working classes. ("Les Miserables" depicts, not the original French Revolution, but a much smaller unsuccessful 1832 revolt against Louis Philippe's government by those unhappy that ousting Charles X had not resulted in a Republic.)<br /><br />Not wishing to share the fate of his cousin Louis XVI (for whose death his pro-Revolutionary father had voted before meeting the same fate himself), he quickly fled to England where he spent the last two years of his life. (Louis-Philippe's wife, Queen Marie-Amelie (1782-1866), was a niece of the executed Queen Marie Antoinette.)<br /><br />Many modern Catholic royalty are descended from Louis Philippe, including the present kings of Belgium and Spain. Since the extinction of the senior Bourbon line in 1883, many (most?) French royalists have accepted his descendants as rightful heirs not only to the 1830-48 constitutional monarchy but to the ancient French monarchy, currently claimed by <span class="xv78j7m" spellcheck="false"><a href="https://comtedeparis.com/">Prince Jean, Comte de Paris</a></span>. <br /><br />May France one day return to her one true form of government, the Monarchy!<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghUpesn150L1puovfn7o4Bnkl5AcbOvOjGehnCkCNgBpHxo8mjUvSBj5KGmGyYcLexBlETQMXwTp66q-8P5nxP0p0WnLHkcpsSDUjOKhH7w-lnkQbOX2P0YmV_K5pPexlo5LYVotBgIDPHds5u3nWvzklMxbL4S44rdXfGeoPXS281yfCy1mqe_g/s2969/1841_portrait_painting_of_Louis_Philippe_I_(King_of_the_French)_by_Winterhalter.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2969" data-original-width="1920" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghUpesn150L1puovfn7o4Bnkl5AcbOvOjGehnCkCNgBpHxo8mjUvSBj5KGmGyYcLexBlETQMXwTp66q-8P5nxP0p0WnLHkcpsSDUjOKhH7w-lnkQbOX2P0YmV_K5pPexlo5LYVotBgIDPHds5u3nWvzklMxbL4S44rdXfGeoPXS281yfCy1mqe_g/s320/1841_portrait_painting_of_Louis_Philippe_I_(King_of_the_French)_by_Winterhalter.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><br />Theodore Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242452485576182841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729562980132720815.post-5075264705555531592023-01-11T16:35:00.001-06:002023-01-11T16:35:40.432-06:00RIP Constantine II, King of the Hellenes (1940-2023)<p>Yesterday came the news from Greece every royalist had been dreading. Eternal memory to Constantine II (1940-2023), King of the Hellenes (1964-73). Had he not been deposed, he could have reigned nearly 59 years. Exiled for 46 years (1967-2013), at least he got to spend his last decade in his beloved Greece. <br /><br />Prompt and thorough coverage as always at <span class="xv78j7m xt0e3qv" spellcheck="false"><a href="https://eurohistoryjournal.blogspot.com/2023/01/king-constantine-ii-of-hellenes-1940.html">The European Royal History Journal</a></span>. The entire royalist community joins in sorrow with the Greek and extended European Royal Families (especially those of Spain, Denmark, and Britain) in mourning King Constantine. More today: <a href="https://eurohistoryjournal.blogspot.com/2023/01/constantine-and-anne-marie-of-greece.html">Constantine and Anne-Marie of Greece: A Love Story for the Ages</a>.<br /><br />Crown Prince Pavlos, born on 20 May 1967 in Athens a month after the colonels' coup that would later first exile and then depose his father, has succeeded his father King Constantine II as Head of the Royal House of Greece and, for monarchists, de jure King Pavlos (Paul) II of the Hellenes. [During the time of the Monarchy (1863-1973), when discussed in English Greek royal names were usually translated into their English equivalents, but the younger generations of Greek royals today generally prefer to use the Greek forms.] The King is dead; Long live the King!<br /><br />Weirdly, King Constantine II (d. 10 Jan 2023) died the day before the centennial of the death of his grandfather <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_I_of_Greece">King Constantine I</a> (d. 11 Jan 2023).<br /><br />Here are the <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2023/01/11/king-constantine-ii-hellenes-last-king-greece-who-spent-life/">Telegraph</a> and <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/king-constantine-ii-of-greece-869jd22nx">Times</a> obituaries. The King is often blamed for the political instability that began in 1965, leading to the coup of 1967 that he tried and failed to reverse, but let's not forget that his position that the Prime Minister should not be able to make himself also the Minister of Defense in order to head an investigation into his own son was in itself entirely correct.<br /><br />Shame on the miserable gang of soulless traitors calling themselves the Greek "Government" for<a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/constantine-ii-will-not-be-granted-a-state-funeral-cthz79pd2"> denying King Constantine a state funeral</a>. The King was the internationally recognized Greek head of state for nine years, served in the Greek armed forces, and won an Olympic gold medal for Greece. He was as Greek as anyone has ever been. These scummy politicians were not worthy to tie his shoelaces. I curse and condemn the Greek Republic and pray for its destruction. I reiterate my formal repudiation of any interpretation of Christianity that concedes the application of Romans 13 to republics that have displaced monarchies, and urge the denunciation of this pointless cruelty from every Orthodox Christian pulpit in the world.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigbwhDWaV98YHvpNGFVFfB4Qe9JcnkzVMRzHLZnfNLZUYAn7rduk2BzHGuwWA0MH07ijP3BLxU7lTlR_VgajswXPg0ahbc5F-SASNwsnOQqSfYVeVY4alAK-9zQAQXyjKZGGprSeJaf3FO_x8V5wMucUDl6sqkAgGFvWc13Ed6Gz514NfDd-zcYw/s960/KingConstantine19402023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="960" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigbwhDWaV98YHvpNGFVFfB4Qe9JcnkzVMRzHLZnfNLZUYAn7rduk2BzHGuwWA0MH07ijP3BLxU7lTlR_VgajswXPg0ahbc5F-SASNwsnOQqSfYVeVY4alAK-9zQAQXyjKZGGprSeJaf3FO_x8V5wMucUDl6sqkAgGFvWc13Ed6Gz514NfDd-zcYw/s320/KingConstantine19402023.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Theodore Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242452485576182841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729562980132720815.post-85836407911341566042022-12-31T11:37:00.003-06:002022-12-31T11:38:16.712-06:00RIP Benedict XVI (1927-2022)<p>His Holiness Benedict XVI (née Joseph Ratzinger), who reigned as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and Sovereign of the State of Vatican City from 2005 to 2013, has died at 95, nearly four months after Queen Elizabeth II.<br /><br />I particularly appreciated his love of classical music and concern for liturgical Beauty, without which in general I confess that it’s unlikely Christianity ever would have appealed to me. He cared, and understood. Aesthetics Matter. A highlight of his pontificate was his September 2010 visit to the United Kingdom. His delight at the Anglican choral tradition at <span class="xv78j7m xt0e3qv" spellcheck="false"><a href="https://www.westminster-abbey.org/">Westminster Abbey</a></span> was evident, and his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCtle4z0Azc">pontifical mass</a> at <span class="xv78j7m xt0e3qv" spellcheck="false"><a href="https://westminstercathedral.org.uk/">Westminster Cathedral</a></span> was a musical feast of Byrd and Bruckner. 🇬🇧</p>Many commentaries will probably not mention that as a young man in 1951 he was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber (1869-1952), a Bavarian monarchist who had also conducted the funeral of King Ludwig III (1845-1921) thirty years earlier and never abandoned his belief in the Monarchy. As the former Fr. Ratzinger was the last living priest ordained by Cardinal von Faulhaber, his death breaks a last living link with the Kingdom of Bavaria.<br /><br />The undoing of his greatest accomplishment, the 2007 liberalisation of the Latin Mass, by his successor is a terrible tragedy. <br /><br />I wish he hadn’t abdicated. But perhaps that’s not for us in this world to ever understand. May he rest in peace.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8f75GW6BEsI" width="320" youtube-src-id="8f75GW6BEsI"></iframe></div><br /><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiAptZ5gMfEnWm_lbqsVL3VYhVi6mFnHSTzh83pM7hzie-w03MTj1dcOL_LaqcY6XMfhQtIOmroNwSygEA2UtHA6AN4BdWLG8zY4Up1pBVxGGFp79VqO5l5nObbmU5f4-U-NJCfsocKnRTNhBHsr6XHlIGGdDmd8FX7hflCtVQIUePzhe193kvFcQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="1140" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiAptZ5gMfEnWm_lbqsVL3VYhVi6mFnHSTzh83pM7hzie-w03MTj1dcOL_LaqcY6XMfhQtIOmroNwSygEA2UtHA6AN4BdWLG8zY4Up1pBVxGGFp79VqO5l5nObbmU5f4-U-NJCfsocKnRTNhBHsr6XHlIGGdDmd8FX7hflCtVQIUePzhe193kvFcQ" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div>Theodore Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242452485576182841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729562980132720815.post-86687375433592667442022-09-16T14:02:00.005-05:002023-02-19T12:04:37.014-06:00Our Gloriana<p>Here is an eloquent reflection on the death of Queen Elizabeth II, "<a href="https://www.anthonyburton.org/blog/our-gloriana-1">Our Gloriana</a>," by Bishop Anthony Burton (Rector of <a href="https://incarnation.org/">Church of the Incarnation</a> 2008-22, who baptized me there in 2009).</p><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzXxfwMJZRDzSxouRvmRDkES1-tbY_v6AQ_V-XMNZazQyooQmCYyWlnoAmogIf97K4qm2Jz5-xx_wyrOZq0h2IaK_Ioy3OB61kRxmIBip6oORrHK7w9U2zfIBsdntYyVQN9rQgCjLMQ5ENJY9rAnjZLaWCeXRKrrng6nhwrym5m_BYI6RhzlIVig/s1953/Elizabeth.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1953" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzXxfwMJZRDzSxouRvmRDkES1-tbY_v6AQ_V-XMNZazQyooQmCYyWlnoAmogIf97K4qm2Jz5-xx_wyrOZq0h2IaK_Ioy3OB61kRxmIBip6oORrHK7w9U2zfIBsdntYyVQN9rQgCjLMQ5ENJY9rAnjZLaWCeXRKrrng6nhwrym5m_BYI6RhzlIVig/s320/Elizabeth.jpg" width="246" /></a></div><p></p><br /><br /><p><i>[Edit: and here is one from a Catholic friend at <a href="https://www.georgetown.edu/">Georgetown University</a>: <a href="https://thehoya.com/viewpoint-the-queens-jesuit-values/">The Queen's Jesuit Values.</a>]</i></p>Theodore Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242452485576182841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729562980132720815.post-17986669210711581222022-09-15T15:40:00.001-05:002022-09-15T15:40:55.182-05:00Australian Monarchists and their Queen<p>Congratulations to my friend, Australian composer and monarchist <a href="https://adkvoltz.com/">Alexander Voltz</a>, on <a href="https://www.spectator.com.au/2022/09/on-her-late-majestys-service/">this excellent and emotional article</a> on the experiences and reflections of Australian monarchists. <i>(Warning: a disturbing passage from a vile student "newspaper" is quoted.) </i>Other young Australian monarchists are quoted in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/sep/12/were-supposed-to-be-egalitarians-young-australians-divided-on-rule-by-monarchy">this article</a>, which also quotes republicans.<br /><br />A <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11205707/The-Queen-Majority-Australia-supports-monarchy-not-republic-King-Charles-III.html">new poll</a> indicates that about 60% of Australians favour keeping the Monarchy, up from previous levels. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu1ZZ_-i2vVIB09NqK0T6iVi6E3NoDCha5qkoERtf-fvT3reLTIslrlrTNpMHkr6ZI_dOuPkUd92mLHHmgOLux0r7NcjhL_JCq2y-ati2cSSHa-G0h7AK79UoGyVzFknpythbNsSreT0QqWjXuFRzRFikwEEz5jK3qL_40SbHHBLa6rqz8gKBPyA/s1800/Sydney.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu1ZZ_-i2vVIB09NqK0T6iVi6E3NoDCha5qkoERtf-fvT3reLTIslrlrTNpMHkr6ZI_dOuPkUd92mLHHmgOLux0r7NcjhL_JCq2y-ati2cSSHa-G0h7AK79UoGyVzFknpythbNsSreT0QqWjXuFRzRFikwEEz5jK3qL_40SbHHBLa6rqz8gKBPyA/s320/Sydney.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Theodore Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242452485576182841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729562980132720815.post-30911812330342611322022-09-15T13:48:00.005-05:002022-09-15T13:50:00.124-05:00Dallas Episcopalians remember the Queen<p><a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2022/09/14/dallas-episcopals-give-thanks-for-queen-elizabeth-ii-with-song/">The Dallas Morning News reports on Tuesday's Choral Evensong</a> in thanksgiving for Queen Elizabeth II at <a href="https://www.episcopalcathedral.org/">St. Matthew's Cathedral</a>, in which I sang (music of Vaughan Williams, Stanford, and Parry). I am quoted in the article. Needless to say I don't endorse every comment of the homilist. But it was a lovely event and I'm glad it's been publicized.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4rLzaYES1QXJQBe0x81ckZaOA_lL3gKkCCKXJkw-6xzf8rwiCAQPYeaenwVcYVlZWhuBOCEJSDYmw5PXpxq9iP74911hYxS88le32HZpsZaFWsQdnuE3SEJai7SpP5PykZVp_9go2qoZK6zlC-JfN1xdpf107GAe0vQRYZhMn2dUWQKL2hFsLLw/s2048/306098452_10166410197165391_6498042367199660774_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4rLzaYES1QXJQBe0x81ckZaOA_lL3gKkCCKXJkw-6xzf8rwiCAQPYeaenwVcYVlZWhuBOCEJSDYmw5PXpxq9iP74911hYxS88le32HZpsZaFWsQdnuE3SEJai7SpP5PykZVp_9go2qoZK6zlC-JfN1xdpf107GAe0vQRYZhMn2dUWQKL2hFsLLw/s320/306098452_10166410197165391_6498042367199660774_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKDOLRGGss3kHtlvELWg7Vg1hLeWxGa35skyR8thO_5q9Q969R80S2ac1FUGlmSet7zwcBaR7P-y4rV9YXqokjWNlkKgJxNYD2ULEUnSCI6_QagMrv4h3QK0DavVvK4RctFZi3ydz3DwB__IDEM6UmWjl_R79ZN6opznsoi2XZX8BbF1K69ZF2w/s2048/306163264_10166410197185391_3635798135127605096_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKDOLRGGss3kHtlvELWg7Vg1hLeWxGa35skyR8thO_5q9Q969R80S2ac1FUGlmSet7zwcBaR7P-y4rV9YXqokjWNlkKgJxNYD2ULEUnSCI6_QagMrv4h3QK0DavVvK4RctFZi3ydz3DwB__IDEM6UmWjl_R79ZN6opznsoi2XZX8BbF1K69ZF2w/s320/306163264_10166410197185391_3635798135127605096_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Theodore Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242452485576182841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729562980132720815.post-68133185452611125372022-09-14T23:07:00.005-05:002022-09-18T09:32:40.167-05:00Bye NYT<p>This is not a decision I made lightly. I thought about it for a few days. And I don't regret buying the historic Sept. 9 front page which is a significant historical document. But I've cancelled my electronic subscription to the New York Times. I'm fed up with their <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/09/09/why-does-new-york-times-hate-britain/">relentless anti-British bias and negative coverage of the United Kingdom</a>. That stupid article (whose author I'm now ashamed to have met in 2012; I had thought she was better than that) blaming the Queen for "colonialism" within hours of her death was the last straw. And Anglophobia is hardly their only pernicious agenda; a good monarchist friend of mine also has strong objections to their Ethiopia coverage. The sad thing is that they still have plenty of good articles and I'm sure there will be some I wish I could read. But if you knew a substance were 90% ice cream and 10% poison would you eat it? I'm not going to give one more cent to an enemy of my favourite country. God Save the King.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4AeszTBuSWA" width="320" youtube-src-id="4AeszTBuSWA"></iframe></div><div><br /></div>More articles on this topic:<br /><br /><a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-new-york-times-royal-derangement-syndrome">https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-new-york-times-royal-derangement-syndrome</a><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2022/09/14/ignore-liberal-sneers-real-americans-will-embrace-king-charles/">https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2022/09/14/ignore-liberal-sneers-real-americans-will-embrace-king-charles/</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/09/10/new-york-times-hatred-britain-has-gone-far/">https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/09/10/new-york-times-hatred-britain-has-gone-far/</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://reaction.life/why-the-worlds-worst-newspaper-hates-britain-so-much-nyt-new-york-times/">https://reaction.life/why-the-worlds-worst-newspaper-hates-britain-so-much-nyt-new-york-times/<br /></a><br /><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-11220673/Is-New-York-Times-launching-deranged-attacks-Britain-Queen-make-money-China.html">https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-11220673/Is-New-York-Times-launching-deranged-attacks-Britain-Queen-make-money-China.html</a><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div>Theodore Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242452485576182841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729562980132720815.post-55493800552570016912022-09-14T22:07:00.004-05:002022-09-14T22:07:56.971-05:00On Mourning the Queen as an American Monarchist<p>Probably my greatest weakness as a Christian is that while this should not be construed as ingratitude for the positive aspects of my real life I’ve never been able to overcome a certain theoretical resentment at having been born American rather than British, which prevents me from ever feeling quite as docile to God’s will as we’re apparently supposed to, as indeed the late Queen herself was. Indeed, my whole way of being Christian as an Episcopalian is so deeply intertwined with Anglophilia and the Monarchy (which for an Anglican in England would be nothing abnormal) that I don’t know how to separate the two. It’s all sort of the same thing for me, which I suppose is why I tend to see “British” republicans as utterly evil enemies of God, akin to the monstrous orcs in <i>Lord of the Rings</i>, rather than as simply people I disagree with.</p>As lovely as last night’s <a href="https://www.facebook.com/StMatthewsCathedralDallas/videos/1021521661851035">Evensong</a> [in thanksgiving for the life of Queen Elizabeth II at <a href="https://www.episcopalcathedral.org/">St. Matthew's Cathedral</a>] mostly was, there were still a few lines in the homily that made me wince, as did the fact that even on this most inherently royalist of occasions the officiant still sang “State” rather than “King” during the (Smith) Responses. Even many Americans sincerely paying tribute to the Queen feel obliged to include some sort of republican disclaimer, which I never like, because I wholeheartedly believe that “our” way is wrong and theirs is right. I suppose a certain such discomfort is inevitable as long as I live here, and I don’t seem to be moving. But with all my heart I reject 1776 and all its works. God Save the King.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzSSP7al-JkWNGqRdMPcHWDejgQhJOiPOHmmjXzS-rWW-WYURi7E1EsdZZzLggzZL_oG8qEBjHB4CVSgkBgWS_80JD4QmM-NQR9qJWS8Smd3OZRQ2PzBwhSuBhzrLITrfPluv0YEiGzIuo6P8t8_fOx-_sz_hZqede0awX_ZPCCxJ0pzMNfdLNyw/s1500/queen-elizabeth-coffin-procession-091422-12-b1b438928b554ffeb482ddc9bbf18592.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzSSP7al-JkWNGqRdMPcHWDejgQhJOiPOHmmjXzS-rWW-WYURi7E1EsdZZzLggzZL_oG8qEBjHB4CVSgkBgWS_80JD4QmM-NQR9qJWS8Smd3OZRQ2PzBwhSuBhzrLITrfPluv0YEiGzIuo6P8t8_fOx-_sz_hZqede0awX_ZPCCxJ0pzMNfdLNyw/s320/queen-elizabeth-coffin-procession-091422-12-b1b438928b554ffeb482ddc9bbf18592.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>Theodore Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242452485576182841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729562980132720815.post-14319984943920850922022-09-14T22:04:00.002-05:002022-09-14T22:04:08.133-05:00The Queen and the Cello<p>I am deeply honoured that my own video of "God Save the Queen" (as it then was) from a few years ago has been included in this article "<a href="https://cellomuseum.org/queen-elizabeth-ii-and-the-cello/">Queen Elizabeth II and the Cello</a>."</p>Theodore Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242452485576182841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729562980132720815.post-49445059672734647052022-09-14T21:47:00.007-05:002022-09-14T22:56:08.011-05:00Regrets<p>I know it’s normal to be sad now. But honestly, I also feel just a little bit ashamed. God gave me 44 years—or, even if only adulthood is considered, 26–to make sure that by the time this happened, I would be living there and (if so for at least six years) could have sworn allegiance to her. 🇬🇧 But I didn’t do that. I did, at least, finally try in 2016 with the <a href="https://philharmonia.co.uk/">Philharmonia</a>, so don’t feel quite as bad as I would if I’d never even tried. But only once, and a little late.</p>In 1999-2000, when I was getting ready to graduate from <a href="https://music.indiana.edu/">Indiana University</a> and wondering what to do next, I went as far as requesting and receiving brochures from the <a href="https://www.ram.ac.uk/">Royal Academy</a> and <a href="https://www.rcm.ac.uk/">Royal College</a> of Music in London. But at 21, never having even visited the UK, I wasn’t sure how moving to London and so forth would work, didn’t know anyone there or anything about living there, and didn’t seriously pursue it. New York—not that there was anything wrong with <a href="https://www.juilliard.edu/">Juilliard</a>!—though still a change was so much easier. And then one thing led to another, and I stayed here, admittedly with much to be grateful for on this side of the pond.<br /><br />And now over the next few days thousands of people, most of whom in their daily lives are probably not nearly as obsessed with the <a href="https://www.royal.uk/">Monarchy</a> as I am, are standing in unprecedented queues in London to pay their respects, because they’re decent patriotic people, and I won’t be there. I can explain why, I have my reasons, my job, my financial concerns, but still they feel like they might be excuses. <br /><br />I wish I could have met her just once. Even as one of those lucky people in the front of the crowd behind a barrier for a walkabout. Better yet, actually presented. After all, many people did, over the years, in moments they will never forget. I did see her in person on three occasions, her Golden Jubilee in 2002, her Diamond Jubilee in 2012 (pictured), and Garter Day in 2015. I'm glad that I wrote her a few times and always received a nice reply from the Palace.<br /><br />But a comforting thought is that if God knows how much I loved her and what she stood for, she does now too.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyr8GnBhHS5WmkR0efDfkHaVLhTAoId2OaX14kkhD3L2H4wVvYGUAwrg87RXQc3ESbWs7gMrJ8isSGV2LJs28P-3-RUt3WmnatSr2ujgQw_rmfBWg6pniSvHfWEsB8uNHYnRkJ41boDPCFsWfwGoiS3-PDdiEw5MW7ObWYZiYWkLgahyR_DmPHTQ/s1296/5Jun2012.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="736" data-original-width="1296" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyr8GnBhHS5WmkR0efDfkHaVLhTAoId2OaX14kkhD3L2H4wVvYGUAwrg87RXQc3ESbWs7gMrJ8isSGV2LJs28P-3-RUt3WmnatSr2ujgQw_rmfBWg6pniSvHfWEsB8uNHYnRkJ41boDPCFsWfwGoiS3-PDdiEw5MW7ObWYZiYWkLgahyR_DmPHTQ/s320/5Jun2012.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>Theodore Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242452485576182841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729562980132720815.post-17501573225105167432022-09-08T18:06:00.002-05:002022-09-08T18:06:14.025-05:00The Queen is dead. Long live the King.<p>As you have no doubt learned by now, HM Queen Elizabeth II died today. Words cannot adequately express the grief felt by me and millions of others for the loss of this iconic figure. It is hard to imagine a world without her. And yet the Monarchy endures. God Save the King.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUx1eOtaBSErYCLrysKrLPTDkheVpmgD4dUU6iTDlC1qUqHBRva1761ICvnUU05Gp5EiOPV_cirWalUOcn3IBT7fFXjvS5kJyKS4S4O6qisS7at7QmamBhiAL1d8h13eFeCep0PvQhjC8oMjAGNy2PbQKjkKAc1nLjQMG-VJCnjvmpgbvjMalpWg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1187" data-original-width="1058" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUx1eOtaBSErYCLrysKrLPTDkheVpmgD4dUU6iTDlC1qUqHBRva1761ICvnUU05Gp5EiOPV_cirWalUOcn3IBT7fFXjvS5kJyKS4S4O6qisS7at7QmamBhiAL1d8h13eFeCep0PvQhjC8oMjAGNy2PbQKjkKAc1nLjQMG-VJCnjvmpgbvjMalpWg" width="214" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Theodore Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242452485576182841noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729562980132720815.post-35238699367757759722022-09-04T12:58:00.001-05:002022-09-04T12:58:25.428-05:00Costumes and Poverty<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I feel sorry for those Internet Users whose automatic reaction to <a href="https://www.thevintagenews.com/2019/07/16/romanov-costume-ball-1903/">articles and photos like this</a> depicting the glamour of the Old World royalty and nobility is “bUt tHeRe weRe poOr peOple.” Can’t you just enjoy the beauty and art of the pictures? Yes, there were poor people in Tsarist Russia in 1903 who could not go to fancy costume balls, though the Imperial Family ceaselessly undertook charitable endeavours. So what? There were and are also poor people in the USA. Jesus said, “the poor you will always have with you.” Does that mean that there should be no art, no beauty, no glitter, no jewels, no symphony concerts or operas, no luxury anywhere? It’s not as of getting rid of the monarchy 14 years later ushered in a better era for the Russian people; rather the reverse. What about those who earned money designing and making the fancy costumes? The musicians who played in the court orchestra? Would it have been better for them to be destitute too? A world without things like glittering costume balls would be an uglier and sadder place. You could say, it’s just stupid Facebook comments, but the problem is this kind of attitude (which long predates Facebook) has had devastating consequences in the real world since 1789, resulting not in greater happiness or prosperity but in incalculable death and destruction. </span></p><div class="l7ghb35v kjdc1dyq kmwttqpk gh25dzvf jikcssrz n3t5jt4f" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">That said, enjoy the pictures.</div></div>Theodore Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242452485576182841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729562980132720815.post-68719594059137655002022-07-23T15:00:00.003-05:002022-07-23T15:02:30.047-05:00Brahms in Mexico<p>I am pleased to present this video of my June 16 performance of the Brahms "Double" concerto with my brother, violinist <a href="http://harmonybeat.blogspot.com/">William Harvey</a>, with José Luis Castillo and the <a href="http://ofj.com.mx/">Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco</a> at the Teatro Degollado in Guadalajara, Mexico! The Teatro Degollado was built in 1866 during the reign of Emperor Maximilian. June 16 was the eve of our parents' 50th anniversary; the concerts were dedicated to them.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6qEj7ftJP28" width="320" youtube-src-id="6qEj7ftJP28"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p>Theodore Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242452485576182841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729562980132720815.post-31084119355708723592022-07-19T22:18:00.000-05:002022-07-19T22:18:13.872-05:00A speech at the UN<p>It is my general policy not to comment on the younger son of HRH the Prince of Wales or his wife. However I have to say that to read of someone who was born into the Royal Family moaning to the United Nations about a "global assault on democracy and freedom" as if "democracy" is self-evidently A Good Thing We Should All Cherish is depressing (though in this case not surprising) to me. As republicans in the UK will no doubt be quick to point out, he owes his wealth and fame entirely to the remnants of a system that in principle, despite the <i>de facto</i> supremacy of Parliament since 1688, remains profoundly <i>non</i>-democratic (which of course I unapologetically embrace). Democracy has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that this individual, unlike most people, gets to address the UN. As far as I know he has never won an election, or even voted in one.</p>Furthermore, I respect the fact that I have friends on both sides of the abortion debate (on which I myself refuse to ever publicly weigh in), but surely anyone with any understanding of constitutional monarchy can agree that it is not an issue on which a member of the royal family (which he still technically is) should be taking a divisive stand against the beliefs of large numbers of people, particularly in the USA but also including some devout members of the Church of which his grandmother is the Supreme Governor. I am not obviously not royal, but in this case I wish he would learn to emulate my official impartiality!<br /><br />However, I also detested Meghan McCain's contemptuous knee-jerk Americanist response, in which she described the majority of Americans as "monarchy-hating." Indifferent, sure, but I would hope not <i>hating</i>. "Hating" takes a lot of energy, which I honestly don't think most Americans invest in opposing the British Monarchy.<br /><br />You can Google the relevant articles if you need to; I'm not posting links.Theodore Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242452485576182841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729562980132720815.post-15676868685775311742022-04-19T15:59:00.002-05:002022-04-19T16:16:02.263-05:00The Atlantic on Europe's non-reigning royals<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1g_Yr6QVSR1JdbqlkrdehHSnp8GkX3uA9_cxms3mVa7TaxcfJYSN1LvT300PqVa3vsa8-sGsR99z4fYwAqwitO9NByRuTiJ3NafXPuYtwgcmg_SbWXvqhw84i4LuEkR8tPGtbsHumK76398UTaQwij3xQUMkOBOPCrGjwjHU_zw3pPzUf6eOKgQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="694" data-original-width="558" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1g_Yr6QVSR1JdbqlkrdehHSnp8GkX3uA9_cxms3mVa7TaxcfJYSN1LvT300PqVa3vsa8-sGsR99z4fYwAqwitO9NByRuTiJ3NafXPuYtwgcmg_SbWXvqhw84i4LuEkR8tPGtbsHumK76398UTaQwij3xQUMkOBOPCrGjwjHU_zw3pPzUf6eOKgQ" width="193" /></a></div><br />I have mixed feelings about <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/05/leka-ii-crown-prince-albania-europe-monarchy/629368/"><i>The Atlantic'</i>s new article on Europe's non-reigning royalty</a>, focusing on Prince Leka of Albania and Archduke Karl of Austria, but it's worth reading. I for one will never give up on the dream of Restoration.<p></p>Theodore Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242452485576182841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729562980132720815.post-9471208399561455552022-04-18T19:09:00.003-05:002022-04-18T19:09:32.689-05:00Shen Yun<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Finally surrendering to its famously ubiquitous advertising, I saw </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl gpro0wi8 oo9gr5id lrazzd5p" href="https://www.shenyun.com/" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-weight: 600; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0"><span class="nc684nl6" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">Shen Yun</span></a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"> on Saturday afternoon. I knew that the Chinese Communist regime is against them, and vice versa, and that was enough for me to be, at the very least, curious. I loved it. The dancing was some of the most spectacular I've ever seen, and an instrumental erhu soloist was impressive too. An animated electronic backdrop makes it look as if dancers are moving in between the real stage and the fantastical worlds and eras depicted on the screen. I've seen live theater and I've seen animated movies, but I've never seen them put together quite like that. Everything is beautiful and colorful, except for when evil communist characters (quite rightly depicted as dark and sinister) appear.</span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Most of all I found it wonderfully refreshing to see a production that unlike too many contemporary Western opera, ballet, or theater productions was not trying to "deconstruct" or "update" anything, simply an unapologetically lavish, beautiful, and proud celebration of an ancient traditional homogenous and monarchical culture: "China Before Communism." (Why can't we have more shows that do that with European culture?) While I don't necessarily agree with all of the Falun Gong (I learned that its adherents apparently prefer the name "Falun Dafa") movement's ideas, I certainly do agree with its anti-communist ones. My only criticism would be that, accustomed to ballets in which the plot is explained in detail in the program, I wasn't always sure exactly what was being pantomimed in a few of the numbers. But everything is so gorgeous to look at, with so much elegant athleticism, that that didn’t matter much. If you've ever wondered what all that advertising is about, I highly recommend Shen Yun. </span><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGuoIlH6Z1DsIsWJMJ3dKvXowyFKMEaBebY44Hc8NNdSTrWfJZ-aAa1guDSN1erUtdob1U9U-XnroCZor2Auy-Y4sjInyjsSjghAMDXfnTdIjD9y4dHQQVahkv2x9LPoNSWvM15Co9sGyjHwN1ZaC_oqRkG1ZrLBb-I7AimyXGdplM0JTU_CiTg/s1300/ShenYun.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="975" data-original-width="1300" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGuoIlH6Z1DsIsWJMJ3dKvXowyFKMEaBebY44Hc8NNdSTrWfJZ-aAa1guDSN1erUtdob1U9U-XnroCZor2Auy-Y4sjInyjsSjghAMDXfnTdIjD9y4dHQQVahkv2x9LPoNSWvM15Co9sGyjHwN1ZaC_oqRkG1ZrLBb-I7AimyXGdplM0JTU_CiTg/s320/ShenYun.webp" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></div>Theodore Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242452485576182841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7729562980132720815.post-23873485223824589202022-04-12T17:20:00.005-05:002022-04-12T17:29:04.526-05:00The Real French Choice<p>As France for some reason prepares for yet another presidential election, let's remember what the only real choice is. (I don't take Bonapartism very seriously, but I have a few monarchist friends who lean that way, and I do respect Prince Jean-Christophe and his genealogically splendid <a href="https://eurohistoryjournal.blogspot.com/2019/10/going-to-chapel-wedding-of-prince-jean.html">marriage</a>.) </p><p>This would be a fantastic graphic if only the numbers were correct. But it is inconsistent to count Louis XIX (1775-1844) (who might have nominally reigned for a few minutes in 1830 and was the senior Bourbon from 1836) and Louis XVII (1785-1795) (who never reigned at all but thanks to the subsequent restoration of his uncle Louis XVIII is universally counted) but not the <i>de jure </i>monarchs of the Orléans and Bonaparte lines. Jean should be <a href="https://comtedeparis.com/">Jean IV</a>, in honour of his great-grandfather Jean Duke of Guise (1874-1940), who would have been "Jean III" from 1926. Meanwhile Napoleon would be Napoleon VII. ["Napoleon IV" was the Prince Imperial (1856-1879), followed by "Napoleon V" Victor (1862-1926), followed by the present pretender's grandfather "Napoleon VI" Louis (1914-1997).] I wish I knew how to do things like that.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUmwqagKL6N6BVOqcZVhmuezpypt0d-xcoCRSWN_SM4TxC70FYomLAtxkLCWnGp-mxDRs9s5bcbwZDITo3qNKHJxE6t6O23JD_y7XI5fx8NW8an5ATr2rhO9rUxWbbbzpwnq_e_iq6cQaX107o9jLGj6t3Ofku3nQWsvmJJbmmFRCfZ6VYOI29zQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUmwqagKL6N6BVOqcZVhmuezpypt0d-xcoCRSWN_SM4TxC70FYomLAtxkLCWnGp-mxDRs9s5bcbwZDITo3qNKHJxE6t6O23JD_y7XI5fx8NW8an5ATr2rhO9rUxWbbbzpwnq_e_iq6cQaX107o9jLGj6t3Ofku3nQWsvmJJbmmFRCfZ6VYOI29zQ" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Theodore Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16242452485576182841noreply@blogger.com0