Remembering Bl Karl

Today I attended a mass in honour of the centennial of the death of Emperor Bl. Karl (1887-1922) at St. Philip the Apostle Catholic Church in Flower Mound, Texas. The brand new church is one of the most attractive new churches I've seen, with expansion of the sanctuary and a new Casavant pipe organ yet to come. The celebrant was Fr. Allan Hawkins, originally from England, who had corresponded with Bl. Karl's son & heir Archduke Otto (1912-2011) for decades. It was Fr. Hawkins who in 2010 invited me to give a talk on sacred music at St. Mary the Virgin Catholic Church in Arlington, of which he was then the pastor. Not having expected until he invited me to be able to attend any events commemorating this centennial, I was very glad to be able to attend this mass, which concluded with appropriate English words to Haydn's immortal Kaiserhymne, the Habsburg imperial anthem.

Blessed Karl, pray for us!

Centennial of the Death of Bl Karl

One hundred years ago today, the holy Emperor Karl I of Austria-Hungary (1887-1922), died at only 34 in exile in Madeira. A true royal saint of modern times, he had done his best in his brief reign (1916-18) with the challenging situation he inherited and did everything he could to end the horrors of the Great War and serve his people, but treacherous and ignorant men thwarted and betrayed him. Emperor Bl. Karl, pray for us and for the restoration of the Habsburg Monarchy!

Altar and Throne, Part II (NYE 2020)

Yesterday was the 104th anniversary of the last Roman Catholic royal coronation (of King IV.Károly of Hungary, better known as Emperor Bl. Charles, in Budapest) to date. I find the fact that there have not been any such events more recently terribly sad. [Norway held the last Lutheran coronation in 1906, Romania the last Eastern Orthodox one in 1922, Ethiopia the last Oriental Orthodox one in 1930. The present Queen Elizabeth II, Supreme Governor of the Church of England, was crowned in 1953, as was the Wesleyan (Methodist) King of Tonga in 2015.]

Often I get so fed up with the way that most Christians (whether Protestant, Catholic, or Orthodox) today are not nearly as outraged as I am by the modern era's replacement of so many Christian monarchies with republics that with the exception of the pandemic that has touched us all I feel like I don't want to care about whatever it is that more "normal" Christian people (whether "progressive" or "conservative") today are supposed to care about. I suppose that might be considered selfish. The thing is, I want to be able to be a Christian while holding a worldview (supportive of things like monarchical government, hereditary titles, and formal class distinctions) that while once widely accepted by Christians (at least in Europe) no longer is, and I get frustrated that contemporary Christianity doesn't seem to want to let me be the type of Christian I want to be, by which I mean the sort of High Tory Anglican who loves the Monarchy, prays for his Queen (never a "President"), would have seen nothing wrong at the time with the British Empire (though in hindsight I regret that it left so many republics in its wake), and while broadly tolerant of most human traits and behaviours has very little tolerance for republicanism.

Conservative Catholics (especially ex-Anglicans) often caricature the Episcopal Church and [in the "first world"] the Anglican Communion these days as hopelessly "liberal," but in terms of the issues that matter most to me, the Roman Catholic Church of Pope Francis is no better. (Is there even one Catholic bishop anywhere who would publicly advocate the restoration of his country's monarchy? And don't tell me it's not doctrine; clergy routinely talk about all sorts of things that aren't doctrine.) At least as Episcopalians we're in communion with the most famous surviving Monarchy in the world. (I don't want to know what would happen to my relationship with Anglicanism if the unthinkable happened in Britain. Let's all please pray we never find out.)

I suppose the big historical question is, did the more hierarchical and liturgical Christian Churches (principally Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran) once seem to endorse monarchical government and hierarchical society (radical Protestants and earlier heretics like the Hussites and Lollards never did) because that's what God wants, or simply as a pragmatic approach of dealing with The Way Things Were (but no longer Are)? I would give the former answer, but I suspect most Christians today (if they think about these things at all) would probably give the latter. But I for one will continue to pray not only for an end to the Coronavirus pandemic but also for a worldwide return to sanity and monarchical government, no matter what year it is.

Habsburg Twitter and Me

Yesterday, much to my delight, I had a light-hearted exchange with not one but two Habsburgs on Twitter. You can read about it at my friend Jovan's blog here.

Anniversaries 2017

This year features many major round-numbered anniversaries, most of them bad. Going backwards, we have the 50th of the colonels' coup in Greece and King Constantine's subsequent unsuccessful counter-coup which led to his exile and the eventual fall of the monarchy, obviously the 100th of the Russian Revolution (both of them), and the 150th of the regicide of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico. For my Roman Catholic friends, the 100th of Fatima can be celebrated but the 300th of the founding of the Grand Lodge of London and the 500th of Luther's revolt (about which I'm ambivalent myself) will be more sinister occasions.

On the bright side, we can celebrate the 150th anniversaries of Canadian confederation and of the Austro-Hungarian compromise that created the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as well as the anniversaries of the births of two of my favourite royal women in European history, Queen Frederica of Greece (1917-1981) and Empress Maria Theresa (1717-1780). This summer will also see the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of the House of Windsor (formerly known as Saxe-Coburg & Gotha) in the United Kingdom.

Habsburgs Revisited

I don't usually link to articles I don't like, but this one is too frustrating to ignore. It's like the writer feels guilty for regretting the collapse of the Habsburg Empire at all, so contradicts himself with baseless assertions, oversimplifications, and half-truths. The incoherent article might be summarized like this: "Yes, Europe was better off when the Habsburgs ruled, but the Habsburgs deserve absolutely no credit for that and what's happened since 1914 is all their fault anyway."

Since Prince Philip Kiril of Prussia asked the British people's forgiveness for his great-great-grandfather's role in the beginning of World War I a century ago, perhaps the British and other Allied governments should ask for _his_ forgiveness for their role in the republicanization of Europe--a monumental tragedy from which Europe has never recovered and for which Europeans, clinging to egalitarian and republican lies, have never repented. That the 20th century would have been better for everyone, including non-monarchists, if the Hohenzollerns, Habsburgs, and Romanovs had remained on their thrones is so blindingly obvious that it ought not to be controversial to say so. Republicanism is Death, basically, and Europeans should never be allowed to forget that.

An Archduke's New Video

Earlier this month, Ferdinand Habsburg (aka HI&RH Archduke Ferdinand, de jure Crown Prince of Austria & Hungary) released his second "vlog" (first here) on his training as an aspiring future Emperor...uh, I mean, racing driver.



It's hard for monarchists not to feel a twinge of disappointment when this charming 16-year-old (who undoubtedly would make a splendid Crown Prince if he were allowed to be) says that "One day I'd like to be famous for being a successful F1 driver, and not for being the great-grandson of the Emperor." But then if one of the advantages of monarchy is a head of state who did not seek the position, one can hardly expect non-reigning royalty to "campaign," and with the role of Crown Prince not currently available, HI&RH must carve out his own future. (One just hopes he'll stay safe.) Alas, it is the lot of 21st-century monarchists to often find ourselves "plus royaliste que le roi."

Emperor Karl II

I applaud Archduke Karl's defense of his family and his grandfather, but respectfully disagree if HI&RH thinks the present European Union has anything in common with his family's great Empire. The republics occupying the lands ruled by his ancestors are abominations, and he is their legitimate Sovereign, even if he will not say so himself. (The Guardian's headline is misleading: Archduke Karl is not a descendant of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.)

Ferdinand Habsburg on YouTube

The sixteen-year-old heir to the Habsburg dynasty (HI&RH Archduke Ferdinand Zvonimir of Austria & Hungary to monarchists, Ferdinand Habsburg-Lothringen to racing fans) now has his own YouTube channel, DoubleEagle62, with his first video (filmed in Jamaica) debuting today. One wonders what his ancestors would think. It's slightly surreal as he works out to pulsating electronic music to remember that this is the great-grandson and de jure eventual successor of Emperor Bl Karl. But I have no doubt that he would be an extremely popular Crown Prince were his family still reigning. Both the fact that he is proud to race for both Austria and Hungary, and the name of his channel, suggest that he is not indifferent to his imperial heritage. Since it is not politically possible at the moment to support him as future Emperor, monarchists might as well support him as an increasingly visible motor sports star. Why not Subscribe today?

Bl Karl, Fairy-Tale Prince

On the feast day of Emperor Blessed Charles of Austria-Hungary, here is an elegant tribute by Stephen Masty: The Fairy-Tale Prince and the Five Surprises.

Archduke Karl of Austria-Hungary and Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma with Emperor Franz Joseph and other relatives on their wedding day, 21 October 1911

Enemies of Monarchy, Heroes of Modernity

I sometimes find it depressing how in so many countries, even non-Communist ones, men I despise are widely and even officially revered:

United States: Thomas Paine (1737-1809), Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), and other "Founding Fathers"
France: the leaders of the French Revolution in general, though it's interesting that no individual is really singled out
Poland: Tadeusz Kościuszko (1746-1817)
Hungary: Lajos Kossuth (1802-1894)
Mexico: Benito Juarez (1806-1872)
Italy: Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882)
Czech Republic (whose very name is offensive): Tomáš Masaryk (1850-1937), Edvard Beneš (1884-1948)
Greece: Eleutherios Venizelos (1864-1936)
Ireland: Eamon de Valera (1882-1975)
Egypt: Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918-1970)

Even in England, Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) still has a much better reputation than he deserves, with that disgusting statue outside Parliament.

That's how it is when one is on what the world considers to be the "wrong side of history"...

Habsburg Wedding in Washington

Back in December I reported on the engagements of brother Archdukes Imre and Christoph of Austria-Hungary.  In what must have been a first for the American capital, Archduke Imre's wedding to American Catholic writer and activist Kathleen Walker took place on Saturday, September 8, at St Mary Mother of God Catholic Church in Washington DC.  Many of the groom's royal relatives attended, including his Luxembourg cousins and the Duke & Duchess of Braganza (de jure King & Queen of Portugal).  The wedding itself, reported in the Washington Post, seems to have been a splendidly traditional celebration with a Latin Mass and music by Schubert, concluding with Haydn's Austrian Imperial anthem.  Pictures are available at Royal Musings, Revue, Tageblatt, and Spiering Photography.

One would think that everyone interested in royalty would be united in wishing the newly married couple happiness, but unfortunately that has not been the case.  In certain corners of the royal-watching internet, to which I will not link, some people have not been able to get past their disagreements (to put it mildly) with the deeply held religious and moral convictions of the bride, who has been active in the anti-abortion movement.  This blog generally avoids taking explicit stances on such divisive contemporary issues and recognizes that monarchists can disagree on such matters.  However, I have been dismayed by the sheer meanness of some of the comments I have seen.  How can anyone find it at all surprising that a member of Europe's greatest Catholic dynasty (long known for its defense of the Church), a great-grandson of the Blessed Emperor Karl who was beatified by the staunchly pro-life Pope John Paul II, would marry a woman who actually believes in Catholicism and takes it seriously?  Whether one shares the faith and views of Archduke Imre and Archduchess Kathleen (as she now is, since the current head of the House of Habsburg, himself married to a former minor baroness, does not insist on the maintenance of the traditional requirement for Habsburg spouses to be of royal blood) or not, any decent person who claims to care about royalty ought to be able to respect their convictions and wish them well in their new life together.

The newlyweds met two years ago at a mass at the same church (which just dedicated a shrine to Bl Karl this past Sunday) honoring the groom's saintly great-grandfather, and this weekend received an official Apostolic Blessing from Pope Benedict XVI (referring to the groom as "Archduke Imre of Austria," which can't have pleased the republican anti-title brigade).  What, for Catholics, could be more auspicious and appropriate?  I for one congratulate Archduke Imre and Archduchess Kathleen and am confident theirs will be a happy, fruitful, and enduring union that will prove all the naysayers wrong and offer hope to the beleaguered Western world, which has suffered so for nearly a century from the destruction of the Habsburg Empire and the values that underpinned it.

Two New Books

Recently I ordered and received two new books, which have little in common other than that they are both about European royalty of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and will enrich any monarchist's library.



First I'll congratulate my friend Arturo Beéche of Eurohistory.com on his splendid Dear Ellen: Royal Europe Through the Photo Albums of H.I.H. Grand Duchess Helen Vladimirovna of Russia (1882-1957). As the niece of Tsar Alexander III, wife of Prince Nicholas of Greece, and mother-in-law of three princes including Paul of Yugoslavia and George Duke of Kent, the imperious but beloved "Ellen" was closely related to all the Protestant and Orthodox royalty of Europe. With many charming never-before-published photos, and forwards by her two surviving Yugoslavian grandchildren, this tribute opens an enchanting window into the vanished yet relatively recent world of the extended European royal family during perhaps its most tragic and tumultuous period. It is particularly moving to see the light-hearted late-19th-century photos of the then-young royal generation (many of them grandchildren of Denmark's King Christian IX) unwinding merrily in private, blissfully unaware of the upheavals and sorrows that await them in the next century. Anyone who likes to wistfully pour over images of the all-too-brief era when modern photographic technology coexisted with the lingering apparent dominance of Europe by inter-related royal families will want to order Dear Ellen.



A very different approach to the same period, perhaps more enjoyable for children yet also valuable for adults, is undertaken by the comic book Karl I: The Emperor of Peace by Marcel Uderzo and Marc Bourgne. (Yes, the last Emperor of Austria-Hungary now has a comic book!) With beautiful colour illustrations based on real photographs, the graphic novel follows the saintly Karl (1887-1922) from his birth through the terrible years of World War I to his premature death at 34 in exile (recently commemorated here). The slim and inexpensive volume packs in considerable detail and sophisticated treatment of complex historical topics such as the Emperor's unsuccessful but noble attempt to bring the horrible war to an earlier end. Obviously written by and for Catholics, the book (which once I ordered it took only three business days to arrive) is suffused with a strong sense of the importance of Bl Karl and Zita's Roman Catholic faith to their lives. Karl I: The Emperor of Peace would be a great way to introduce children, perhaps especially Catholic children, to the study of the history of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Monarchy in general. I can recommend it highly for monarchists of all ages!

Grand Duchess Helen and Emperor Karl [third cousins once removed via Karl Ludwig of Baden (1755-1801) and Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt (1754-1832)], though of the same generation and class, found themselves on opposite sides of World War I. I do not believe they ever met; there never was all that much affection or interaction between the Romanovs and the Habsburgs, modern Europe's two greatest imperial dynasties (though ironically Dear Ellen reveals that Prince Nicholas's first choice for a bride before he decided to pursue Helen was Karl's cousin Archduchess Elisabeth, granddaughter of Emperor Franz Josef). [However, an interesting subsequent genealogical connection exists: in 1956 Helen's granddaughter Countess Helen of Toerring-Jettenbach (b 1937) married Karl's nephew Archduke Ferdinand of Austria (1918-2004). It was their grandson Prince Alexis of Windisch-Graetz (1991-2010) who has the sad distinction of being the youngest royal death reported by this blog.] Yet in their different ways, and within their different Christian Churches, they were both devoted to their families and met the challenges of the frightening twentieth century with dignity and grace.

Remembering the Peace Emperor

Sunday was the 90th anniversary of the death in exile of Blessed Emperor Karl of Austria-Hungary. Too good for the mad world in which he was called to reign, he strove only for peace but was abandoned by his peoples and persecuted by his victorious enemies who in trying to "make the world safe for democracy" succeeded only in making it fertile for totalitarianism. Since then the world has been remade according to the dreary soulless republican vision of the horrid 28th U.S. president and we are all the poorer for it. But monarchists will not forget him. Blessed Emperor Charles, pray for us!

Hungary Rising

Bill Jamieson, a columnist whose name I had not encountered before but who seems to be something of a kindred spirit, celebrates Hungary's new constitution which has horrified the EU political establishment by removing the word "Republic" from the country's official name, affirming Hungary's roots in Christianity and the Crown of St Stephen, and explicitly repudiating Communism. While the monarchy has not been restored (though as Mr Jamieson points out Archduke Georg seems to be ready), it's definitely a step in the right direction. Long live the Kingdom of Hungary!

Habsburg brothers' double engagement

As reported at the Tea at Trianon Forum, Royal Musings, and Tageblatt (German), Archdukes Imre (b 1985; right photo with Miss Walker) and Christoph (b 1988; left photo with Miss Drapé-Frisch) of Austria-Hungary, sons of Archduke Carl Christian and Princess Marie-Astrid of Luxembourg, have jointly announced their engagements respectively to American Catholic writer and activist Kathleen Walker and French diplomat's daughter Adélaide Drapé-Frisch.

My fellow royalist blogger "Elena Maria Vidal" met Archduke Imre in Pennsylvania at a TFP event hosted by monarchist Michael Drake in 2010 and had a delightful experience. Congratulations and best wishes to both couples!

In a nod to any readers disappointed by these young ladies' lack of royal birth, I'd like to add that while I admire the way many members of formerly reigning royal families (including the Archdukes' older sister Archduchess Marie-Christine who married a count from an ancient noble family of the Holy Roman Empire) have maintained traditional standards in their choices of spouses, I don't think it would be reasonable to expect all of them to continue to do so indefinitely when the nations ruled by their ancestors continue to refuse to accord them their rightful status. Privilege and responsibility are meant to go together--and the Habsburgs since the tragic fall of their Empire 93 years ago have demonstrated plenty of responsibility. It is their would-be subjects who have failed them by stubbornly refusing to restore them to their thrones despite ample evidence that the fall and dismemberment of the Habsburg Empire was a disaster for humanity.

Archduke Otto's legacy debated

This summer at Chronicles, Serbian Orthodox paleoconservative Srdja Trifkovic wrote a venomous obituary of Otto von Habsburg (for whom respect in the former Empire remains high):
http://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/2011/07/18/otto-von-habsburgs-ambiguous-legacy/

to which Roman Catholic Habsburg loyalist James Bogle (who I suspect is the blogger behind Roman Christendom) responded:
http://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/2011/07/28/archduke-otto-responding-to-dr-trifkovic/

Trifkovic responded to the response:
http://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/2011/07/29/otto-von-habsburg-the-facts/

and Bogle responded to the response to the response:
http://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/2011/08/01/archduke-otto%E2%80%94the-smears/

Readers (some more knowledgeable than others) weighed in as well. Obviously as a generally pro-Habsburg monarchist I'm closer to Bogle's (whose lovely biography of Otto's parents Karl & Zita A Heart for Europe I own) point of view, but am not entirely sure what I think of the whole Austrian/Serbian/Muslim question. Catholic/Orthodox divisions are perhaps particularly painful for those of us who would like to see Christians and monarchists united. Not that Trifkovic is a monarchist at all; indeed, it is partly because of right-wingers like him who do not seem to regard the fall of monarchies as particularly regrettable and do not demonstrate any respect for royalty that I no longer subscribe to Chronicles (despite having enjoyed its summer schools as mentioned in the previous post) and no longer identify with the paleoconservative "Right," even if it does remain preferable to neoconservatism.

Royalty and Los Angeles

On the final stop of their brilliantly successful North American tour, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge enthralled Los Angeles, with Hollywood "royalty" thrilled to meet the real thing. Prince William amused everyone with a reference to Colin Firth's performance as his great-grandfather. But it wasn't all glitz and glamour; the royal couple also visited Inner-City Arts students. (Note to headline writers: will you please stop referring to HRH the Duchess of Cambridge as "Kate Middleton"? There is no such person anymore!)

Meanwhile, Los Angeles monarchist Charles Coulombe pays tribute to Archduke Otto.

Archduke Otto von Habsburg (1912-2011)

The phrase "end of an era" is used so often that it can become virtually meaningless, but sometimes it truly does apply. That is certainly the case with the death this morning in Germany of HI&RH Crown Prince Otto of Austria-Hungary, otherwise known as Dr Otto (von) Habsburg, at 98. Consider: when Archduke Otto was born on November 20, 1912 (about a year and a half before the assassination of his great-uncle in Sarajevo that would precipitate the war that would destroy his family's empire), he was third in line (after his great-uncle and his father) to the throne of the second-largest country in Europe, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, on which his venerable great-great-uncle Emperor Franz Joseph (1830-1916) still sat. All of the Eastern Hemisphere except for France and its colonies, Switzerland, Portugal, and China (the last two nations' monarchies having fallen only recently) was still ruled by monarchies. Otto was one of the last, and certainly the most prominent, surviving members of European royalty born before World War I (of living royalty only the relatively obscure Infanta Maria Adelaide of Portugal, 99, is older), and the senior head of any European royal family. His titular reign (from the death of his father Bl Emperor Karl on April 1, 1922) lasted for more than 89 years, which would have made him by far the longest-reigning sovereign in European history, substantially surpassing the 72-year reign of France's Louis XIV.

Archduke Otto, who agreed to accept the Austrian Republic in 1961 and subsequently represented republican Bavaria in the European Parliament, ironically was perhaps not as fervent a monarchist as his more enthusiastic loyal supporters, though his article Monarchy or Republic and this interview are always worth re-reading. However his political career can be seen as an attempt to preserve for the great Habsburg dynasty a role in European affairs when the world had denied it its traditional royal one. A respected figure in European politics and the only Member of the European Parliament to speak all its languages, he would have made a splendid Emperor. As long as Archduke Otto lived, into the 21st century, the remarkable theoretical possibility remained (however remote) that the Habsburg monarchy could be restored without skipping a single generation. Now this last remaining link to the Old Order is gone. While I am sorry that the de jure Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary has died, I am even sorrier that the idiotic modern world never accorded him the rank to which he was entitled. Recquiescat in Pace, Your Imperial & Apostolic Majesty.

Puritans or Habsburgs

On the occasion of the ninety-seventh anniversary of the assassinations in Sarajevo that provoked the war that all but ended Western Civilisation, this 2007 article "Puritans or Habsburgs" by Paul Gottfried is worth reading, as are Peter Hitchens's reflections (though not specifically monarchist) on what was lost.