Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Succession unaltered--for now

Labour ministers have apparently abandoned plans to "reform" the royal succession to abolish male primogeniture.

Andrew Roberts eloquently refutes the notion that the monarchy should be altered to conform to modern notions of "equality," though I disagree with his characterization of Kaiser Wilhelm II (perhaps unsurprising for a patriotic British historian who has specialized in the two World Wars). While the Kaiser was indeed prone to occasional tempestuous outbursts against Jews (as he was prone to occasional tempestuous outbursts against everybody and everything, including England which deep down he loved and admired), the idea that he had any kind of systematic Hitlerian agenda in mind is ridiculous.

1 comment:

Andrew said...

(Andrew but not Andrew Roberts)

Roberts' column is not only uncharitable to Wilhelm II, it also doesn't follow the implications of his own argument. If the Princess Royal had been her mother's heir, it's very hard to believe the future Queen of the UK and the future King of Prussia would have wed in the first place. Therefore, no Wilhelm.