Palace to Museum

As Nepal continues to follow the ignoble path disastrously taken previously by so many other countries, the former royal palace is to become a museum.

I admit I hadn't been thinking about Nepal much lately, but this brings it all back. I, of course, utterly despise and detest this republican regime and condemn all its actions as illegitimate and illegal. How I wish there were something I and other monarchists could do to reverse the tragic events of last year! While Nepal is "only" the latest of a sadly long list of monarchies to fall, it has special significance for monarchists my age and younger as the first (and, I hope, only) anti-monarchical revolution of our conscious lifetimes. (Unsurprisingly, the fall of the Shah of Iran did not make much of an impression on me when I was six months old.) Prior to the deterioration of the situation in Nepal in the early years of this century, while I found it hard to be optimistic about restorations (my hopes having been crushed by the loss of momentum in the Balkans in the 1990s following the deceptively promising "fall" of Communism), I was able to imagine that a slight consolation of having been born so late in the 20th century would be that at least I was unlikely to witness a decline in the worldwide number of monarchies. Until 2008, the year I turned 30, that seemed to be the case, but the fall of Nepal ruined it.

Now we know how the monarchists of earlier eras, especially those who lived through the terrible years of 1917-18 and/or 1945-47 (yes, the wars preceding those dates were terrible too, but at least they are generally recognized as such; the falls of the monarchies per se don't get as much attention and that's what I'm talking about here) felt. Unlike Russia, Germany, Austria, Italy, the Balkans, etc., all of which have been republics since before I was born (not that that's acceptable either!) I was used to Nepal being a monarchy. It was colored in the map at my website; its monarchy had survived long enough to have a website. (Most monarchies, of course, were abolished long before the advent of the internet or even television.) Its distinctive flag was included on the poster of flags of the world's monarchies I'd made out of construction paper as a teenager in the 1990s. As the world's only Hindu state, Nepal held a unique position in the colorful kaleidoscope of monarchy.

And now yet another country is throwing its ancient heritage into the garbage in order to inaugurate a New Era in which there will be no place for anyone committed to the authentic traditions of his country. The beautiful throne, no longer to be used, is reduced to a tourist trinket behind a rope. How dare they?! It is evil, and while there is nothing I can do, I will never accept it. I declare myself an enemy of the republican "government" of Nepal and call on anyone who is in a position to do anything about it to do whatever is necessary to bring it down and bring the murdering traitor Prachanda and his gang of Maoist thugs to justice. Long live King Gyanendra, and long live the Kingdom of Nepal!

Crown Princess Victoria engaged

The Royal Court of Sweden announced that Crown Princess Victoria will marry her boyfriend Daniel Westling in 2010. I'm glad that Swedes will have their first royal wedding since that of her parents in 1976, though I can't help wishing that princesses--especially heiresses--still married princes, or at least aristocrats. Nevertheless, I wish the couple all the best.

Columnist James Savage, observing that neither traditionalists nor republicans are thrilled by the engagement, points out that the Swedish people remain far more supportive of the monarchy than the media or the politicians.

Queen Mother Memorial

Three generations of the British royal family gathered as the Queen unveiled the new official memorial to her mother Queen [Mother] Elizabeth (1900-2002) in London.

SKCM 2009 sermon

Having previously reported on this year's American commemoration of the martyrdom of King Charles I, I wanted to post this link to the sermon given at that mass last month by the Rev. F. Washington Jarvis. I was pleased to notice that unlike some of his predecessors at SKCM masses in the US, Fr. Jarvis did not feel obligated to insert any kind of disclaimer apologizing for honouring a King.

Henry VIII's reign at 500

As the 500th anniversary (April 21) of the accession of England's most notorious king approaches, New York's Grolier Club plans a special exhibit, and Steven Gunn reviews new biographies by David Starkey and Lucy Wooding.

Foul-mouthed chef at Miami royal gala

A celebrity chef shocked guests at a Miami gala honoring King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain with his colorful language, though Their Majesties appeared unruffled.

Finding her prince

When Canadian nursing student Lisa Boyachuk told her mother that her new boyfriend was a prince, she said, "I'm sure he is to you, dear." But he really was: Prince Alexander Galitzine, 613th in line to the British (and Canadian!) throne.

Here we go again

Poor Prince Harry is under attack (though fortunately it looks like this time any attempt to raise fury is not succeeding) for yet another allegedly "racist" comment and is expected to undergo "sensitivity training" for the previous incident. It would seem that no country (or perhaps more precisely, no country's media) is quite as fond of these tiresome rituals of navel-gazing and breast-beating as the United Kingdom, where now a statesman of another European country can be deported if the politically correct establishment doesn't like things he's said. Don't these sniveling sissies of sensitivity have anything better to do?

Aristocracy and Meritocracy

Blogger Cassandra Goldman proposes the intriguing thesis (via American Monarchist) that a hereditary aristocracy is actually the ally, not the enemy, of meritocracy: that is, a society where ability and work are truly valued and rewarded. Inclined to be skeptical of the word "meritocracy" as it's been more commonly used to oppose aristocracy and monarchy, I'd never thought of it this way, but having read her article I'm naturally inclined to agree.

1789 and the SSPX

Unlike many bloggers, I've so far refrained from posting anything about the controversy over Pope Benedict XVI lifting the excommunications of the four bishops of the Society of St. Pius X. While the matter is hardly uninteresting to me, having attended (though without converting) an SSPX chapel for over two years, during which time I even met the now-infamous Bishop Richard Williamson, at this blog I prefer to focus on monarchy. Most readers are probably familiar enough with the SSPX topic that even now I will not be providing a plethora of links or writing as much as I perhaps could, my feelings on the subject being deeply mixed and complicated.

However, while I disagree with almost everything that Catholic neocon George Weigel stands for, this irritating article (via Roman Christendom) indicates that unlike many commentators he at least understands that the SSPX situation is about much more than the Latin mass or the revisionist historical views of Bishop Williamson, though Weigel--being an Americanist with no love for "Altar & Throne"--is on the other side. And his opening paragraph makes it clear that this subject, as dealt with by him, is not really "off-topic" for monarchists.

Georgian Royal Wedding

Uniting the rival branches of Georgia's ancient dynasty, Prince David Bagrationi-Mukhraneli and Princess Anna Bagrationi-Gruzinsky married in Tbilisi's Trinity Cathedral. There has not been much coverage in the English-language press, other than a rather dismissive Telegraph blog entry, an irritating reminder of how irrelevant monarchism is regarded by many journalists (though not Gerald Warner). While the "fairy tale" element of monarchy is important and should not be belittled, that does not mean that a restoration would have nothing to offer Georgia's very real problems. The world's remaining monarchies make a substantial tangible difference in the lives of their substance; why would Georgia not wish to emulate them?

Royal Musings has more here; also see this thread at my forum for pictures and links.

Book recommendation from Gerald Warner

I was rather surprised and flattered this evening to receive an e-mail from Gerald Warner, the Telegraph blogger and Scotland on Sunday columnist whose rousing royalist writings I have occasionally praised here. Since I unfortunately do not read French, I won't be able to take advantage of his recommendation myself, but for the benefit of any readers who do, I'll quote his description.

For anybody visiting your blog who is able to read straightforward French, I suggest they might hugely enjoy the wonderful novel "Sire" by Jean Raspail. Although enjoyable for all age groups, this thriller has a special resonance with the young (in France it became a cult novel for royalist and Catholic young people). It tells how the young man who is the rightful King of France, with a few youthful supporters, travels across modern France, mostly on horseback, to be secretly anointed as King in the Cathedral of Rheims by a cardinal sent by the Pope. On the way he has to evade the traps set by republican authorities, detectives and spies. It is truly wonderful.

Just thought I'd mention it for the benefit of anybody who reads French. Unfortunately it has not been translated into English.

Another murdered King Charles

This is a busy time of the year for commemorations of tragic royal anniversaries. On this date in 1908, King Carlos I of Portugal (b 1863) and his son and heir Dom Luiz Filipe (b 1887) were assassinated in Lisbon by republican revolutionaries. The monarchy under younger son Manoel II (1889-1932) survived only two more years.

See the excellent Portuguese monarchist site Memorial do Regicidio for footage of the funeral and more. Fellow royalist blogger Jørn K. Baltzersen notes the anniversary here.

May the people of Portugal soon renounce the bloodstained error of republicanism and restore Dom Duarte III to the throne!