Georg Friedrich & Sophie

In what ought to be regarded as the third major European royal wedding of the year, Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia married Princess Sophie of Isenburg in Potsdam (more photos and video here). The media seem determined to belittle the couple's royal status by slyly putting the word in quotation marks, but from a traditionalist point of view this was arguably 2011's most royal wedding since unlike the ones in Britain and Monaco both bride and groom came from titled families, the Isenburgs being one of Germany's ancient "mediatised" (lost sovereignty with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 but retained their status for marital purposes) families. I cannot for the life of me understand why Germans would rather have some boring president than this attractive and glamorous young couple. Indeed, the wedding seems to have rekindled interest in German royalty to some extent. Congratulations to their Royal Highnesses!

Germany's own Royal Wedding

Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia, head of the House of Hohenzollern, may not (unfortunately) be a reigning monarch, but his marriage tomorrow to Princess Sophie of Isenburg will be celebrated in grand style. As the Wall Street Journal reports, public interest suggests that at least some Germans looked enviously at recent royal weddings in Britain and Monaco and are happy to have one of their own. I do not recognize the Federal Republic of Germany or its stupid laws regarding titles and names, and cringe at the formulation "Mr Prince of Prussia," but am glad that tomorrow's wedding will at least get some attention and ceremony, with RBB broadcasting live from 11 AM to 2 PM CEST (4-7 AM US CDT!). Many Germans obviously know that monarchies are more exciting and glamorous than republics, but it's time to move beyond fantasy and make Restoration a reality. How could anyone prefer some boring president to this attractive young couple whose ancestry is steeped in centuries of tradition and history? Down with the Republic! Restore German monarchies now!

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.

Sins of Cavaliers and Roundheads

Tonight I attended an excellent lecture by Dr James Patrick (who I'd previously heard and met at The Rockford Institute's summer schools in 2005 and 2007) at the Church of the Holy Cross sponsored by the Walsingham Society, "On the Anglican Patrimony: The Laudian Revival and the Caroline Divines." My favourite anecdote involved an exchange during the English Civil War between a Puritan general and a Royalist general. The Puritan general chided his enemy counterpart, saying, "your troops drink and whore." The Royalist general replied, "aye, they do, for they are men. But your troops are full of Pride and Rebellion, which are the sins of demons."

German royal wedding delights media, annoys republicans

I am glad to learn that the German media plan to give extensive coverage to the August 27 wedding of Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia, head of the Imperial & Royal House of Hohenzollern, and Princess Sophie of Isenburg, which is sure to please German monarchists but is already infuriating left-wing republican politicians. These pathetic killjoys have had their way for nearly 93 years (with such wonderful results, eh?), yet they still can't bear a single royal wedding receiving attention. Part of me though would rather see the wedding denounced than ignored, as it suggests that republicans are still insecure. Deep down many Europeans know that monarchies are more fun than republics, or the media wouldn't bother, but what will it take to get them to go beyond admiration of celebrity glamour to agitation for restoration?

Swedish crown princess expecting heir

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, 34, and her husband Prince Daniel are expecting their first child in March, the royal court announced. Sweden's 1980 succession laws mean that the child regardless of sex will be Sweden's presumed future sovereign. If it's a girl, I personally would like to see the baby named Christina (II), in honour of the eccentric 17th-century queen regnant; I would expect a boy to be named either Carl (XVII) or Gustaf (VII), though Oscar (III) is another Bernadotte possibility. In any case congratulations are in order and I am sure that many Swedes will celebrate the impending happy event, which should take attention away from some of the negative publicity that has surrounded the Swedish monarchy recently.

The Habsburg Legacy

Two articles related to the death of Otto von Habsburg I would have posted earlier if I hadn't been traveling: this report on the political ambitions of Austrian monarchists, and this thoughtful reflection by Peter Berger on the meaning of the archduke's passing.

Back from Europe

On Monday I returned from my trip to Europe, one of my best travel experiences yet. I'm not sure how to adequately summarize the four weeks in a blog post, but readers are welcome to find me on Facebook where I've posted nearly 400 photos of sites, many of them with royal connections, in England, Belgium, and Germany. (My Facebook photos are not protected so you should be able to see them even if you're not my Friend. I have nothing to hide!) Monarchical highlights included meeting up with fellow monarchists from Britain and Australia in Canterbury and London, singing services for the first time in St George's Chapel where Henry VIII, Charles I, George III, Edward VII, George V, George VI, and many other royalty are buried, visiting Dover Castle in Kent and Queen Victoria's favourite home Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, seeing the remnants of the palace where Emperor Charles V was born in Ghent, visiting Charlemagne's cathedral in Aachen, and seeing the tombs of King John and Prince Arthur Tudor in Worcester. Now that I'm back at my own computer, blogging will hopefully resume its former frequency!

Here is a photo of my choir on the steps of St George's Windsor (24 July), and here we are at Westminster Abbey (31 July).