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"...

Princess Maria Krystyna of Altenburg (1923-2012)

Princess Maria Krystyna of Altenburg, daughter of Archduke Karl Albrecht of Austria (1888-1951), of the Polish branch of the Habsburgs, and his Swedish morganatic wife Alice Ankarcrona (1889-1985), died yesterday in Poland at the age of 88.  As obituaries at blogs such as Royal Musings and Eurohistory make clear, her long life was deeply affected by the vicissitudes of the twentieth century, but it ended peacefully in the same town where she was born, Maria Krystyna having become a popular local figure living in a small apartment on what had been her father's estate.  Requiescat in pace.

Leading monarchist on BBC

Congratulations to Rafal Heydel-Mankoo on an excellent interview with the BBC in which he explains his support for constitutional monarchy, as well as a bit of his own family background. Mr Heydel-Mankoo is everything a contemporary monarchist spokesman should be: elegant and refined without being snobbish, thoroughly committed without coming across as a fanatic. He is a credit and an asset to our cause.

Presidents are not Kings

Polish unity in the aftermath of the plane crash that wiped out much of its political establishment has been damaged by plans to bury the late President Kaczynski in Krakow's Wawel cathedral, an honor traditionally reserved for kings. Opponents of the Wawel burial might not be monarchists--in fact, they are more likely to be left-wing than right-wing--but they instinctively sense that burying a controversial politician among ancient kings & queens and more recent national heroes is not appropriate, and on this one point (if no other) their viewpoint makes sense. Politics may make strange bedfellows, but I would have to agree with the protesters; whatever Mr Kaczynski's merits, he was obviously not a king, and to elevate him posthumously to de facto royal status is disrespectful to the genuine kings of Poland's glorious past. It is the Organization of Polish Monarchists, not Mr. Kaczynski's republican Law & Justice party, that has the most authentically patriotic vision for Poland's future.