Today's Rant

Atheists think all religion is fantasy; many Protestants think those beliefs peculiar to Catholics (though in most cases also held by the Orthodox and some Anglicans) are fantasy. And yet most contemporary Christians, including Catholics, are far more grounded in "Reality" than I am. Most Christians who use the internet want to talk about widely discussed contemporary issues from a Christian perspective, primarily as pertaining to the country in which they live. Whereas I want to talk about things like restoring the Portuguese Monarchy, which has been gone for 110+ years and which hardly anyone is talking about. I don't like contemporary "Reality" and want it to go away. I would rather live in my little royalist fantasy world and play music written when Europe was mostly ruled by monarchies than be fully engaged with the political issues of my actual time and place. I don't accept that living in the United States obliges me to give my primary patriotic loyalty to the United States and not to the United Kingdom. If I wish to identify as British then I'm British. I'm sorry if this sounds selfish and arrogant but I have no doubt that the Twentieth Century and the American Revolution were wrong and I'm right. And neither the Church nor the World can force me to defer to their priorities.

A Portuguese Royal Weekend in DC

With HRH Dom Duarte, Duke of Braganza, Army & Navy Club, Washington, DC, October 13, 2017

This weekend in Washington DC I was honored to meet HRH Dom Duarte, Duke of Braganza, and was deeply humbled by entry on Saturday October 14 as a Knight of the Portuguese Royal House.

Who cares about Presidents?

Apparently someone named Mario Soares who used to call himself President of Portugal (whatever that is) died. I suppose it is good to offer prayers for his soul, since he'll certainly need them. But what I can't stand in the coverage is the ubiquitous assumption that the Salazar regime was Bad because it was Not Democratic while the current government is Good because it is Democratic. No. Democracy is at best a tolerable means to an end, but there is nothing inherently good about it. By my standards both the Salazar regime (though it did some good things) and the present republic are bad, because neither one is the Monarchy that shaped Portugal and was integral to its civilisation from its beginnings in 1139 until 1910. Only the Kingdom can be good for Portugal, because only the Kingdom can represent continuity rather than rupture with the glorious past. Only the Kingdom could provide a head of state who represents unity rather than division. Viva o Rei!

As the illegitimate regimes of Portugal and Iran both insist on mourning former presidents, here's a friendly reminder of who those countries' rightful rulers are. Viva o Rei! Javid Shah!

Portugal and Iran are interesting to contemplate together, because chronologically they constitute "bookends" of by far the worst seven decades in the history of Monarchy. While the idea of replacing a longstanding monarchy with a republic, though often claimed to be "modern," had actually been around since ancient Rome (509 BC), prior to 1910 "successful" attempts other than the French Revolution (itself not really consolidated in France for nearly a century) were rare. One thinks of the tragic cases of Brazil (1889) and Hawaii (1893), but that was about it, apart from failures of short-lived monarchical experiments (e.g. Haiti, Mexico) and numerous anti-colonial rebellions in the Americas that did not displace reigning monarchs at home in Europe. And since 1979, the world's remaining monarchies have seemed fairly secure, and for the most part are probably likely to remain so, Nepal being the main exception (let's hope there will be no others).

But by the time of my first birthday, the damage had been done: between 1910 and 1979, which is to say within less than an average modern Western human lifespan, monarchies in the Eastern Hemisphere fell every few years, transforming half of the globe from a world in which Monarchy was very much the norm (France, Switzerland, San Marino, and Liberia being originally the only exceptions) to one in which it is sadly very much the exception and republics (whether democratic or authoritarian) are widely assumed by Left and "Right" alike to be the "default" form of government. We must live in hope that the errors of those catastrophic seven decades may one day be reversed.

Gone but not forgotten

This must be the saddest British Pathé newsreel ever. And they don't even include Albania, Serbia/Montenegro/Yugoslavia, or Bulgaria, not to mention all the regional German ones. (France, of course, the only major European monarchy of which no film footage exists, had fallen long before the 20th century.) Excellent old footage though, with more recent captions reflecting the perspective of no earlier than the 1970s. (At least one error in the narration: in the beginning of the Russian portion, it is the Tsar's mother, not his wife, on his arm in the procession; Russian protocol gave the Dowager Empress precedence. At the end of the segment, it is indeed Empress Alexandra who walks with her husband.) Beyond Europe, the second half of the 20th century would prove as disastrous for monarchy in Asia and Africa as the first half was for monarchy in Europe.

5 October 1910

Even the most diehard monarchists, like me, do not deny that there were serious problems in France in 1789 and in Russia in 1917, though we obviously deny that revolution was the right way to address them. But the Portuguese revolution of 5 October 1910, 105 years ago today, has got to be one of the most stupid, pointless, and unnecessary revolutions in history. With virtually no support outside the capital Lisbon, it really was pretty much "well there's no war or major economic crisis going on, but let's overthrow the constitutional Monarchy because Progress, and we're mad that twenty years ago Britain wouldn't let us connect our two African colonies and it totally makes sense to blame that on the King, and our new young King is insecure because we murdered his father and older brother two years ago, and we're bored, so why not?"

One hundred and five years of republicanism in Portugal is one hundred and five years too many. And no, right-wingers, Salazar was NOT an acceptable substitute for the King. On its lamentable anniversary--which ironically is also the much happier anniversary of the recognition of the Kingdom of Portugal in 1143--I condemn the Portuguese Republic as an illegitimate abomination and demand the restoration of the Monarchy. Viva o Rei!

Dom Manuel II (1889-1932), King of Portugal (1908-10)

Dom Duarte, Duke of Braganza, rightful King Duarte III of Portugal, with his wife Dona Isabel and children Dom Afonso (b 1996), Dona Maria Francisca (b 1997), and Dom Diniz (b 1999).

After the Apocalypse

In the context of a Facebook discussion on Salazar (of whom I, unlike some of my right-wing friends, am not a fan), which ended up also encompassing various other topics as diverse as Game of Thrones and hypothetical monarchs of the United States, I wrote the following comment, which I'd like to also share here:

"1918 was really The End in a lot of ways. That's one reason why the hysterical rhetoric of some conservative Christians these days about Obama or whatever leaves me cold.

It's largely The British Monarchy that keeps me from losing all interest in our present time. Reactionaries who think exclusively in Continental terms tend to look down on sentimental Windsor loyalist Anglophiles like me, but at least we can cling to something that in spite of everything is still around."

Belle Époque Rulers

I've added a new page to my website that collects four assemblies (three posters and one actual photograph) of rulers of the "Belle Époque" (1871-1914), one of my favourite periods in history (in spite of the fact that France was already lost to republicanism), at four different dates: 1896 (below), 1903-05, 1908, and 1910. These are beautiful mementos of what in many ways was a better time, when most of Europe though rapidly modernizing still rightly accepted Monarchy as the norm.

Afonso V at the Meadows

Tonight I took advantage of Thursday evening free admission to make my first visit (I'm sure I'll be back, hopefully next time with my fellow monarchist who comments here as "Flambeaux") to the new exhibition The Invention of Glory: Afonso V and the Pastrana Tapestries at Dallas's incomparable Meadows Museum. These magnificent lavish works of art, preserved since the 17th century at the Collegiate Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción in Pastrana in the Spanish province of Guadalajara, depict the 1471 conquest of Asilah and Tangier in Morocco by King Afonso V of Portugal (1432-1481) and his son Prince João (1455-1495), the future King João II, who was only 16 at the time.

As I walked into the room I was overwhelmed by the colorful richness of the four huge splendid tapestries, one on each wall, which fully convey the chivalrous glory of a European civilization that believed in itself and in loyalty to God and King. While the Flemish weavers apparently did not know what North African Islamic buildings looked like, otherwise the wealth of historical detail is impressive, and unusual at a time when tapestries normally depicted religious or mythological scenes rather than contemporary events. The vanished brilliance of the Portuguese Monarchy, with the King and his young Heir depicted as brave and heroic leaders, makes the past century of republicanism all the more pathetic by comparison, as I ventured to remark to a museum guide who observed that neighboring Spain certainly did well to restore its King. How anyone could view these tapestries and not long for Portugal to have a royal family again is beyond me. There are not many places in Dallas where a monarchist can feel at home, but the Meadows Museum is one of them. I highly recommend this exhibit, which is definitely worth seeing more than once, to any readers living near or able to visit the Dallas area before May 13 when it closes.

Infanta Maria Adelaide of Portugal (1912-2012)

HRH Infanta Maria Adelaide, aunt of Portugal's rightful king the Duke of Braganza, who recently celebrated her 100th birthday, has died in Lisbon. I am glad she reached (and apparently was able to enjoy) this milestone, though sorry that she had to spend her entire long life as a member of a non-reigning royal family, the Portuguese monarchy having fallen slightly over a year before she was born in January 1912. Maria Adelaide was the first and so far only centenarian of royal birth in European history. (Only royals-by-marriage Princess Alice Duchess of Gloucester and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother have lived longer.) Incredibly, due to late marriages by her father and grandfather, she was only two generations removed from the controversial de facto king (1828-34) Dom Miguel (1802-1866), uncle and rival of Maria II. The infanta's passing is also particularly notable in that she was the last surviving member of any European royal family who had been born before the First World War, severing a last link to the "Belle Époque" era of European royalty. Requiescat in pace.

I believe there are now three possible contenders for "oldest living European royal" depending on exactly how "royal" is defined. The oldest living member of a European royal family by marriage is Princess Lilian [Davies], Duchess of Halland (b 30 Aug 1915), widow of Prince Bertil of Sweden (whose long-delayed 1976 marriage unlike those of his brothers was fully accepted by the court). The oldest living person born into any "Section I" (reigned since the Napoleonic era) Gotha family is Princess Elisabeth [of Lippe] (b 23 Jan 1916), widow of Ernst August Prince of Solms-Bruaunfels. The oldest living person born into the reigning family of a European kingdom is the former Prince Carl Johan of Sweden, Count Bernadotte of Visborg (b 31 Oct 1916).

Nine Kings 1910

I should have compiled this page in time for the centennial of the death of King Edward VII in May 2010, but didn't think of it until tonight. Here is a tribute to one of my favourite photographs of royalty: the nine kings who assembled in London for Edward VII's funeral in 1910. I wish that someone with the power to bring it about had had my idea of re-creating the photo a hundred years later with those kings' present-day heirs.

One Hundred Years of Darkness

On this date in 1910 the young King Manuel II (whose father and older brother had been murdered by republicans just two and half years earlier) was forced to flee Portugal after warships shelled the royal palace, with a republic proclaimed the following day. This was the first of the wretched twentieth century's evil anti-monarchist revolutions, a sign of the horrors to come. Predictably the current republican Portuguese government seems to think this anniversary is something to celebrate, but we whose taproot in Eden has not been cut (to quote C S Lewis) know better. October 1910 was the beginning of the end for the Old Order, the true European Civilisation which outside of France had seemed relatively stable for nearly a century, foreshadowing the way that all over Europe and the world nation after nation would succumb to the idiocy of abolitionist republicanism, callously and stupidly throwing their royal heritage in the gutter, only to find consistently that kings would be replaced by regimes worse than the worst king could have ever been.

Unfortunately Portuguese monarchists since then have faced all kinds of obstacles, not least of which was the allegedly "right-wing" regime (1932-68) of the traitor Salazar, whose positive reputation among some Catholics not unsympathetic to monarchy baffles me. Like other "right-wing" dictators, Salazar was happy to take advantage of monarchists when it suited him but was never one of us and (unlike Franco in Spain) never delivered. Today the would-be king Dom Duarte, recognised by all but a tiny quarrelsome minority of monarchists, is popular, but that does not seem to translate into momentum for serious efforts at restoration, apparently prohibited by the current constitution. Nevertheless, heroic groups such as PDR (Portugal, Democracia & Rei) and the Royal Association of Lisbon have not given up, and keep the flame alive as seen in this video.

The Portuguese Republic is a bloodstained abomination that has no right to exist; it is an ugly repudiation of all authentic Culture and Tradition; it is a negation of all that is good and holy and true. I condemn it with all my heart and all my soul and all my mind, and call on all true Portuguese Patriots to join together in demanding the restoration of the Duke of Braganza to his rightful Throne. Why would anyone put up with some boring president when they could have such a beautiful Royal Family? Long live HM King Duarte III!

Celebrating a Rotten Century

The University of California at Berkeley has long been known as a hotbed of leftism, so it is perhaps not surprising that its Bancroft Library is now hosting an exhibit celebrating the centennial of the Portuguese Republic. I don't see what there is to celebrate, and condemn what looks like a thoroughly one-sided approach. Any California monarchists want to go protest? Incidentally, they don't even get their facts right: The Most Serene Republic of San Marino (est 301) is much older than any other European republic (and along with Switzerland one of the two whose existence I fully accept), making Portugal's the fourth oldest, not third as stated.

Down with the bloodstained illegitimate Republic! Remember the Regicide of King Carlos I and Crown Prince Luis!! Long live King Duarte III!!!

Britain's "first black queen"?

German-born Queen Charlotte (1744-1818), namesake of the North Carolina city where I lived from 2004 to 2008, is the subject of speculation concerning her alleged African ancestry. Since Queen Charlotte in any case would have been "black" only by the most fanatical application of the "one-drop rule," I can't see what is so significant about this story, and link to it only due to its connection to the city that was my home for four years.

As long as we're on the subject of British queens, American places named after them, and race (how often does that combination come up?) here is an interesting 1998 article about the saga of how New York City almost erected a giant statue of Charles II's wife Catherine of Braganza (1638-1705), the Queen after whom the borough of Queens was reportedly named, only to see the plan scuttled by leftist activists. Also see this shorter article. Naturally I am sorry but not surprised at what happened eleven years ago. As far as I'm concerned, the only valid argument against the statue would have been the historical doubts as to whether Queens was in fact named after her, and I have my reservations about the agenda of the sculptor...but I still think it's unfortunate that this turned out the way it did, and have no sympathy for the politically correct professional grievance-mongers that plague modern Western societies.

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!

Duke of Braganza in London

Speaking in London, Dom Duarte, Duke of Braganza, delivered an acclaimed speech on the ills of Portugal, to whose throne he is the most widely recognized claimant.

(Thanks to R.J. Stove.)

Keep pretending

The Economist, which in the past has made clear its contempt for the world's surviving monarchies, provides an irreverent "retirement guide" for pretenders to vacant thrones.

What next for Gyanendra?

Deposed monarchs of the past have explored a number of options, the BBC helpfully informs us, as King Gyanendra is formally evicted from the palace.