Monarchy's Enduring Appeal

Boris Johnson reflects on what The King's Speech reveals about the enduring appeal of hereditary monarchy, as perceived even by those who oppose it.

Monarchy a "problem"?

As an admirer of his performance as King George VI in The King's Speech, I was disappointed to learn that Colin Firth says the monarchy is "a problem" for him because he "likes voting." I for one have never understood what is so great about voting, though of course someone ought to point out to Mr Firth that in Britain it has been possible to vote for politicians and support the monarchy for quite some time. Perhaps Mr Firth should stick to acting, which he does brilliantly, and keep his political opinions to himself. It is particularly incomprehensible to me that a British actor could be a republican, given the invaluable inspiration that the monarchy has given the dramatic arts, which Mr Firth's colleague Geoffrey Rush (though not a monarchist either) seems to acknowledge. What would the plays of Shakespeare, for example, be without Monarchy?

William Dove responds to Mr Firth's comments here. As he says, there are far more powerful "unelected bodies" to worry about today.

German Empress

Kaiser Wilhelm II could hardly disapprove. His great-great-grandson HRH Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia, 34, head of the House of Hohenzollern and rightful German Emperor and King of Prussia, has announced his impeccably traditional engagement to HSH Princess Sophie of Isenburg, 32. German monarchists had anxiously awaited Georg Friedrich's marital choice for years, especially since his claim to be head of the house rests on his genealogically senior uncles having married commoners. Much has deteriorated in the world since the Hohenzollerns were on the throne, but it is refreshing to see that some royalty at least still keep to the old rules regardless. I congratulate the couple and wish them a happy and fruitful union.

Louis XVI

"Euroseptic" blogger Mary Ellen Synon marks the 218th anniversary of the martyrdom of King Louis XVI. Gareth Russell, Elena Maria Vidal, and Babylon Baroque have more. (Previously on this blog: 2010, 2009.)

George VI under fire in Hollywood

I've never had that much respect for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, but since whether I like it or not a great deal of importance is attached to the Oscars, I'd still like to see The King's Speech (as the leading monarchical movie of 2010) do well at the ceremony on February 27. Apparently, however, some people would not--not because of any actual flaws in the film as entertainment, but because it does not address King George VI's allegedly insufficiently anti-Nazi sentiments before World War II. Never mind that George VI was a constitutional monarch and therefore obliged to agree with his government's policies, which prior to 1939 were understandably oriented towards appeasement in hopes of avoiding another catastrophic war, which it was (correctly) feared would destroy the British Empire. Never mind that no Western governments were particularly interested in helping Jews escape from Nazi Germany before World War II, which was originally declared to free Poland from the Nazi and Soviet invasion, not to save the Jews from Hitler. Never mind that whatever their reservations about war before it came, once it had been declared King George VI and Queen Elizabeth proved to be magnificent emblems of resistance to Hitler and therefore played a crucial role in sustaining the morale necessary to defeat Nazi Germany.

What is really offensive is the underlying premise that every work of art or entertainment ought to be judged not on its own artistic merits but on whether it sufficiently satisfies Jewish concerns. And what is really tiresome is the ubiquitous reduction of World War II to the Holocaust (not generally regarded as a central aspect of the war until the 1960s), as if Jewish suffering is the only suffering that matters and ought to dominate any reference to the period. Churchill and Roosevelt's ally "Uncle Joe" Stalin had already starved seven million Ukranians before the war even began, about which the West did absolutely nothing, yet I don't see Ukranian lobbies agitating that every film set in the 1930s address this. Whatever the flaws of British immigration policy in Palestine, that subject is not the point of The King's Speech, and whoever is behind this attack on the film needs to get over themselves. My own ancestry is part Jewish, but this sort of embarrassing arrogance only makes genuine anti-Semitism harder to refute. I hope that common sense and artistic integrity will triumph over this irresponsible smear campaign and allow The King's Speech to gather the accolades it deserves.

Bl John Paul II?

The Vatican has announced that Pope John Paul II (1920-2005) will be beatified on May 1. I'm not happy about this, though I'm glad I'm an Anglican and don't have to accept it. I considered saying so on Facebook but decided it would cause more trouble than it's worth, so I'll say so here. John Paul II was the epitome of everything I dislike about Contemporary Catholicism: clinging fiercely to a few "conservative" positions (mostly regarding sexuality) while eagerly embracing Modernity in many other areas. Give me a "Renaissance" pope with a scandalous private life but a reverence for Tradition, Beauty, and Grandeur over a pseudo-humble modernist "saint" who consolidated liturgical Revolution any day.

The only thing he did that I really liked was beatifying Emperor Karl (1887-1922). OK, he helped his native Poland overcome Communism--but only in the name of "Freedom," not because Communists are implacably opposed to the kind of traditional, hierarchical, non-democratic, monarchical society I believe in but for which he had no more use than they did. His unqualified praise of "Democracy" (barely tolerated by popes before Leo XIII) made that clear. I think his role in the collapse of Communism outside of Poland has been exaggerated. He did nothing to halt the catastrophic decline in Catholic liturgy and music, even embracing some of its worst aspects, only grudgingly trying to accommodate traditionalists in 1988 when Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (1905-1991) forced his hand. He confirmed his immediate predecessors' renunciation of the papal tiara and traditional papal pageantry, his long reign making it much more difficult for a successor to reverse course. The beatification of Emperor Karl was small compensation for his many failures. I'm not one to bang on about the over-hyped priestly sex abuse scandal, but he didn't exactly handle that well either. John Paul II may have been a holy man personally, but that's really not the most important thing for a pope. Beatifying him sets a terrible example--and ought to warn any traditionalists who have been inclined to be overly optimistic since Benedict XVI took over that there will be no retreat from the Vatican II Revolution.

Archduchess Ilona of Austria (1927-2011)

According to an unofficial site on the Grand Ducal House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, HI&RH Archduchess Ilona of Austria, widow of Georg Duke of Mecklenburg, died this morning in Bad Krozingen. RIP.