The Discreet Tonic of Monarchy

From a European site comes this relatively encouraging article about monarchism in Romania as King Michael's grandson Nicholas, 27, moves from Britain to Romania.  While the lack of momentum towards formal restoration in the Balkans over the past two decades since the fall of Communism has been frustrating for monarchists, it is clear that many Romanians have not forgotten their royal family. But what will it take for this land of rich history and beauty to take the leap to become once again the Kingdom of Romania? 

King & Queen of Sweden in Minnesota

King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden are visiting the U.S. state of Minnesota, known for its Scandinavian immigrant history, this weekend.   They were welcomed at the American Swedish Institute, where a little girl presented the Queen with flowers, and toured its new Nelson Cultural Center.  Today they visit Gustavus Adolphus College in St Peter to celebrate its 150th anniversary, and tomorrow return to the ASI for a dedication and gala dinner.  This is an exciting weekend for Minnesotans of Swedish heritage!  (Note to "Swedish" republicans: would anyone in Minnesota care about a foreign president visiting?  Probably not.)

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.

Chinese Imperial Family Reunion

Even more so than most non-reigning royal families, relatives of China's last Emperor, Pu Yi (1906-1967), tend to keep a low profile.  Recently, however, many of them gathered to celebrate a new series of books about the imperial family.  Sadly, the article as well as some of its comments show how successful Communist anti-imperial indoctrination has been, even among the relatives themselves.  The fall of the ancient Chinese monarchy in 1911-12 was one of the first signs of how horrible the 20th century would be.  Even a relentlessly optimistic (at least publicly) monarchist like me has a hard time seeing how Imperial China could ever be restored.  RIP Pu Yi.

Defining "Monarchy"

As I celebrate the twelfth anniversary of my website, created on this date in 2000, it's worth reflecting on the meaning of the word it's all about.  One problem that monarchists sometimes run into, especially in online discussions, is defining exactly what a "Monarchy" is.  While I regard a hereditary element as normative, there are non-hereditary exceptions (Vatican City, Andorra, Samoa) that have to be acknowledged.  Particularly galling is when republicans want to claim horrible dictatorships such as North Korea (which has now had leaders from three generations of the same family) as "Monarchies."  But the definition at Wikipedia's article on Monarchy, which is much better than it used to be, is about the best I've seen: "A monarchy is a form of government in which sovereignty is actually or nominally embodied in a single individual (the monarch)."  (I might change "actually or nominally" to simply "officially.")  This manages to cover unusual cases such as Vatican City while excluding superficially "hereditary" authoritarian republics.  Since nominally republican regimes like those of Belarus, Syria, and North Korea still claim to embody sovereignty in "the people," they are not monarchies, no matter how absurd that claim is, and monarchists do not have to answer for them.  (Even Nazi Germany never formally repealed the 1919 constitution of the Weimar Republic.)

Juan Carlos's "Redemption"

Spain's traditionally popular King Juan Carlos has been under more pressure than usual lately, reports the New York Times, though as his supporters point out, he continues to work hard from Spain facilitating beneficial business deals that would not happen without his international connections.   Spaniards need to remember how lucky they are that their country's ancient and brilliant monarchical tradition has survived (unlike that of neighboring Portugal and France, both now mired in more than a century of republican darkness) and rally to their King (the only 20th century European monarch to successfully steer his country from the bitter legacy of civil war and dictatorship to a relatively stable parliamentary democracy) and his successor the Prince of Asturias.  Viva el Rey!

The Queen and her Abbey

Australian artist Ralph Heimans has unveiled in Canberra his striking new official portrait of the Queen at Westminster Abbey, with the sovereign apparently pausing in reflection at the very spot where she was crowned in 1953.  Having had the honour to sing services (in 2009 and 2011) in those choir stalls, I was moved by the choice of setting as well as the way Heimans has captured Her Majesty's expression and sense of place in history.  For musical Anglican monarchists, everything we believe in is represented in this beautiful painting.