Today in Canadian History

On this day in 1866 Irish republicans of the Fenian Brotherhood crossed over from New York to invade Canada. Most of these men were veterans of the Union Army, fresh from victory in the American Civil War in which Irish immigrants fought for the northern side in large numbers. Some American authorities were content to look the other way because of the lingering antagonism between Britain and America over the War Between the States in which many in...

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Sailor of Monarchy: Lothar von Arnauld de la Periere

In the annals of submarine warfare there are certain names that have become legendary around the world, regardless of national origin. Names such as Sir Max Horton and George Hunt of Great Britain, “Mush” Morton, Sam Dealy and Richard O’Kane of the United States, Gianfranco Gazzana-Priaroggia of Italy and men like Otto Kretschmer, Wolfgang Luth and Erich Topp of Germany. However, even amongst the best of the best the one name spoken by all submariners...

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Monarch Profile: King Tomislav II of Croatia

Ever since the end of World War II, during which it was created, lived and died, everything about the Independent State of Croatia is subject to controversy and that has extended to the nominal King of the newly freed Croatia; the Italian Duke of Spoleto who was, on paper at least, His Majesty Tomislav II. He has been accused of being a puppet for puppets, a fascist (what a surprise) and probably more than anything else that he was an uninterested...

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Royals at Eternal Rest

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What About Scandinavia?

I probably talk about predominately monarchial Scandinavia less than I think I do (wow, three I’s in the first sentence, how solipsistic of the awesome me). It is not because of any lack of respect for the Scandinavian countries, all but one of which are monarchies (unless you count Iceland) which, I assure you, is not the case. For someone who was enthralled with Viking stories as a boy and who had a very colorful aunt who was fond of telling people,...

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Royal News Roundup

Going to go through the headlines rather fast this week to save time for some commentary on the story getting the most ‘buzz’. In Asia the Sultan of Yogyakarta raised the prospect of running for President of Indonesia. In Thailand the army declared martial law and subsequently assumed control of government functions due to continuing violence and antagonism between the red shirt (bad guys) and yellow shirt (good guys) factions. The trouble goes back...

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Monarchist Cooperation - Why Not?

Although certainly never as often as I would like, there have been numerous episodes throughout post-revolutionary history on the part of monarchies to work together in mutual support against the shared threat of radical republicanism. In 1792 the crowned heads of Europe began to come together in support of the beleaguered King Louis XVI, first by the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Toward the end of the year, when King Louis was martyred,...

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Monarch Profile: King Charles Felix of Piedmont-Sardinia

His Majesty Charles Felix, Duke of Savoy, Piedmont and Aosta, King of Sardinia is often overshadowed by his dynamic nephew and successor, Charles Albert, famous for giving his kingdom and later Italy its constitution but his reign was one to cheer the heart of any ultra-royalist reactionary. He was born Prince Carlo Felice Giuseppe Maria on April 6, 1765 in Turin, the fifth son and eleventh child of King Victor Amadeus III and Queen Maria Antoinetta...

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Today in Spanish Royal History

On this day in 1403 King Enrique III of Castile (grandfather of Queen Isabella the Catholic) dispatched ambassadors to the court of the central Asian conqueror Tamerlane in an effort to arrange a military alliance against the Ottoman Empire. However, though he had clashed with them earlier, nothing was to come of it as Tamerlane was busy attempting to conquer China but would never see the plans carried out as he died only a couple of years later....

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Pope Francis and Socialism

On Friday, May 9, 2014 in Vatican City, during a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other UN leaders Pope Francis called for a worldwide effort by government to redistribute wealth to help the poor in a new spirit of “generosity”. This should not be too difficult for governments to do as it is always easy to be generous with the wealth of others and that is all governments have to work with. They generate no wealth on their own and...

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