MM Video: Q&A #4

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Royal News Roundup

Starting, for a change, in Scandinavia, Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway opened a special exhibition on Wednesday in Oslo to bring awareness to the subject of “child brides”. The Crown Princess is also planning to take up again an event she had previously canceled for a train-trip across country to share her favorites of literature at each stop along the way. In The Netherlands, Princess Beatrix (and it still seems odd writing that) moved into her new home last week, a restored Drakensteyn castle in Lage Vuursche. In neighboring Belgium, King Philip had his first euro coins minted and along with Queen Mathilde made his first official visit to Paris, France where the socialist President Hollande sort of, maybe, flirted with the Queen a little bit. In the Kingdom of Spain, HRH Infanta Cristina appeared in court last week. Her arrival was marked by large crowds, much of it a treasonous mob shouting republican slogans. As expected, her testimony did not amount to much; she was not involved with what went on, has no knowledge of what went on and cannot be obliged to incriminate herself anyway. However, in the face of mounting anti-monarchy anger in Spain, the Royal Family has tried to improve its image by cutting costs and making its financial dealings public. And, also last week, HM Queen Sofia visited a post office. Big news that. And in other news that probably shouldn’t be news, after extensive testing German scientists have determined that the bones resting in the cathedral at Aachen really are those of the Emperor Charlemagne, King of the Franks. Did I miss the part about there ever being any doubt?

In the United Kingdom, it was announced last week that the Queen will be attending D-Day ceremonies in France this summer and will soon be paying a visit to Pope Francis at the Vatican. It will be after a morning meeting with the President of Italy and will be at the Pope’s Santa Marta residence (his choice of abode rather than the Apostolic Palace) and will be, according to reports, a very informal and ‘low-key’ affair. Of course it will be, that seems hardly newsworthy. I think it is safe to say at this point that Pope Francis will not ‘put on the dog’ for anyone. Also last week the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge joined forces to put out a message in opposition to the illegal wildlife trade just before the Duke went down to Spain on a hunting trip to shoot some of that wildlife (not that the two are in any way similar). There is also still some consternation over the discovered remains of the late King Richard III as there has still been no decision on where his final resting place is to be. Personally, I don’t know why this is being handled the way it is. I would have assumed that the Palace and the government would be much more involved. Like him or not Richard III was King of England, a former head of state, and should be treated as such and according to the same procedures. The Prince of Wales also visited flood-damaged Somerset, which he said was shocking and where he got his nose pinched by a toddler.

The biggest news, however, was the Olympics with the 2014 Winter games beginning in Sochi, Russia. With many world leaders, such as President Obama, boycotting the games and others worried about terrorist attacks this has been called the “No-Show Olympics” but the royals did not seem all that bothered and made a good showing. Among those on hand for the opening ceremonies were Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco (both former Olympians themselves), King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of The Netherlands, King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, Grand Duke Henri and Prince Felix of Luxembourg (presumably with their better halves though I did not see them) and Princess Royal Anne from the United Kingdom who was less than impressed with the opening ceremony saying that they have gotten rather out of hand to the point that the focus is no longer on the athletes. I must say I agree. It seems every Olympic opening ceremony must now include a complete reenactment of the entire history of the host country (which Britain is guilty of as well and just as I didn’t appreciate making the Soviet-era look like a happy time of young people waving in cars, I didn’t think highlighted sources of British national pride should have included American TV shows and the NHS). A greater focus on the athletes in the future would be welcome.

In the Middle East, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia enacted tougher jail terms of 20 years in prison for those caught belonging to terrorist related groups in an effort to crack down on the Saudi nationals joining such organizations. Amnesty International, not surprisingly, criticized the new law saying that it could be used to suppress internal dissent. It was also announced that President Obama will visit Saudi Arabia in March where he has been less than popular lately over his acquiescence to Iran developing the potential for a nuclear arsenal as well as his failure to intervene in Syria. In the United Arab Emirates, the brother of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, President of the UAE, said the head of state is doing “well” after an operation last month following a stroke. The Kingdom of Bahrain has announced tougher jail sentences for those found guilty of “offending” the King, the country still being somewhat on edge after the Shiite-led uprising of three years ago. Human Rights Watch issued a new criticism this week of Kuwait over similar laws which restrict criticism of the monarch.

In East Asia it has been a somewhat odd week for monarchy-related news in the State of Japan. Some things were perfectly normal, pleasant events such as the visit by Swiss President Didier Burkhalter to the Imperial Palace. He was received by Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress at the start of four days of events to mark the 150th anniversary of the first treaty of friendship and commerce between the Swiss Confederation and the Empire of Japan in 1864. HIH Crown Prince Naruhito attended a performance of the opera ‘Carmen’ by the late Georges Bizet at the New National Theatre in Tokyo but then there was also the rather strange and tragic story of the week. The latest member of the management board of NHK, Michiko Hasegawa, picked for the position last year by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, has caused some controversy by making positive statements about the suicide of conservative activist Shusuke Nomura in the offices of the liberal Asahi newspaper in 1993 in exasperation for its mockery of his organization. Writing that it was only to God that people could offer their lives, Ms. Hasegawa wrote in a document recently found and posted online, “If it is devoted in the truly right way, there could be no better offering. When Mr. Shusuke Nomura committed suicide at the Asahi Shimbun headquarters 20 years ago, he …offered his death to God”. Prior to shooting himself three times in the stomach, Shusuke Nomura said a prayer for the prosperity of HM the Emperor which Ms. Hasegawa referred to saying, “His Imperial Highness, even if momentarily, became a living God again, no matter what the ‘Humanity Declaration’ says or what the Japanese constitution says”. The Abe government has refused to take action because of any of this, saying that members of the board are entitled to their own opinions and freedom of speech, however, it has caused many on the left to accuse the government of trying to make the NHK a bastion of conservative nationalism. I will only point out that NHK, like most major media outlets in the world, has had a noticeably left-leaning bias for a very long time which those complaining now seem to take for granted.

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Who Is Afraid of Hanfu?

Sometime around 2003 (as best as anyone can trace these sorts of things) there began to grow in the Rich People’s Republic of China (formerly the glorious Great Qing Empire) something called the Hanfu movement. This is a movement that seeks to reintroduce to everyday life in the People’s Sweatshop of China the very tasteful and elegant traditional clothing styles of the Han nationality from the imperial era prior to the elevation of the Great Qing Dynasty. In other words, these are people who wear what was for centuries traditional Chinese clothing and who would like to see it more widely worn in China as well as for the Han Chinese to re-familiarize themselves with their ancient customs and traditions. One can certainly understand the need for this since most people around the world would probably not recognize traditional Chinese costume if they saw it or would, perhaps, mistake it for something Korean. The national costume of Korea was based on the Chinese style but traditional clothing is much more common in Korea today than in China (moreso among women than men). For most people around the world, if asked to describe traditional Chinese clothing, most would probably describe what is actually the Manchu style, such as the changpao (qipao), as when the Manchu Qing Dynasty came to power, the old Han national dress was suppressed in favor of Manchu clothes and hair styles. So, a greater familiarity with traditional Chinese clothing is certainly needed.

However, this renewed interest in traditional style and all things culturally and authentically Chinese has aroused the opposition of the bandit government in Peking. Officials have spoken derisively of members of the Hanfu movement as people trying to live in the past and dramas set in imperial times or featuring people traveling back in time to the Qing or more distant dynasties became so popular that government censors banned them in 2011 for, among other things, “promoting feudalism”. In other words, the commie bandits are afraid that people are being too nostalgic for the colorful, glorious days of Imperial China rather than joining in the mandated worship for the days of Maoist purges or the current communist/state capitalist kleptocracy. However, they really should not be surprised. The Han are, of course, the largest and most dominant ethnic group in modern China by far and yet, they have been the most far removed from their own traditional culture. The last few centuries of the imperial era were dominated by Manchu styles, the birth of the republic saw a fanatic grasping for all things western and then came the Maoist dictatorship which literally declared war on all things traditionally Chinese during the horrific “Cultural Revolution”. Even after that subsided, the Han majority often felt like the only group in China that lacked something as simple as national dress.

It should go without saying that the bandit government is totally in the wrong on this issue and that the hanfu movement is a positive thing for China. Those elements of the public embracing the movement are merely reflecting the fact that there is very little truly “Chinese” about China these days. Thousands of years of history was swept aside by the revolution and the hanfu movement is proof that some people in China are awakening to the fact that China had a rich and beautiful culture before the likes of Mao Zedong, Chiang Kai-shek and Sun Yat-sen came along and ruined it, suppressing everything truly Chinese to embrace western-style republicanism and feuding economic systems. Critics have spoke condescendingly of the members of the hanfu movement as people stuck in the past, people who are anachronistic or, worst of all, people who romanticize “feudalism” (the commies love to harp about feudalism which is basically their term for anything pre-revolution). It would be too much to hope for that every member of the hanfu movement was a closet monarchist who wished to see the customs and values of Imperial China restored in the public sphere as well as the private but, alas, that is certainly not the case and those elements of the bandit government who see traces of dissent and counterrevolution everywhere are barking up the wrong tree. All they are doing in denigrating hanfu is suppressing their own history and culture rather than suppressing dissent.

Another major criticism of the hanfu movement is that it is too simplistic, it is merely cosmetic and that adopting old style clothing will not bring about any greater spiritual-nationalistic awakening in China. The simple answer to that is, “Well so what?!” It doesn’t have to be the cure-all for every problem to still be a positive thing and even if it were only cosmetic (which it is not, at least not entirely) it would still be a good thing. Even though, as a matter of personal taste, I prefer the Manchu style, I find hanfu style quite attractive and consider it infinitely preferable to the modern, grungy, western street garb most people wear, it is infinitely more dignified on a Han lady or gentleman than the tired western business suite or Clintonesque pantsuit. Regardless of personal taste, it looks better simply by virtue of being truly Chinese and not some imported fashion. True, it may not always be the most practical sort of garments but many traditional clothes are not anyway. It does not mean they should go away and there are many different ideas about how far one can take the movement. Some wish to see hanfu worn widely as everyday clothes while others wish to see them merely as acceptable, not something everyone would wear all the time but something some people would wear day to day without standing out. Still others would be content to see them used on special occasions, during festivals or such similar holidays as is often in the case in neighboring countries with their own national dress.

There is also the possibility of making hanfu something to be worn everyday but adapting it to be more practical for modern life. I think that would be great, provided of course that the classic style is preserved for special occasions as is usually the case. This has actually been done in many other countries. In Vietnam, although less common today, the late Madame Nhu popularized an adapted form of the traditional ao dai that was open at the neck. In Scotland there have been kilts made in different materials and with pockets and things to be more practical for everyday wear and even in China itself, there have already been numerous adaptations of the qipao (for ladies) that are practical and extremely attractive. So long as the original is not forgotten, adding more traditional styles to modern fashions can only be an improvement from my perspective and the people of China have every right and should feel no shame in embracing styles that are genuinely, authentically Chinese. In their opposition to this movement and their opposition that would dare to paint anything of the Qing or previous imperial eras in anything but a negative light, the communist bandit government is only proving their own insecurity, proving how fundamentally un-Chinese they really are and that they, in fact, have a deep-seated hostility to the true cultural legacy and traditions of their own people. This should have been obvious all along but many who have grown up long after the Cultural Revolution and the Deng Xiaoping era might not have been aware of it.

I have very mixed feelings about cash-strapped communist dictatorships paying actors to dress up and reenact traditional ceremonies (on the one hand, I am glad to see any attention given to the imperial era, on the other hand, doing it without *really* doing it seems almost blasphemous to me) but as far as people simply wishing to resurrect and celebrate traditional Chinese styles and ceremonies, I see it as a very positive thing. For the clothing, it simply looks better than most modern styles if nothing else and anything which encourages people to take a look back at the whole of Chinese history and not be limited to the Maoist era or post-1911 history is, in my view, a very positive thing. The hanfu movement as well as the recent renewed interest in Confucius (which the bandit government first opposed and then tried to co-opt) highlights the hunger people in China have for the magnificent imperial legacy that they have been denied. In time, perhaps, it may lead to more people reconsidering whether or not what they have been taught for so long might be in error, that Imperial China had some positive aspects (gasp!) and just maybe, eventually, this renewed interest in things traditionally Chinese might lead to the restoration of the one institution that was at the heart and center of it all: the monarchy.

Wansui!

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Soldier of Monarchy: Colonel Alexander Kazakov

The First World War saw many advances in the art of war, particularly in the harnessing of industry and modern machinery for military purposes. It was the conflict which saw the first widespread use of automatic weapons, chemical weapons, super-long range artillery, submarines, tanks and, of course, aircraft. Somewhat unfairly, the Russian Empire is usually seen as lagging far behind the other Allied powers in all of these areas, depending almost entirely on the massive hordes of Russian infantry to win battles. True enough, Imperial Russia was not as industrially advanced as some other major powers, and the tough, relentless Russian soldier was always the best weapon of the Tsar but the Imperial Russian Navy actually had the first military submarine fleet in the world, deployed from Vladivostok during the war with Japan and while Russia was taken out of the First World War before tanks came into widespread use, the Russian Empire did also take to the skies with the war planes of the Imperial Russian Air Service. In fact, Russia had been training military pilots (using French aircraft) since 1910. At the outbreak of World War I it was, in fact, the Russian Empire that had the second largest air force in the world.

The man who would achieve the greatest combat record of anyone in the Imperial Russian Air Service was Alexander Alexandrovich Kazakov. Born into a minor noble family on January 15, 1889 in Kherson Governorate (today the Ukraine), the young Kazakov wasted no time in setting his life on course for a military career. Like many future pilots (in many other countries) Kazakov first decided on the cavalry as his preferred branch of service. In 1908 he graduated from Yelizavetgrad cavalry school and served in the cavalry until 1913. First serving as a coronet in the Twelfth Lancer regiment he was promoted to lieutenant in 1911. In 1913 he decided to trade his horse in for an airplane and began undergoing training to become a pilot at the Gatchina military aviation school. He qualified as a military pilot in September of 1914, after World War I had already broken out, and was sent to the front in December as the youngest pilot of the fourth aviation corps. During his career, Kazakov flew the Morane-Saulnier, Spad - SA2, the Nieuport 11 and the Nieuport 17; all French aircraft. In quick order he would prove himself to be among the best fighter pilots the First World War would produce.

Not many may be aware of the fact that it was actually a pilot of the Imperial Russian Air Service, Pyotr Nesterov, who was the first pilot to ever attack and bring down an enemy aircraft; which he did by ramming an Austrian observation plane. On March 31, 1915 Kazakov followed in his footsteps by similarly ramming and bringing down an Austrian plane. Miraculously, he survived and was awarded the Order of Saint Anne, fourth class (later earning the third as well). With this initial victory Kazakov proved himself a pilot to be reckoned with and he soon demonstrated his abilities even further and by September was promoted to command the Nineteenth Corps Fighter Detachment, continuing to fly Nieuports. From June 27 to December 21, 1916 he brought down four more enemy aircraft to officially join that elite club of fighter pilots known as aces. The exact total of the victories of Colonel Kazakov are a little difficult to ascertain. This was due to a number of factors, one of which was the emphasis of the Russian Empire on “teamwork” which emphasized the successes of the group rather than the scores of individual pilots (Russia was not the only country to do things this way, Italy being another example). There were also the usual complications of attributing victories achieved by more than one pilot working together and victories over enemy territory or for which there were no witnesses and thus could not be confirmed.

An example of this came on May 6, 1917 when Colonel Kazakov achieved his sixth victory but which he won in cooperation with Ernst Leman and Pavel Argeyev. Nonetheless, he had shot down another plane by May 25 and by the end of his career reached a total of 20 confirmed aerial victories, making him the number one Russian ace of the First World War. His actual score, however, may have been considerably higher or a bit lower, though not enough to rob him of his ‘number one’ status. According to some sources he shot down 15 enemy planes on his own and 17 in conjunction with other pilots while still other sources claim he shot down 32 aircraft but this was most likely a number arrived at by combining both sets of victories into one total. However, whether it was 15 and 17, 20 or 32, Kazakov was certainly the most successful Russian fighter pilot of the war. Unfortunately, despite the ultimate Allied victory, the cause for which he fought was a lost one.

Kazakov was disgusted by the outbreak of the October Revolution and refused to betray his oath of loyalty to the Tsar. As a result, the revolutionary government stripped him of his rank and dismissed him from service. Later, a friend warned him that the Red Army was about to press him into service as a military aviation expert. Refusing to join the detested Red faction, Colonel Kazakov went to Murmansk in June of 1918 and from there, in August, to Archangel where he enlisted with the Slavo-British Allied Legion to fight for the White Russian faction against the Reds. He was given the rank of major in the Royal Air Force of Great Britain and appointed to command the air squadron of the legion, flying the rugged Sopwith Camel planes. Unfortunately, the British soon withdrew their support and as this vital assistance drained away, White Russian morale plummeted. On August 1, 1919, near Benezniky, Kazakov arranged an air show to cheer the troops. Sadly, he died in a plane crash in that very show. Officially, it was considered an accident, but many witnesses, such as the British flying ace Ira Jones, believed that Kazakov had crashed his plane deliberately, knowing that the counterrevolutionary cause was doomed and refusing to live on in a world in which his beloved Russian homeland was ruled by the hated Bolsheviks. Whatever the case, Russia had lost her most successful ace, one of the great pioneer fighter pilots of Russian history and a faithful soldier, loyal to the death to his Tsar and motherland.

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Guest Article: Why the Monarchy Still Matters

(This article was contributed by ABR)

Recently the CBC featured an article about the impending visit of Prince Charles and Camilla to the country this year, that was surprisingly positive about the contribution of the royals still make to Canada, such as presiding over important anniversary's that highlight the Crown's role in Canadian history, the opportunity for Canadians to connect with their Royal Family (which may come as a shock to many Canadians...), and how the sovereign embodies our rights and freedoms!

However this being the Communist Broadcasting Collective, the CBC couldn't help betray their treason as public broadcasters in monarchies tend to do, by voicing the views of that traitor group, Citizens for a Canadian Republic. This being a monarchist blog I'll try to keep their drivel to a minimum, but suffice to say in addition to their usual whining and irrational arguments, the traitors in the commentary harped on about the absurdity of having a "British foreigner" as our Head of State, and the apparent embarrassment of this as a justification for getting rid of the monarchy sooner, rather than later.

Of course it is the notion that the royals are "foreigners" that is most patently absurd, since despite their denials to the contrary, Canadians are just as British as those born in that blessed isle of Great Britain, whose roots go back generations, going by Canada's history, culture, tradition, values and form of government; which no amount of denials or legislation is going to take away soon. Why is it that a Head of State who was born outside the country not good enough, when governor-generals or even prime ministers born outside of it in living memory are? Likewise these same arguments about the Queen not being "Canadian" and living abroad, could also be made for the heads of the Anglican, Catholic, Orthodox, churches and the leaders of other faiths, but you never hear their Canadian followers complain, and again like these religious leaders, just because Queen cannot be in multiple places at once (hence why the governor-general is her representative in theory), doesn't mean she cannot do a good job.

Unlike other Canadian monarchists I won't try to gloss over the Queen's Britishness, but will use it to demonstrate what an advantage this is, because her position as this country's sovereign reminds us as Canadians, to stop being so insular or obsessed with all things American for a moment, and remember that we are not simply Canadians, but also Britons who are tied not just by bonds of history and culture, but even more importantly, by ties of blood. For our sovereign and that glorious British crown she wears, is a visible reminder of our brothers elsewhere not only in England, Scotland, Wales, Australia, and New Zealand, but also the nations that had the good sense to hold fast to the British throne, and make it also uniquely theirs.

This was after all what our ancestors intended when the kingdoms of England and Scotland were united into the Kingdom of Great Britain, and indeed goes to the heart of what the very word British means, for that word was not meant to suppress and destroy our identity but rather to complement it, for the inhabitants of that new kingdom remained just as English or Scottish as they were before, but henceforth were to be British also, which gave these two nations something in common which they never had before, and which helped bind them together in solidarity. Thus I don't think of it as shameful but rather a mark of honour, to count myself as not only as a Canadian but British too, and by doing so I hold myself as sharing something in common with not just the inhabitants of the British Isles, but also those living in Australia and New Zealand, in the same way that different relatives share a surname that sets them apart from mere strangers.

Likewise by having the good sense to retain the monarchy as the head of state for our respective realms, we retain what it represents, namely; its ethos of stability, duty, honour, paternity and impartiality, that it apart as the superior system above the republican system, with its contrasting ethos of pride, partisanship, instability, selfishness and immorality that beguile modern republican head's of state. Furthermore, we remind ourselves of our shared ties of blood in the person of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who not only serves as the personification of our shared Britishness, but her impartiality also makes her the personification of a family patriarch presiding over the British family of nations, in like manner as a grandfather or grandmother does over their own families, no matter where in the world their offspring move too.

By kicking the monarchy to the curb, despite all that it has done for our respective dominions, we remove the remaining anchor of political stability in our respective countries, descend into the even deeper seedy murky chaos that beguile republics, and soon become forgetful of our blood ties in addition to their historical and cultural ones, leading to U.S. style government tyranny and or, slavery to an organization like the EU, which is the fate that Ireland has befallen to. So long as we in Canada and the other dominions retain our common monarchy and the principles it personifies, there yet remains a glimmer of hope that all is not lost, and that things can yet get better, while it's abolition confirms all is lost, and that is why the monarchy still matters to this Alberta Royalist.

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MM Video: Q&A #3

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Royal News Roundup

Things were rather busy last week in the monarchies of the world. Starting in the English-speaking world, it was announced that HM the Queen will be making a special tour this year to mark the centenary of World War One. The biggest news, however, was the Queen’s household coming under fire from lawmakers over how they have handled their money, pointing to the estimated 50 million pounds needed to repair crumbling tombs and palaces and the like. Some suggested that the Queen rent out palaces or make Buckingham Palace open to the public more often as ways to raise money. However, the chancellor did come to the defense of his monarch, implying that the report was rather unfair and that the Queen’s household has been rather good at managing money and stretching their budget. However, in other areas, it seems more spending is always needed and the biggest area that always seems to need more is the National Health Service with the Prince of Wales speaking out for better food in British hospitals (-fighting the urge to make joke about British food-). The heir to the throne also said that climate change skeptics were like “headless chickens” which would presumably include yours truly. But, that’s okay, I’ll still support the Prince of Wales even if he does think me a headless chicken because that’s what loyalty is all about. Also, British Prime Minister “Call me Dave” Cameron said that he finds his weekly visits with the Queen very valuable because of her many years of experience. Of course, we all know that. The Queen at least is old enough to remember the days when seasoned statesmen rather than mere boys like little Davy Cameron or the bubbly bungler Tony Blair were elected prime minister. Finally, in a change that couldn’t come soon enough, the Queen has a new representative in the Land Down Under as retired General Peter Cosgrove, former defense forces chief, was appointed Governor-General of Australia. He is bound to be a drastic improvement over the last one. He is at least described as a “staunch monarchist” but, when asked about a republic (and why they insist on bringing up the subject at every opportunity is beyond me, especially considering that support for a republic is now at its lowest ebb in the last two decades) the new Governor-General said, like his sovereign, that “the will of the people” would decide. Yawn.

Moving on to the continent, HM the King of Norway attended a special commemoration for Holocaust Day last week and then joined up with the Queen to visit fire damaged areas in Flatanger while, back at the cabin, Crown Princess Mette-Marit tried her hand at weaving. On the Danish front Princess Marie brought cheer to the people of Ethiopia on her recent tour and over in Sweden one needed one’s Wellingtons to wade through all the royal gossip. Crown Princess Victoria visited Hamburg on crutches, still recovering from her ski accident but there have been rumors of wedding bells in the future for little brother Prince Carl Philip. It’s not the first time so we will have to wait and see on that one. The most shocking, however, was King Carl XVI Gustaf being named as a murder suspect in a Danish gossip rag. The editor-in-chief said it was “a draft that shouldn’t have been published” but it has still caused plenty of outrage and rightly so.

Down in the Low Countries things were fairly quiet last week but one story certainly needs addressing. The Belgian media seems to relish beating up on their Royal Family. Stories were out reporting on a *rumor* that former monarch King Albert II is boycotting events because he is upset at not getting a desired pay raise for his retirement. There is no basis, I repeat, *no basis* for such an accusation and yet it is getting mentioned all the time, even in relation to other stories the former monarch has nothing to do with. For example, King Philip and Queen Mathilde met with a group of Belgian dignitaries and in the description of the news clip it said more or less that, ‘all the Belgian royals were there, except for King Albert who is all huffy because he’s not getting more money’. Yes, it was as bad as that. In the English video at least, they had the former monarch so ‘on the brain’ that the announcer even bungled the name of the actual Belgian monarch, referring to “King Albert and Queen Mathilde”. All the palace has said is that the former monarch is not boycotting anything, he is not upset with anyone but merely wishes to stay out of the limelight in order for King Philip to have center stage. It really is quite ridiculous.

On the southern front, the biggest news this week was the second wedding of Andrea Casiraghi and Tatiana whateverlastnamesheisusing. It was a far cry from their first, low-key, exchange of vows in Monaco, held at a Swiss resort with a star-studded guest list and such activities as a fondu party and a torch-lit ski down the mountain. Tatiana wore a Valentino wedding dress and both returned to the hotel wrapped in white furs in a horse-drawn carriage. The bride walked down the isle in an 11th Century convent founded by the Order of Cluny on a carpet of rose petals to the serene sound of “Ave Maria”. The day before the ceremony the couple also appeared at the nearby church of St Joseph to have their son Sacha baptized into the Catholic Church. Princely uncle and aunt Albert II and Charlene were there of course as was little brother Pierre, sister and new mother herself Charlotte Casiraghi (along with her baby-daddy Gad) but of course pride of place went to the mother of the groom HRH Princess Caroline of Hanover. Others on the guest list included royals and celebrities from Prince Nicholas of Greece to Uma Thurmon. We wish them the best, especially since Andrea is next in line to the throne of Monaco until Prince Albert and Princess Charlene get busy and do their duty. And, speaking of church matters, the magazine that recently featured the surviving Boston bomber terrorist on its cover, yes, “Rolling Stone” last week bestowed that dubious honor on everyone’s favorite Catholic Pope Francis. However, the Vatican was less than pleased with the actual article which, while effusive in its praise of Pope Francis, contrasted that with a very negative portrayal of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Everyone is probably familiar with this, ‘Pope Francis is so warm and friendly and open and tolerant, nothing like that scary, rule-quoting conservative Benedict’. Since it was “Rolling Stone” the official Vatican response, I believe, was, “That’s totally not cool man”. And finally, in Spain, there was one small bit of good news for beleaguered Infanta Cristina as a judge ruled that she may drive to the court room rather than walk through a herd of media sleaze. It is not much, but at this point, the poor Spanish Royal Family will take what small favors may come.

On the continent of Asia, royal relatives are taking up the slack in the United Arab Emirates. As UAE President, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is recovering from surgery after suffering a stroke, his brother Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan is running things to ensure stability. The Emir of Qatar attended the graduation ceremony for the Air College last week and it was announced that King Abdullah II of Jordan will meet with President Obama in California this month. Further to the east, HM Queen Gyaltsuen Jetsun Pema of Bhutan graced with her presence the ground breaking ceremony for the Democracy house, Election Commission of Bhutan head office building in Kawa Jangsa. Moving still further east, although not concerning the monarchy directly, events in the Kingdom of Thailand are worrisome. Elections were held, or were at least attempted, as protestors demanding the resignation of the prime minister tried to block polling stations. The monarchy is in no danger from the protestors but what the prime minister’s party may do as a result, in the name of suppressing disorder, is a cause for concern. Finally, in the Land of the Rising Sun, the government is looking for some new aircraft as the Boeing 747-400s used by His Majesty the Emperor and the prime minister are being retired after more than 20 years service. The aircraft known as “Japanese Air Force One” (in some circles anyway) is used by the prime minister on official trips, was used by Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress on the recent visit to India and was even used to evacuate Japanese citizens from Algeria when terrorists seized a natural gas facility in that country. And, also this week Their Imperial Highnesses Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko were received by President Ollanta Humala of Peru on Sunday as part of a 4-day official visit to mark the 140th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Peru and Japan.

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