From The Mad Monarchist (13 May 2012)
In the Far East, on Wednesday, TIM the Emperor and Empress of Japan welcomed the President and First Lady of Peru to the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. The Emperor and the President had a short meeting after which representatives from both countries joined in talks about economic and educational cooperation. Once that business was out of the way, Their Imperial Majesties hosted a special luncheon at the Imperial Palace in honor of the Peruvian First Family. Meanwhile, down in Africa (see if this doesn’t sound familiar) the sixth wife of HM King Mswati III of Swaziland has fled the royal household claiming to have suffered from years of “physical and emotional abuse” at the hands of the King, Africa’s last absolute monarch. It should be noted that much of the information the media is passing around on this concerning the royal consort, Angela “LaGija” Dlamini, comes from the Swaziland Solidarity Network which is a pro-democracy group hostile to the monarchy and not exactly what one would call an unbiased source. No one knows where the woman in question is. Personally, I’m beginning to have a hard time with these mistreated royal wife stories coming out of Swaziland. This is the third wife to have fled and another is supposedly being held under house arrest for adultery. In virtually every article at least a line or two is included about how the royals live in luxury while the poor people barely scrape by, we hear about their lavish lifestyles and the palaces the wives have. Well, which is it? Are they living in the lap of luxury or are they poor, pitiful victims of the royal system? I’m getting tired of hearing both.
It was a busy week for royalty in Scandinavia. On Wednesday, TM King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway arrived across the Baltic in Poland for a three day visit, meeting with the First Family at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw. On Tuesday, HM Queen Silvia of Sweden was in New York City for a gala dinner for the World Childhood Foundation along with HRH Princess Madeleine and her American millionaire boyfriend Christopher O’Neill, who were properly hounded by the Swedish press of course. The next day the Swedish Queen was given a special tour of the Dublin Breast Center, an institution devoted to the physical and emotional treatment of breast cancer. And, on the other side of the world, Crown Prince Frederick and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark began their 6-day visit to the Republic of Korea.
The British put on the pomp and pageantry as only they can this week with the state opening of Parliament and HM the Queen’s speech from the House of Peers. However, to the great disappointment of this reactionary at least, it seems the LibDems got their way in making a more thorough gutting of the House of Lords a priority. Along with some legislation aimed at helping families the government (via the Queen) outlined plans to sweep away the last of the hereditary peers, reduce the size of the house and make aristocratic titles purely honorific with no claim to a seat in the upper house included. If Tony Blair mortally wounded the bicameral legislature in Britain, it seems the Clegg-Cameron combine is putting it out of its misery. Also this week The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall visited Scotland and the Prince marked the anniversary of the BBC in Scotland by reading the weather on the local news. And, HRH Prince Harry was in Washington DC on Monday where he was presented with the Atlantic Council’s Distinguished Humanitarian Leadership Award by no less a figure than former Secretary of State Colin Powell in recognition of his work for British veterans and their families. Very well done indeed. The Prince said he felt unworthy of the honor but accepted it for himself and included Prince William in it as well and called on everyone to never forget those who have, “paid a terrible price and keep us safe and free”. Very good words.
Over in the Low Countries things have been busy too. The Prince of Orange got a tour of a new sewage plant (ah, the duties of royalty). In Belgium, TRH Crown Prince Philippe and Crown Princess Mathilde attended the 800th anniversary of the Flemish city of Turnhout while at Laeken HM King Albert II received the credentials of the ambassadors of Poland, Serbia and South Korea. Princess Astrid was busy as well, visiting a charitable center in Liege that aids the homeless and those dealing with money problems (presumably a lack thereof). On Thursday King Albert II met with the members of the European Council and his old first minister, current EU President Herman Van Rompuy. And, down in Luxembourg the Grand Duke and Duchess attended a conference on responsible investing while the freshly engaged Hereditary Grand Duke traveled to Canada on a business trip. Luxembourg is looking to partner with some Canadian businesses and possibly take notes on how Canada has fared so comparatively well in the current worldwide economic crisis.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are subject to deletion if they are not germane. I have no problem with a bit of colourful language, but blasphemy or depraved profanity will not be allowed. Attacks on the Catholic Faith will not be tolerated. Comments will be deleted that are republican (Yanks! Note the lower case 'r'!), attacks on the legitimacy of Pope Francis as the Vicar of Christ (I know he's a material heretic and a Protector of Perverts, and I definitely want him gone yesterday! However, he is Pope, and I pray for him every day.), the legitimacy of the House of Windsor or of the claims of the Elder Line of the House of France, or attacks on the legitimacy of any of the currently ruling Houses of Europe.