From The Mad Monarchist (7 April 2012)
In the Middle East, HH Princess Haya of Dubai opened the 9th annual DIHAD Conference and Exhibition on Sunday at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Center. The focus of the “Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development” conference this year was the role of young people in humanitarian assistance and human development. Princess Haya’s husband, HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum is patron of the DIHAD. Farther to the north, TRM King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan welcomed the President and First Lady of Italy (that’s right, commie ‘King George’ himself) to Amman, Jordan on Monday. While the King talked about strengthening ties between Jordan and Italy with President Giorgio Napolitano, the always lovely Queen Rania took First Lady Clio Maria Bittoni on a tour of the Jordan River Foundation Showroom (the Jordan River Foundation is an NGO non-profit founded in 1995 of which Queen Rania is chairwoman). Later there was a state banquet at Basman Palace for the Italian visitors.
And, speaking of Italy, it seems that the threat of cancer is back again for HRH Prince Emanuele Filiberto of Venice and Piedmont. On Tuesday the eldest son of the last Crown Prince of Italy informed his internet followers that the “Evil has returned. I am in Geneva because tomorrow morning I am working again…This too will pass…” and added, “Thanks for all your messages…give me strength…” The Prince had a tumor removed from his nasal septum last November and thought he was cancer-free but it seems to have returned. Another surgery was scheduled for Thursday. Prince Emanuele Filiberto was the 2009 winner of the Italian version of “Dancing with the Stars” and currently has his own reality show, which (while derided by some) has made him the more well known of the two Italian claimants to the royal legacy of the House of Savoy. Although he has not campaigned for the restoration of the monarchy (being obliged to stay out of Italian politics) he has stated publicly that he considers monarchy a better system than republicanism because of the unity and impartiality that only monarchs can provide. We wish the Prince and the Italian Royal Family all the best and that he has a safe and speedy recovery.
In central Europe, HSH Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein and HSH Princess Marie Aglaë were in the Czech Republic in the Mikulov region (owned by the Liechtenstein family from 1249-1560) to open a museum dedicated to his ancestor and namesake Duke Johann Adam I, founder of the Principality of Liechtenstein. HSH Prince Hans-Adam II said, “My father had me baptized as John Adam II and instilled in me from childhood that my ancestor John Adam I was an excellent businessman. That is why I had to go to study economics, I had to build the family fortune again”. This nostalgic moment aside, there has still been trouble brewing in the usually quiet microstate between Switzerland and Austria as pro-abortion activists continue their efforts to push forward a petition that would bring about a referendum with the goal of doing away with the princely veto. The pro-abortion campaigners have complained that they have been threatened by people in the principality (which has a historically Catholic population). Only last year a referendum to liberalize the abortion laws was held but returned a pro-life decision. The Prince had threatened to use his veto if the result had been different and this, of course, angered the pro-abortion crowd who blamed the Prince for discouraging a “fair” vote and have since concentrated their efforts on removing the veto from the Prince’s powers. Hopefully they will not succeed.
Speaking of such matters, in his homily on Holy Thursday at the Cathedral of St John Lateran, HH Pope Benedict XVI made a very pointed emphasis on obedience and drew attention to a recent example of clerical disobedience by referring to a group of clergy in Austria which has banded together to advocate for all sorts of innovations (in the Catholic Church at least) such as the ordination of women, an end to the vow of celibacy, an end to the ban on artificial contraception and, well, you probably get the idea. The Pontiff said, “We think we are free and truly ourselves only if we follow our own will. God appears as the opposite of our freedom” but that this attitude is, “the fundamental lie which perverts life”. In response to the “Call to Disobedience” issued by the Austrian group the Pontiff said that these priests should look to the example of the saints and their “radicalism of obedience”.
In the United Kingdom, HM the Queen spent Maundy Thursday with TRH the Duke of Edinburgh and granddaughter Princess Beatrice of York in the traditional way at York Minster, handing out special Royal Maundy money to 172 assembled pensioners, followed by lunch at Mansion House and a visit to a new exhibition at the Yorkshire Museum titled “1212: The Making of the City”. This tradition goes back to King George V in 1932 who personally handed out money on Maundy Thursday, which is most often done at Westminster Abbey but can be done anywhere. Prior to that time a lesser royal usually attended the Maundy service in place of the monarch. Previous monarchs would wash the feet of the poor in imitation of Christ but the last to perform that custom was King James II. King William III did not continue the practice and fairly quickly stopped attending the Maundy services altogether. Since King George V revived the custom of royal attendance it has been carried on ever since as one of the most expected and recognized British royal traditions.
There has been a lot of royal news in the Kingdom of Spain this week. Last Thursday a Spanish punk band (a punk band? Seriously? Do they know the 80’s are over?) was fined approximately $1,170 for a song which grossly insulted HM King Juan Carlos I. The group who brought charges against them had sought a much larger fine (€130,000) and frankly I think they deserve worse than that -at least the loss of their citizenship and deportation I would say. I will not publicize this disgusting bunch of republican attention-whores nor will I repeat what they said about their King -it is just vile. I will say that some of the lyrics referred to the King as a “dictator” and a good friend of the late Generalissimo Francisco Franco. These outdated republican ingrates might consider the fact that were it not for the King they denigrate they would most likely not be allowed to exist at all and certainly would not have the freedom to spew their hatred for their own country. It never ceases to amaze me how these idiots can blindly use the very freedoms their monarch provides to insult their monarchs and accuse them of tyranny. It is just disgusting. Absolutely disgusting.
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