The Monarchist 1.0
Defending the British Crown Commonwealth and the English-Speaking Peoples
[+] HONOURING OUR PATRON, SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL, VICTOR OF THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING PEOPLES
[+] HONOURING OUR QUEEN, ELIZABETH THE SECOND, ON THE 80TH YEAR OF HER BIRTH (1926 - 2006)
[+] HONOURING OUR KING, SAINT EDWARD THE CONFESSOR, ON THE 1000TH YEAR OF HIS BIRTH (1005 - 2005)
[+] HONOURING OUR HERO, LORD NELSON, ON THE BICENTENNIAL OF THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR (1805 - 2005)
[+] HONOURING OUR SONS, THE QUEEN'S COMMONWEALTH SOLDIERS KILLED IN THE 'WAR ON TERROR'
Chief Warrant Officer Robert Girouard, 46, Royal Canadian Regiment, Nov 27, 2006 (Afstan)
Staff Sergeant Sharron Elliott, 34, Intelligence Corps, Nov 12, 2006 (Iraq)
Private Jacob B. Kovco, 25, Royal Australian Regiment, April 21, 2006
[+] HONOURING OUR VETS ON THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE VICTORIA CROSS (1856 - 2006)
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
United Kingdoms of the Commonwealth
My favourite political party in the Universe happens to be the English Democratic Party, formerly called the English Freedom Party. Its prescription for a United Kingdoms of a truly free and independent England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is exactly what I would like to see extended to the rest of the Crown Commonwealth. In an ideal world, their policy aims, which I have amended slightly, would be replicated in every one of our respective Realms:
1. To protect the interests of the English Nation, our way of life, our ancient law-tradition and custom, our countryside and environment.
2. The Independence of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to coincide with a new stronger Act of Union of the truly Independent Nation States of the United Kingdoms of Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica and the other Realms of the Crown Commonwealth.
3. To restore the Supreme Sovereignty of the English Parliament at Westminster and thus the repeal of all legislation which gives rights to foreign powers and institutions over parliament.
4. The acceptance of our House of Commons of a "Declaration of Right" on behalf of the English for the implementation of a new Magna Carta to protect the Sovereignty and other Rights of the English.
5. To foster Free Trade and strengthen our political links with the English speaking Nations of the World. At home, to amend the Patent Act and other legislation that discourages or can destroy the Inventive Ideas and the future livelihood of our citizens.
6. Increase the strength and efficiency of our Armed Forces, particularly our Front-line troops, Ships-of-the-Line and the Fighter Squadrons of the Royal Air Force.
7. The establishment by Parliament of a Supreme Court known as the "Conservators of the Privileges of the Realm" as guardians of the Constitution and Sovereignty of England, and arbitrator of complaints of corruption in the House of Commons.
8. To provide more resources for Law and Order. To return the Police Constable to the community, particularly the Parish where until recent times he had been in existence for well over a thousand years. A County Prison, for low category prisoners and more secure accommodation for the persistent juvenile offender.
9. The creation of a Supreme Representative Assembly which will consist of an Islands Peoples Council (Round Table) of twelve members from each of the Nation States to maintain the security and the economic stability of the British Isles.
10. Owe allegiance to our gracious Queen - Elizabeth II and with the consent of the Nation States of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica… the overall Monarch of the Independent Nation States of the United Kingdoms of the Commonwealth.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 12:40 p.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
My favourite political party in the Universe happens to be the English Democratic Party, formerly called the English Freedom Party. Its prescription for a United Kingdoms of a truly free and independent England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is exactly what I would like to see extended to the rest of the Crown Commonwealth. In an ideal world, their policy aims, which I have amended slightly, would be replicated in every one of our respective Realms:
1. To protect the interests of the English Nation, our way of life, our ancient law-tradition and custom, our countryside and environment.2. The Independence of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to coincide with a new stronger Act of Union of the truly Independent Nation States of the United Kingdoms of Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica and the other Realms of the Crown Commonwealth.
3. To restore the Supreme Sovereignty of the English Parliament at Westminster and thus the repeal of all legislation which gives rights to foreign powers and institutions over parliament.
4. The acceptance of our House of Commons of a "Declaration of Right" on behalf of the English for the implementation of a new Magna Carta to protect the Sovereignty and other Rights of the English.
5. To foster Free Trade and strengthen our political links with the English speaking Nations of the World. At home, to amend the Patent Act and other legislation that discourages or can destroy the Inventive Ideas and the future livelihood of our citizens.
6. Increase the strength and efficiency of our Armed Forces, particularly our Front-line troops, Ships-of-the-Line and the Fighter Squadrons of the Royal Air Force.
7. The establishment by Parliament of a Supreme Court known as the "Conservators of the Privileges of the Realm" as guardians of the Constitution and Sovereignty of England, and arbitrator of complaints of corruption in the House of Commons.
8. To provide more resources for Law and Order. To return the Police Constable to the community, particularly the Parish where until recent times he had been in existence for well over a thousand years. A County Prison, for low category prisoners and more secure accommodation for the persistent juvenile offender.
9. The creation of a Supreme Representative Assembly which will consist of an Islands Peoples Council (Round Table) of twelve members from each of the Nation States to maintain the security and the economic stability of the British Isles.
10. Owe allegiance to our gracious Queen - Elizabeth II and with the consent of the Nation States of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica… the overall Monarch of the Independent Nation States of the United Kingdoms of the Commonwealth.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 12:40 p.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
Canadian Blog Awards 2005
The Monarchist has been nominated for best blog post in the annual 2005 Canadian Blog Awards. Round one results are expected December 2, with round two results coming on December 11. Click here to vote today.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 9:39 a.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
The Monarchist has been nominated for best blog post in the annual 2005 Canadian Blog Awards. Round one results are expected December 2, with round two results coming on December 11. Click here to vote today.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 9:39 a.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
The good, the bad and the ugly
The Good
The Queen's Vice-Regal. Today the Governor-General of Canada dressed down her staff for publicly calling the Rideau Hall Christmas tree a holiday tree. Most excellent, Your Excellency.
The Bad
The Libranos. But you already knew that. Also the terrorists who are holding the British and Canadian Christian Peace activists in Iraq. The Christian pacifist organization that they work for is now blaming Britain and the United States on their aggression in Iraq for causing this. Note to Christians in Iraq: Get the hell out of there, or, at the very least, don't call yourselves Christians. You're the infidel. If you get caught, chances are they will slit your throat.
The Ugly
The Media. Leading up to the fall of the federal government, the press was spinning the Liberal message that Canadians don't want their Christmas holidays interrupted by an unwanted election and will punish the opposition parties for triggering one. Cause, you know, the enforcement of democracy is a real drag, dude. A trip to the ballot box in the snow is a real pain in the backside. Can't be bothered, mang. Would rather wait to the Spring or something. Elections suck big time. Note to whiny, pathetic so-called citizens who believe this: You're sad, you know that? You sad little wretched soul. In 1864, the people of the United States took the time and effort to vote in Presidential and Congressional elections in the middle of their great Civil War! But you're so feeble-minded you can't spare a moment for it under the best of circumstances. And I'm supposed to owe you my allegiance? Not anymore, dudes. Can't be bothered.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 12:46 a.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
The Good
The Queen's Vice-Regal. Today the Governor-General of Canada dressed down her staff for publicly calling the Rideau Hall Christmas tree a holiday tree. Most excellent, Your Excellency.The Bad
The Libranos. But you already knew that. Also the terrorists who are holding the British and Canadian Christian Peace activists in Iraq. The Christian pacifist organization that they work for is now blaming Britain and the United States on their aggression in Iraq for causing this. Note to Christians in Iraq: Get the hell out of there, or, at the very least, don't call yourselves Christians. You're the infidel. If you get caught, chances are they will slit your throat.
The Ugly
The Media. Leading up to the fall of the federal government, the press was spinning the Liberal message that Canadians don't want their Christmas holidays interrupted by an unwanted election and will punish the opposition parties for triggering one. Cause, you know, the enforcement of democracy is a real drag, dude. A trip to the ballot box in the snow is a real pain in the backside. Can't be bothered, mang. Would rather wait to the Spring or something. Elections suck big time. Note to whiny, pathetic so-called citizens who believe this: You're sad, you know that? You sad little wretched soul. In 1864, the people of the United States took the time and effort to vote in Presidential and Congressional elections in the middle of their great Civil War! But you're so feeble-minded you can't spare a moment for it under the best of circumstances. And I'm supposed to owe you my allegiance? Not anymore, dudes. Can't be bothered.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 12:46 a.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Patriotism is the last refuge of the scandalous
Photo right: Liberals wrap themselves in the flag, claiming only they can promote national unity and defend “Canadian values” after losing a confidence motion 171-133 in the House of Commons yesterday. Prime Minister Paul Martin this morning requested the Queen dissolve Parliament and schedule federal election for January 23.
Which is a slight variation to the good doctor’s quote that (false) patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. For Samuel Johnson was not indicting patriotism, only the false variant, the kind that manifests itself in ways all too familiar to the Liberal Party of Canada. But Liberals here even offend that rule: For them it is the first resort, the last resort, indeed the only resort, for a political party so bereft in moral compass that evidentiary testimony now links them to organized crime, thanks to the work of a Royal Commission of Inquiry.
A Royal Commission like no other
The findings of that inquiry are so shocking (basically an elaborate money laundering and kickback scheme, using government advertising contracts to enrich the Party to the tune of tens of millions at taxpayer expense, all in the name of national unity by promoting Canada in Quebec at sponsorship events), it is amazing that it took so long to bring them down in a confidence motion. Adscam essentially bankrolled the Liberals’ 1997 and 2000 election majority wins, defrauding a fair-minded people of their democracy and tarnishing our country in the process. But there they go shamelessly wrapping themselves in the flag as if they own it. There they go using the national flag to emasculate their corruption, now cornered like rats on a sinking ship, spending like drunken sailors and desperately clinging to any vestige of patriotism in order to save themselves.
Decent people everywhere, brace yourselves to your duty. This is going to be the nastiest election campaign in Canadian history. Remember, at the end of the day there is only one crucial stake in this general election. Your self-respect. That, and a country called Canada.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 2:03 p.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
Photo right: Liberals wrap themselves in the flag, claiming only they can promote national unity and defend “Canadian values” after losing a confidence motion 171-133 in the House of Commons yesterday. Prime Minister Paul Martin this morning requested the Queen dissolve Parliament and schedule federal election for January 23.Which is a slight variation to the good doctor’s quote that (false) patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. For Samuel Johnson was not indicting patriotism, only the false variant, the kind that manifests itself in ways all too familiar to the Liberal Party of Canada. But Liberals here even offend that rule: For them it is the first resort, the last resort, indeed the only resort, for a political party so bereft in moral compass that evidentiary testimony now links them to organized crime, thanks to the work of a Royal Commission of Inquiry.
A Royal Commission like no other
The findings of that inquiry are so shocking (basically an elaborate money laundering and kickback scheme, using government advertising contracts to enrich the Party to the tune of tens of millions at taxpayer expense, all in the name of national unity by promoting Canada in Quebec at sponsorship events), it is amazing that it took so long to bring them down in a confidence motion. Adscam essentially bankrolled the Liberals’ 1997 and 2000 election majority wins, defrauding a fair-minded people of their democracy and tarnishing our country in the process. But there they go shamelessly wrapping themselves in the flag as if they own it. There they go using the national flag to emasculate their corruption, now cornered like rats on a sinking ship, spending like drunken sailors and desperately clinging to any vestige of patriotism in order to save themselves.
Decent people everywhere, brace yourselves to your duty. This is going to be the nastiest election campaign in Canadian history. Remember, at the end of the day there is only one crucial stake in this general election. Your self-respect. That, and a country called Canada.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 2:03 p.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
The Usurper is Fallen!
The government of Paul Martin sometime Prime Minister of Canada fell today after having lost the confidence of the nation for the second time in less than a year when a motion of censure passed the House of Commons 171 to 133. My post at Anglosphere Union Now is here.
POSTED BY: adams AT 12:33 a.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
The government of Paul Martin sometime Prime Minister of Canada fell today after having lost the confidence of the nation for the second time in less than a year when a motion of censure passed the House of Commons 171 to 133. My post at Anglosphere Union Now is here.
POSTED BY: adams AT 12:33 a.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
Monday, November 28, 2005
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers
And a dwindling band of brothers it is. Clare Laking, 106, last Canadian soldier to have seen action on the Western Front has died. Great War vets still alive are now zero from New Zealand, four from Australia, four from Canada, 14 from the UK and 24 from the United States. Looking down the short remaining list, we find a Moses Hardy from Mississippi who was born in 1893!
Australia
Choles, Claude, Navy, b. 3 March 1901 (born in the UK and fought in the British army; subsequently emigrated to Australia)
Lucas, Syd, b. 21 September 1900 (Australian resident; fought for UK)
Ross, John Campbell, b. 11 March 1899 (last Australian digger)
Young, Will(iam), Royal Flying Corps, b. 4 January 1900 (same as for Choles and Lucas; went over to Australia after World War II)
Canada
Babcock, John F. (Spokane, Washington), b. 23 July 1900
Clemett, Brad Lloyd (Toronto), b. 10 December 1899
Procter, William "Duke" (Enderby, British Columbia), b. 18 August 1899
Wilson, Dwight "Percy" (Oshawa), b. 26 February 1901
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Allingham, Henry, b. 6 June 1896
Butcher, Stephen, Navy, b. 20 February 1904
Choles, Claude, Navy, b. 3 March 1901 (born in the UK and fought in the British army; subsequently emigrated to Australia)
Cummins, Kenneth, Navy, b. 6 March 1900
Lawton, Professor Harold, East Yorkshire Regiment, b. 27 July 1899
Lucas, Syd(ney), b. 21 September 1900 (Australian resident; fought for the UK)
Newcombe, Harry, Sussex Regiment, b. 5 August 1900
Pajaczkowski, Jerzy, b. 19 July 1894 (born in Austria-Hungary)
Patch, Harry, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, b. 17 June 1898
Rigby, Andrew, First Lancashire Fusiliers, b. 2 November 1900
Roberts, William ("Bill"), Royal Flying Corps, b. 29 September 1900
Stone, William ("Bill"), Navy, b. 23 September 1900
Swarbrick, Nicholas, Merchant Navy, b. 14 November 1898
Young, Will(iam), Royal Flying Corps, b. 4 January 1900 (same as for Choles and Lucas; went over to Australia after World War II)
United States of America
Anderson, Homer (Florida), Balloon Corps, b. 24 December 1897
Boice, Harold F., b. 8 September 1897
Brown, Lloyd (Maryland), Navy, b. 7 October 1901
Buchanan, Russell (New York), Navy, b. 24 January 1900
Buckles, Frank Woodroff (Virginia), Army, b. February 1, 1901
Bustos, Felix (Colorado), b. circa 1902
Coffey, J. Russell (Ohio), Army, b. 1 September 1898
Gardner, Harold (Pennsylvania), Army, b. 3 December 1898
Grill, Max (New York), b. 24 April 1900
Hardy, Moses (Mississippi), b. 6 January 1893
Johnson, George (California), b. 1 May 1894
Krueger, Merlyn (Washington), b. 8 April 1895
Little, David Samuel "Tex" (Wyoming), Army, b. circa 1903
Mercado del Toro, Emiliano (Puerto Rico), b. 21 August 1891
Myers, Kenneth (Texas), Navy, b. 18 April 1898
Pierro, Anthony (Massachusetts), b. 15 February 1896 (born in Italy)
Poor, Justin (Florida), Navy, b. 4 August 1899
Pusey, Ernest Charles (Florida), Navy, b. 5 May 1895
Ramsey, Howard Verne (Oregon), Army, b. 2 April 1898
Rex, Robley (Kentucky), b. 4 May 1901
Steer, Frank, Army, b. 12 January 1901
Wagner, Albert Fred "Jud" (Kansas), Marines, b. 5 September 1899
Warmington, Arthur (New Jersey), b. 18 September 1895
Winters, Charlotte (Washington), Navy, b. 10 November 1897
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 1:33 p.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
And a dwindling band of brothers it is. Clare Laking, 106, last Canadian soldier to have seen action on the Western Front has died. Great War vets still alive are now zero from New Zealand, four from Australia, four from Canada, 14 from the UK and 24 from the United States. Looking down the short remaining list, we find a Moses Hardy from Mississippi who was born in 1893!Australia
Choles, Claude, Navy, b. 3 March 1901 (born in the UK and fought in the British army; subsequently emigrated to Australia)
Lucas, Syd, b. 21 September 1900 (Australian resident; fought for UK)
Ross, John Campbell, b. 11 March 1899 (last Australian digger)
Young, Will(iam), Royal Flying Corps, b. 4 January 1900 (same as for Choles and Lucas; went over to Australia after World War II)
Canada
Babcock, John F. (Spokane, Washington), b. 23 July 1900
Clemett, Brad Lloyd (Toronto), b. 10 December 1899
Procter, William "Duke" (Enderby, British Columbia), b. 18 August 1899
Wilson, Dwight "Percy" (Oshawa), b. 26 February 1901
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Allingham, Henry, b. 6 June 1896
Butcher, Stephen, Navy, b. 20 February 1904
Choles, Claude, Navy, b. 3 March 1901 (born in the UK and fought in the British army; subsequently emigrated to Australia)
Cummins, Kenneth, Navy, b. 6 March 1900
Lawton, Professor Harold, East Yorkshire Regiment, b. 27 July 1899
Lucas, Syd(ney), b. 21 September 1900 (Australian resident; fought for the UK)
Newcombe, Harry, Sussex Regiment, b. 5 August 1900
Pajaczkowski, Jerzy, b. 19 July 1894 (born in Austria-Hungary)
Patch, Harry, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, b. 17 June 1898
Rigby, Andrew, First Lancashire Fusiliers, b. 2 November 1900
Roberts, William ("Bill"), Royal Flying Corps, b. 29 September 1900
Stone, William ("Bill"), Navy, b. 23 September 1900
Swarbrick, Nicholas, Merchant Navy, b. 14 November 1898
Young, Will(iam), Royal Flying Corps, b. 4 January 1900 (same as for Choles and Lucas; went over to Australia after World War II)
United States of America
Anderson, Homer (Florida), Balloon Corps, b. 24 December 1897
Boice, Harold F., b. 8 September 1897
Brown, Lloyd (Maryland), Navy, b. 7 October 1901
Buchanan, Russell (New York), Navy, b. 24 January 1900
Buckles, Frank Woodroff (Virginia), Army, b. February 1, 1901
Bustos, Felix (Colorado), b. circa 1902
Coffey, J. Russell (Ohio), Army, b. 1 September 1898
Gardner, Harold (Pennsylvania), Army, b. 3 December 1898
Grill, Max (New York), b. 24 April 1900
Hardy, Moses (Mississippi), b. 6 January 1893
Johnson, George (California), b. 1 May 1894
Krueger, Merlyn (Washington), b. 8 April 1895
Little, David Samuel "Tex" (Wyoming), Army, b. circa 1903
Mercado del Toro, Emiliano (Puerto Rico), b. 21 August 1891
Myers, Kenneth (Texas), Navy, b. 18 April 1898
Pierro, Anthony (Massachusetts), b. 15 February 1896 (born in Italy)
Poor, Justin (Florida), Navy, b. 4 August 1899
Pusey, Ernest Charles (Florida), Navy, b. 5 May 1895
Ramsey, Howard Verne (Oregon), Army, b. 2 April 1898
Rex, Robley (Kentucky), b. 4 May 1901
Steer, Frank, Army, b. 12 January 1901
Wagner, Albert Fred "Jud" (Kansas), Marines, b. 5 September 1899
Warmington, Arthur (New Jersey), b. 18 September 1895
Winters, Charlotte (Washington), Navy, b. 10 November 1897
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 1:33 p.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Not so vile a sin as self-neglecting
THE MONARCHIST QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Self-love, my liege, is not so vile a sin, as self-neglecting.
O! for a muse of fire, that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention; a kingdom for a stage, princes to act and monarchs to behold the swelling scene.
Every subject’s duty is the king’s; but every subject’s soul is his own.
Men of few words are the best men.
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; or close the wall up with our English dead! In peace there's nothing so becomes a man as modest stillness and humility: But when the blast of war blows in our ears, then imitate the action of the tiger; stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, disguise fair nature with hard-favoured rage; then lend the eye a terrible aspect.
But if it be a sin to covet honour, I am the most offending soul alive.
This day is called the feast of Crispian: He that outlives this day and comes safe home, will stand a tip-toe when this day is named, and rouse him at the name of Crispian. He that shall live this day, and see old age, will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours, and say, 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian:' Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars, and say, 'These wounds I had on Crispin's day.' Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot, but he'll remember with advantages what feats he did that day. Then shall our names, familiar in his mouth as household words, Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter, Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester, be in their flowing cups freshly remembered. This story shall the good man teach his son; and Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by, from this day to the ending of the world, but we in it shall be rememberèd; we few, we happy few, we band of brothers; for he to-day that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile this day shall gentle his condition: And gentlemen in England, now a-bed shall think themselves accursed they were not here, and hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks that fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.
If he be not fellow with the best king, thou shalt find the best king of good fellows.
For there is none of you so mean and base that hath not noble luster in your eyes. I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips, straining upon the start. The game's afoot! Follow your spirit, and upon this charge cry, "God for Harry! England and Saint George!"
-- William Shakespeare, Henry V
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 10:09 p.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
THE MONARCHIST QUOTE OF THE WEEKSelf-love, my liege, is not so vile a sin, as self-neglecting.
O! for a muse of fire, that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention; a kingdom for a stage, princes to act and monarchs to behold the swelling scene.
Every subject’s duty is the king’s; but every subject’s soul is his own.
Men of few words are the best men.
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; or close the wall up with our English dead! In peace there's nothing so becomes a man as modest stillness and humility: But when the blast of war blows in our ears, then imitate the action of the tiger; stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, disguise fair nature with hard-favoured rage; then lend the eye a terrible aspect.
But if it be a sin to covet honour, I am the most offending soul alive.
This day is called the feast of Crispian: He that outlives this day and comes safe home, will stand a tip-toe when this day is named, and rouse him at the name of Crispian. He that shall live this day, and see old age, will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours, and say, 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian:' Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars, and say, 'These wounds I had on Crispin's day.' Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot, but he'll remember with advantages what feats he did that day. Then shall our names, familiar in his mouth as household words, Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter, Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester, be in their flowing cups freshly remembered. This story shall the good man teach his son; and Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by, from this day to the ending of the world, but we in it shall be rememberèd; we few, we happy few, we band of brothers; for he to-day that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile this day shall gentle his condition: And gentlemen in England, now a-bed shall think themselves accursed they were not here, and hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks that fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.If he be not fellow with the best king, thou shalt find the best king of good fellows.
For there is none of you so mean and base that hath not noble luster in your eyes. I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips, straining upon the start. The game's afoot! Follow your spirit, and upon this charge cry, "God for Harry! England and Saint George!"
-- William Shakespeare, Henry V
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 10:09 p.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Vexillology of the Anglosphere
The new row of flags across the top, the consistent pattern of red, white and blue, illustrates the thousand year evolution of our cultural expansion over the world, from the beginning of a unified England to the present day 50-star United States of America. I believe it is a coherent representation of our peoples' continuing influence in a world that is gradually being assimilated towards our values and way of thinking. The "War on Terror" and the cultural confrontation with Islam in recent years has not stemmed this process, but accelerated it.
We are a monarchist blog, a Commonwealth blog and therefore a cultural blog too. It goes without saying that to be culturally coherent we are required to include America in the mix as well, a people who, after all, fell under the British Crown for fully half of their current history. The Grand Union Flag prior to the American Revolution represented that grand hope of unity under a common flag, that we might go ahead together and settle, civilise and free a world from barbarism and tyranny. But like all grand experiments we encountered a schism along the way. This would be a venture whose success the Crown would have to share.
Note to readers: In the interest of limited space, not all flags could be included. Flags representing populations under five million did not make the cut.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 1:46 p.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
The new row of flags across the top, the consistent pattern of red, white and blue, illustrates the thousand year evolution of our cultural expansion over the world, from the beginning of a unified England to the present day 50-star United States of America. I believe it is a coherent representation of our peoples' continuing influence in a world that is gradually being assimilated towards our values and way of thinking. The "War on Terror" and the cultural confrontation with Islam in recent years has not stemmed this process, but accelerated it.We are a monarchist blog, a Commonwealth blog and therefore a cultural blog too. It goes without saying that to be culturally coherent we are required to include America in the mix as well, a people who, after all, fell under the British Crown for fully half of their current history. The Grand Union Flag prior to the American Revolution represented that grand hope of unity under a common flag, that we might go ahead together and settle, civilise and free a world from barbarism and tyranny. But like all grand experiments we encountered a schism along the way. This would be a venture whose success the Crown would have to share.
Note to readers: In the interest of limited space, not all flags could be included. Flags representing populations under five million did not make the cut.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 1:46 p.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
Monday, November 21, 2005
More glorious to see it, than pleasure to bear it
THE MONARCHIST QUOTE OF THE WEEK
To be a king and wear a crown is more glorious to them that see it than it is a pleasure to them that bear it.
Queen Elizabeth I.
There is nothing about which I am more anxious than my country, and for its sake I am willing to die ten deaths, if that be possible.
Queen Elizabeth I, in 1564.
Have a care over my people. You have my people - do you that which I ought to do. They are my people. Every man oppresseth and spoileth them without mercy. They cannot revenge their quarrel, nor help themselves. See unto them - see unto them, for they are my charge. I charge you, even as God hath charged me. I care not for myself; my life is not dear to me. My care is for my people. I pray God, whoever succeedeth me, be as careful of them as I am.”
Queen Elizabeth I, addressing her judges, 1559.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 12:22 p.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
THE MONARCHIST QUOTE OF THE WEEKTo be a king and wear a crown is more glorious to them that see it than it is a pleasure to them that bear it.
Queen Elizabeth I.
There is nothing about which I am more anxious than my country, and for its sake I am willing to die ten deaths, if that be possible.
Queen Elizabeth I, in 1564.
Have a care over my people. You have my people - do you that which I ought to do. They are my people. Every man oppresseth and spoileth them without mercy. They cannot revenge their quarrel, nor help themselves. See unto them - see unto them, for they are my charge. I charge you, even as God hath charged me. I care not for myself; my life is not dear to me. My care is for my people. I pray God, whoever succeedeth me, be as careful of them as I am.”
Queen Elizabeth I, addressing her judges, 1559.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 12:22 p.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
Friday, November 18, 2005
Beaverbrook, Esq.
My breast is beating with pride. Apparently I’m entitled to social rank and privilege within the baronetage as an esquire, formerly considered to be an apprentice knight or a lord of the manor, which is ordered one notch below knight and one notch above gentleman. Debrett’s Peerage and Baronetage confirms this down at the very bottom, which adds commissioned officer in Her Majesty’s Navy (it specifically states Royal Navy, though I’m sure this could be interpreted to cover any of Her Majesty’s navies) as one of the office holders entitled to the rank of esquire.
Now I don’t care one wit what people might think of this. Who does he think he is, anyways – some haughty, portentous aristocrat? Absolutely not. I believe in pomp, not pomposity, much as one would support profit, not profiteering. For those unable to comprehend this distinction, there’s an appreciable difference between dignified honour and snooty arrogance. I believe in ordered equality, a society that recognizes the equal dignity of every person but one that is structured around natural hierarchies. Her Majesty is an ordinary person, but she represents something greater, something divine. Likewise, gentleman (Mr.) and esquire (Esq.), though not of the nobility, is something noble all the same, for it rises us above the ignoble, above the beast in all of us.
But then again, what does an unreconstructed hyper-traditionalist like me know, anyways? Especially one who is still stuck in the 15th century. Remember, Burke said chivalry was gone, not dead. I guess I'm still holding out hope.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 3:39 p.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
My breast is beating with pride. Apparently I’m entitled to social rank and privilege within the baronetage as an esquire, formerly considered to be an apprentice knight or a lord of the manor, which is ordered one notch below knight and one notch above gentleman. Debrett’s Peerage and Baronetage confirms this down at the very bottom, which adds commissioned officer in Her Majesty’s Navy (it specifically states Royal Navy, though I’m sure this could be interpreted to cover any of Her Majesty’s navies) as one of the office holders entitled to the rank of esquire.Now I don’t care one wit what people might think of this. Who does he think he is, anyways – some haughty, portentous aristocrat? Absolutely not. I believe in pomp, not pomposity, much as one would support profit, not profiteering. For those unable to comprehend this distinction, there’s an appreciable difference between dignified honour and snooty arrogance. I believe in ordered equality, a society that recognizes the equal dignity of every person but one that is structured around natural hierarchies. Her Majesty is an ordinary person, but she represents something greater, something divine. Likewise, gentleman (Mr.) and esquire (Esq.), though not of the nobility, is something noble all the same, for it rises us above the ignoble, above the beast in all of us.
But then again, what does an unreconstructed hyper-traditionalist like me know, anyways? Especially one who is still stuck in the 15th century. Remember, Burke said chivalry was gone, not dead. I guess I'm still holding out hope.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 3:39 p.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
Thursday, November 17, 2005
The death of Bloody Mary
Actes and Monuments of these latter and perilous Dayes, touching matters of the Church, wherein are comprehended and described the great Persecution and horrible Troubles that have been wrought and practised by the Romishe Prelates, especiallye in this Realme of England and Scotland, from the yeare of our Lorde a thousande to the time now present.
Title of the Immensely Influential “Book of Martyrs”
By John Foxe (1516-1587)
On this day 447 years ago, November 17, 1558, Mary I, Queen of England and Ireland (not to be confused with Mary, Queen of Scots who lived at the same time) died, and with it one of the bloodiest reigns of Tudor England. In the short five years of her sovereignty, almost three hundred prominent Protestant dissenters were executed (burnt at the stake), twice as many as had suffered the same fate during the previous century and a half of English history, and at a greater rate than under the contemporary Spanish Inquisition. Mary Tudor and her policy of religious persecution were later vilified by John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, whose work became hugely popular and influential in reversing this policy and cementing England as a firmly Protestant country.
Had Mary lived as long as her half-sister and successor to the throne, Elizabeth I, Great Britain today would no doubt be a Catholic nation. Queen Elizabeth’s reign, after all, lasted seven times longer. In reversing Mary’s puritanical Catholic policy, Elizabeth ended up executing just as many Catholics (Mary, Queen of Scots being only the most famous) as Mary, Protestants, but over a much longer period of time (it must be remembered that some of these were actually traitors though thanks to Elizabeth’s spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham). It was the great Elizabethan age that firmly implanted Protestantism throughout England, for which no subsequent Catholic monarch could counter, Charles I failed attempt of course being the most famous of these.
So if you're not too busy tonight, stop by the local pub and ask the bartender to pour you a Bloody Mary. Remember, for all of our days of yore lamenting, there are worse fates than being stuck in a fanatically unbelieving age.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 12:07 p.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
Actes and Monuments of these latter and perilous Dayes, touching matters of the Church, wherein are comprehended and described the great Persecution and horrible Troubles that have been wrought and practised by the Romishe Prelates, especiallye in this Realme of England and Scotland, from the yeare of our Lorde a thousande to the time now present.Title of the Immensely Influential “Book of Martyrs”
By John Foxe (1516-1587)
On this day 447 years ago, November 17, 1558, Mary I, Queen of England and Ireland (not to be confused with Mary, Queen of Scots who lived at the same time) died, and with it one of the bloodiest reigns of Tudor England. In the short five years of her sovereignty, almost three hundred prominent Protestant dissenters were executed (burnt at the stake), twice as many as had suffered the same fate during the previous century and a half of English history, and at a greater rate than under the contemporary Spanish Inquisition. Mary Tudor and her policy of religious persecution were later vilified by John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, whose work became hugely popular and influential in reversing this policy and cementing England as a firmly Protestant country.
Had Mary lived as long as her half-sister and successor to the throne, Elizabeth I, Great Britain today would no doubt be a Catholic nation. Queen Elizabeth’s reign, after all, lasted seven times longer. In reversing Mary’s puritanical Catholic policy, Elizabeth ended up executing just as many Catholics (Mary, Queen of Scots being only the most famous) as Mary, Protestants, but over a much longer period of time (it must be remembered that some of these were actually traitors though thanks to Elizabeth’s spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham). It was the great Elizabethan age that firmly implanted Protestantism throughout England, for which no subsequent Catholic monarch could counter, Charles I failed attempt of course being the most famous of these.So if you're not too busy tonight, stop by the local pub and ask the bartender to pour you a Bloody Mary. Remember, for all of our days of yore lamenting, there are worse fates than being stuck in a fanatically unbelieving age.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 12:07 p.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
The salt that purifies the heart
This story just warms my heart. The establishment of Knight Schools in England and the startling results they have produced for this test community in Lincolnshire with once rancorous and loutish youths. The community is now apparently filled with good mannered, chivalrous boys, thanks to the imaginative idea of Sgt Gary Brown, Britain's Policeman of the Year:
"His innovative scheme to transform Spilsby began when he formed the Knight School, a course for six- to eight-year-olds that instils a chivalrous code of courtesy, respect and pride in the youngsters. So far, more than 130 children have "passed out" from Knight School and Sgt Brown has set up a whole host of local projects that have enticed teenagers off the street and into community work."
"Everything has been based around the whole idea of returning to the concept of a medieval society - one in which people rely less on their local authorities and more on themselves and their neighbours to turn around their town," Sgt Brown explains as he settles back in his knight's throne in the new centre. "Instilling a sense of personal pride, of mannerly and compassionate behaviour and of respect for oneself and for others in a child in its formative years is, I believe, the way to becoming happier and more responsible as they enter young adulthood. If it saves one child from a life of crime then it has been worth it."
"We knights of the Knight School pledge that we will treat everybody with courtesy and respect", the children chorus, clutching their toy swords and shields. Each has been given a knight's name and, if they pass the course, will receive their knighthood at a special ceremony and banquet in the town."
A Sgt Brown in every community, a Knight School in every town, the Code of Chivalry implanted in the indelible minds of our youth; ladies and gentlemen what more could a society possibly ask to better itself for the future!
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 12:12 a.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
This story just warms my heart. The establishment of Knight Schools in England and the startling results they have produced for this test community in Lincolnshire with once rancorous and loutish youths. The community is now apparently filled with good mannered, chivalrous boys, thanks to the imaginative idea of Sgt Gary Brown, Britain's Policeman of the Year:"His innovative scheme to transform Spilsby began when he formed the Knight School, a course for six- to eight-year-olds that instils a chivalrous code of courtesy, respect and pride in the youngsters. So far, more than 130 children have "passed out" from Knight School and Sgt Brown has set up a whole host of local projects that have enticed teenagers off the street and into community work."
"Everything has been based around the whole idea of returning to the concept of a medieval society - one in which people rely less on their local authorities and more on themselves and their neighbours to turn around their town," Sgt Brown explains as he settles back in his knight's throne in the new centre. "Instilling a sense of personal pride, of mannerly and compassionate behaviour and of respect for oneself and for others in a child in its formative years is, I believe, the way to becoming happier and more responsible as they enter young adulthood. If it saves one child from a life of crime then it has been worth it."
"We knights of the Knight School pledge that we will treat everybody with courtesy and respect", the children chorus, clutching their toy swords and shields. Each has been given a knight's name and, if they pass the course, will receive their knighthood at a special ceremony and banquet in the town."
A Sgt Brown in every community, a Knight School in every town, the Code of Chivalry implanted in the indelible minds of our youth; ladies and gentlemen what more could a society possibly ask to better itself for the future!
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 12:12 a.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
Monday, November 14, 2005
Islamists declare war on our Queen
The enemy reveals its face once again. Only this time they have declared war on Her Majesty, which has The Monarchist reaching for his sword. It's about time we recognize the enemy for what it is. It is not Islam the religion (too broad), nor Islam the terrorist (too narrow), but Islam the movement. Properly focussed, the enemy is Islamism -- it is political Islam that we are fighting here and all of their nutbar manifestations (see photo right, for example, where Hezbollah militants convincingly look and play the part of Facists):
International — Al-Qaida, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Hizb ut-Tahrir
Afghanistan — Taliban
Algeria — Groupe Islamique Armé, Islamic Salvation Front, Groupe Salafiste pour la Prédication et le Combat
Egypt — Gama'at Islamiya
Lebanon — Hizballah
Iraqi Kurdistan — Islamic Movement in Kurdistan
Palestine — Hamas
Central Asia — Hizb ut-Tahrir
South Asia — Jamaat-e-Islami (there are Jamaats in India, Pakistan and Wahhabism), Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen
Turkey — Justice and Development Party (disputed), Felicity Party
Bahrain — Al Wefaq Asalah
Islamists (never to be confused with our moderate Muslim friends who hate them), whatever their particular fold, wherever they happen to exist, are hell-bent on preserving/creating a totalitarian political system that governs the legal, economic and social imperatives of the state. They want Sharia to rule supreme, that oppressive system of Islamic law that is deeply offensive to the values of our predominantly secularized, liberal Judeo-Christian civilization. I don't want to say this is a clash of civilizations, because it has always been our way to accommodate others, to champion the freedom of all people from all walks of life. But under the circumstances, I'm having a hard time believing otherwise. The reality is that we are now trying to Westernize the Muslim world before the Islamification of the West can take root. In that sense, it is indeed a clash of civilizations. I pray that the good Lord will give us the strength to prevail in this struggle. And the Islamists be damned. Say no to political Islam. Say yes to Her Majesty. God save the Queen.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 1:47 p.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
The enemy reveals its face once again. Only this time they have declared war on Her Majesty, which has The Monarchist reaching for his sword. It's about time we recognize the enemy for what it is. It is not Islam the religion (too broad), nor Islam the terrorist (too narrow), but Islam the movement. Properly focussed, the enemy is Islamism -- it is political Islam that we are fighting here and all of their nutbar manifestations (see photo right, for example, where Hezbollah militants convincingly look and play the part of Facists):International — Al-Qaida, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Hizb ut-Tahrir
Afghanistan — Taliban
Algeria — Groupe Islamique Armé, Islamic Salvation Front, Groupe Salafiste pour la Prédication et le Combat
Egypt — Gama'at Islamiya
Lebanon — Hizballah
Iraqi Kurdistan — Islamic Movement in Kurdistan
Palestine — Hamas
Central Asia — Hizb ut-Tahrir
South Asia — Jamaat-e-Islami (there are Jamaats in India, Pakistan and Wahhabism), Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen
Turkey — Justice and Development Party (disputed), Felicity Party
Bahrain — Al Wefaq Asalah
Islamists (never to be confused with our moderate Muslim friends who hate them), whatever their particular fold, wherever they happen to exist, are hell-bent on preserving/creating a totalitarian political system that governs the legal, economic and social imperatives of the state. They want Sharia to rule supreme, that oppressive system of Islamic law that is deeply offensive to the values of our predominantly secularized, liberal Judeo-Christian civilization. I don't want to say this is a clash of civilizations, because it has always been our way to accommodate others, to champion the freedom of all people from all walks of life. But under the circumstances, I'm having a hard time believing otherwise. The reality is that we are now trying to Westernize the Muslim world before the Islamification of the West can take root. In that sense, it is indeed a clash of civilizations. I pray that the good Lord will give us the strength to prevail in this struggle. And the Islamists be damned. Say no to political Islam. Say yes to Her Majesty. God save the Queen.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 1:47 p.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Deny it food and it will gobble poison
THE MONARCHIST QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Monarchy can easily be debunked, but watch the faces, mark well the debunkers. These are the men whose taproot in Eden has been cut: whom no rumour of the polyphony, the dance, can reach - men to whom pebbles laid in a row are more beautiful than an arch. Yet even if they desire mere equality they cannot reach it. Where men are forbidden to honour a king they honour millionaires, athletes or film stars instead: even famous prostitutes or gangsters. For spiritual nature, like bodily nature, will be served; deny it food and it will gobble poison.
-- Clive Staples Lewis
20th Century Christian Knight
Links: CS Lewis Foundation, CS Lewis Institute, Into the Wardrobe, CS Lewis Classics, CS Lewis and the Inklings, 20th-Century Knight
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 12:52 a.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
THE MONARCHIST QUOTE OF THE WEEKMonarchy can easily be debunked, but watch the faces, mark well the debunkers. These are the men whose taproot in Eden has been cut: whom no rumour of the polyphony, the dance, can reach - men to whom pebbles laid in a row are more beautiful than an arch. Yet even if they desire mere equality they cannot reach it. Where men are forbidden to honour a king they honour millionaires, athletes or film stars instead: even famous prostitutes or gangsters. For spiritual nature, like bodily nature, will be served; deny it food and it will gobble poison.
-- Clive Staples Lewis
20th Century Christian Knight
Links: CS Lewis Foundation, CS Lewis Institute, Into the Wardrobe, CS Lewis Classics, CS Lewis and the Inklings, 20th-Century Knight
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 12:52 a.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
Thursday, November 10, 2005
In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
By: Lt. Col. John McCrae, M.D., 1872-1918. A Canadian whose poem inspired the English-speaking peoples to collectively evoke the poppy as a symbol of their shared sacrifice.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 12:10 a.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
In Flanders fields the poppies blowBetween the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
By: Lt. Col. John McCrae, M.D., 1872-1918. A Canadian whose poem inspired the English-speaking peoples to collectively evoke the poppy as a symbol of their shared sacrifice.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 12:10 a.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
FOR KING AND COUNTRY
REMEMBERING COMMONWEALTH SOLDIERS OF THE GREAT WAR
He whom this scroll commemorates was numbered among those who, at the call of King and Country, left all that was dear to them, endured hardness, faced danger, and finally passed out of the sight of men by the path of duty and self-sacrifice, giving up their own lives that others might live in freedom. Let those who come after see to it that his name be not forgotten.
1. Private James Ramsay McNeill, 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles
Killed in Action on August 10, 1918, 2nd Battle of Amiens
2. Albert Edward Rue, Australian New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC)
Killed in Action on July 20, 1916, Battle of the Somme
3. Captain John Frances Spragge, Royal Airforce
Killed in Sortie over Normandy in October 1941.
(Note to readers: Private McNeill was my great uncle. If any of my Commonwealth friends wish to remember theirs, please send me their names and I will gladly add them to this post.)
----------
I've also always admired the stark simplicity of this letter that went out by the thousands from King George V from Buckingham Palace:
I join with my grateful people in sending you this memorial of a brave life given for others in the Great War.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 4:41 p.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
REMEMBERING COMMONWEALTH SOLDIERS OF THE GREAT WARHe whom this scroll commemorates was numbered among those who, at the call of King and Country, left all that was dear to them, endured hardness, faced danger, and finally passed out of the sight of men by the path of duty and self-sacrifice, giving up their own lives that others might live in freedom. Let those who come after see to it that his name be not forgotten.
1. Private James Ramsay McNeill, 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles
Killed in Action on August 10, 1918, 2nd Battle of Amiens
2. Albert Edward Rue, Australian New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC)
Killed in Action on July 20, 1916, Battle of the Somme
3. Captain John Frances Spragge, Royal Airforce
Killed in Sortie over Normandy in October 1941.
(Note to readers: Private McNeill was my great uncle. If any of my Commonwealth friends wish to remember theirs, please send me their names and I will gladly add them to this post.)
----------
I've also always admired the stark simplicity of this letter that went out by the thousands from King George V from Buckingham Palace:
I join with my grateful people in sending you this memorial of a brave life given for others in the Great War.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 4:41 p.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Ancient, calm and supreme
THE MONARCHIST QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Above the ebb and flow of party strife, the rise and fall of ministries, and individuals, the changes of public opinion or public fortune, the British Monarchy presides, ancient, calm and supreme within its function, over all the treasures that have been saved from the past and all the glories we write in the annals of our country.
-- Sir Winston Churchill
There is no doubt that of all the institutions which have grown up among us over the centuries or sprung into being in our lifetime, the Constitutional Monarchy is the most deeply founded and dearly cherished.
In the present generation it has acquired a meaning incomparably more powerful than anyone had dreamed possible in former times. The Crown has become the mysterious link, may I say the magic link, which unites our loosely bound but strongly interwoven Commonwealth of Nations, states and races. People who would never tolerate the assertions of a written Constitution which implies any diminution of their independence are the foremost to be proud of their loyalty to the Crown.
-- Sir Winston Churchill, February 1952.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 12:19 a.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
THE MONARCHIST QUOTE OF THE WEEKAbove the ebb and flow of party strife, the rise and fall of ministries, and individuals, the changes of public opinion or public fortune, the British Monarchy presides, ancient, calm and supreme within its function, over all the treasures that have been saved from the past and all the glories we write in the annals of our country.
-- Sir Winston Churchill
There is no doubt that of all the institutions which have grown up among us over the centuries or sprung into being in our lifetime, the Constitutional Monarchy is the most deeply founded and dearly cherished.
In the present generation it has acquired a meaning incomparably more powerful than anyone had dreamed possible in former times. The Crown has become the mysterious link, may I say the magic link, which unites our loosely bound but strongly interwoven Commonwealth of Nations, states and races. People who would never tolerate the assertions of a written Constitution which implies any diminution of their independence are the foremost to be proud of their loyalty to the Crown.
-- Sir Winston Churchill, February 1952.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 12:19 a.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
Monday, November 07, 2005
Monarchy is not about the Royals, it's about us
It seems I might be in for a pasting from some of my Commonwealth friends because I had the temerity to criticize Prince Charles, our future king. Perhaps they disagree with the criticism. Or perhaps they agree with it, but feel that such criticism should never be countenanced, or at least publicly uttered, since to do so is fundamentally an act of disloyalty. Perhaps they believe that to publicly disapprove of a Royal’s position/behaviour on a matter of concern is a mark of disrespect that undermines monarchy. I don’t know about that. I disagree.
What I do know is that monarchy damages itself when it does one of two things: when the Crown makes its views known on a politically divisive issue (this is not to be confused with moral issues, since I do believe there is a role for the Crown on providing moral leadership), or when a Royal acts in an undignified manner that brings embarrassment to the institution. This is especially true for monarchy since unlike the political class, its virtue and strength—indeed very survival—depends critically on preserving its intrinsic dignity.
That’s what monarchy is about. In a world lacking in dignity, the monarchy represents it. It represents the dignity of ordinary people, of the ordinary person. Monarchy is not above the people, it is the people. The Queen is just an ordinary person. That’s its genius. Unlike every other profession, Her Majesty did not arrive there through ambition, by being better than the people, by politically maneuvering above us. She got there simply because she was one of us—she was born.
Therein lies the irony of monarchy, that its luminosity and radiance comes from its very ordinariness. When Royals venture away from this ordinary quality into the me-world of celebrities and promoters (i.e., the late Princess of Wales or the former Duchess of York), it loses its lustre and dignity. It denigrates their purpose for the Royals have essentially one crucial task at hand: To attempt to the best of their ability to represent the dignity of ordinary people, of the ordinary person. And when they fail to do this, when they fail to uphold our dignity, we should voice our displeasure accordingly.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 6:36 p.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
It seems I might be in for a pasting from some of my Commonwealth friends because I had the temerity to criticize Prince Charles, our future king. Perhaps they disagree with the criticism. Or perhaps they agree with it, but feel that such criticism should never be countenanced, or at least publicly uttered, since to do so is fundamentally an act of disloyalty. Perhaps they believe that to publicly disapprove of a Royal’s position/behaviour on a matter of concern is a mark of disrespect that undermines monarchy. I don’t know about that. I disagree.
What I do know is that monarchy damages itself when it does one of two things: when the Crown makes its views known on a politically divisive issue (this is not to be confused with moral issues, since I do believe there is a role for the Crown on providing moral leadership), or when a Royal acts in an undignified manner that brings embarrassment to the institution. This is especially true for monarchy since unlike the political class, its virtue and strength—indeed very survival—depends critically on preserving its intrinsic dignity.
That’s what monarchy is about. In a world lacking in dignity, the monarchy represents it. It represents the dignity of ordinary people, of the ordinary person. Monarchy is not above the people, it is the people. The Queen is just an ordinary person. That’s its genius. Unlike every other profession, Her Majesty did not arrive there through ambition, by being better than the people, by politically maneuvering above us. She got there simply because she was one of us—she was born.
Therein lies the irony of monarchy, that its luminosity and radiance comes from its very ordinariness. When Royals venture away from this ordinary quality into the me-world of celebrities and promoters (i.e., the late Princess of Wales or the former Duchess of York), it loses its lustre and dignity. It denigrates their purpose for the Royals have essentially one crucial task at hand: To attempt to the best of their ability to represent the dignity of ordinary people, of the ordinary person. And when they fail to do this, when they fail to uphold our dignity, we should voice our displeasure accordingly.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 6:36 p.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
Saturday, November 05, 2005
400TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GUNPOWDER PLOT
The matter that is now to be offer'd to you my Lords the Commissioners, and to the Trial of you the Knights and Gentlemen of the Jury, is Matter of Treason; but of such Horror, and monstrous Nature, that before now,
The Tongue of Man never deliver'd,
The Ear of Man never heard,
The Heart of Man never conceited,
Nor the Malice of hellish or earthly Devil ever practised.
For, if it be abominable to murder the least;
If to touch God's Anointed be to oppose themselves against God;
If (by Blood) to subvert Princes, States and Kingdoms, be hateful to God and Man, as all true Christians must acknowledge:
Then, how much more than too too monstrous shall all Christian Hearts judge the Horror of this Treason; to murder and subvert
Such a King,
Such a Queen,
Such a Prince,
Such a Progeny,
Such a State,
Such a Government,
So complete and absolute,
That God approves,
The World admires,
All true English Hearts honour and reverence,
The Pope and his Disciples only envies and maligns?
-- Sir Edward Philips, Kt. his Majesty's Serjeant at Law; opening the Indictment of Treason
January 27, 1606.
Remember, remember the fifth of November,
gunpowder, treason and plot,
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes,
'twas his intent
to blow up the King and the Parliament.
Three score barrels of powder below,
Poor old England to overthrow:
By God's providence he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, make the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!
Hip hip hoorah!
A penny loaf to feed the Pope.
A farthing o' cheese to choke him.
A pint of beer to rinse it down.
A faggot of sticks to burn him.
Burn him in a tub of tar.
Burn him like a blazing star.
Burn his body from his head.
Then we'll say ol' Pope is dead.
Hip hip hoorah!
Hip hip hoorah!
Here is the November 10th, 1605 trembling signature of Guy Fawkes confessing to the treason, and admitting the names of the conspirators after several days of torture. A nominal trial ensued on January 27, 1606, at which the sentences had already been predetermined. On January 31, Fawkes, Wintour, and a number of others implicated in the conspiracy were taken to Old Palace Yard in Westminster, where they were hanged, drawn and quartered.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 2:07 p.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
The matter that is now to be offer'd to you my Lords the Commissioners, and to the Trial of you the Knights and Gentlemen of the Jury, is Matter of Treason; but of such Horror, and monstrous Nature, that before now,The Tongue of Man never deliver'd,
The Ear of Man never heard,
The Heart of Man never conceited,
Nor the Malice of hellish or earthly Devil ever practised.
For, if it be abominable to murder the least;
If to touch God's Anointed be to oppose themselves against God;
If (by Blood) to subvert Princes, States and Kingdoms, be hateful to God and Man, as all true Christians must acknowledge:
Then, how much more than too too monstrous shall all Christian Hearts judge the Horror of this Treason; to murder and subvert
Such a King,
Such a Queen,
Such a Prince,
Such a Progeny,
Such a State,
Such a Government,
So complete and absolute,
That God approves,
The World admires,
All true English Hearts honour and reverence,
The Pope and his Disciples only envies and maligns?
-- Sir Edward Philips, Kt. his Majesty's Serjeant at Law; opening the Indictment of Treason
January 27, 1606.
Remember, remember the fifth of November,
gunpowder, treason and plot,
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes,
'twas his intent
to blow up the King and the Parliament.
Three score barrels of powder below,
Poor old England to overthrow:
By God's providence he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, make the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!
Hip hip hoorah!
A penny loaf to feed the Pope.
A farthing o' cheese to choke him.
A pint of beer to rinse it down.
A faggot of sticks to burn him.
Burn him in a tub of tar.
Burn him like a blazing star.
Burn his body from his head.
Then we'll say ol' Pope is dead.
Hip hip hoorah!
Hip hip hoorah!
Here is the November 10th, 1605 trembling signature of Guy Fawkes confessing to the treason, and admitting the names of the conspirators after several days of torture. A nominal trial ensued on January 27, 1606, at which the sentences had already been predetermined. On January 31, Fawkes, Wintour, and a number of others implicated in the conspiracy were taken to Old Palace Yard in Westminster, where they were hanged, drawn and quartered.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 2:07 p.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
Friday, November 04, 2005
God save the Prince of Wales
I say this only because he needs saving. The Prince does great charitable work, but His Royal Highness really has me worried. My hope is that we won't be headed for that rarest of possibilities in the history of the British Monarchy: a King that will mostly underwhelm us. It happens from time to time, usually no more than once per century, but it does happen. Reigns like that of King Stephen, Charles I and Edward VIII. My fear is that Charles III will be one of these, that he means to test the mettle of monarchists the Commonwealth over.
In case you haven't been following the news this past week, Paris is burning. Other European cities are also under the threat of Islamist riots. Iran has point blank announced their intention to wipe Israel off the map. The "Kissinger of Islam" believes that because America is overstretched in Iraq, he can defeat the great Anglosphere Satan in a game of chicken. The Islamo-fascists are out to destroy us. And what is our noble Prince doing? Why, he's telling our American friends that they're being too confrontational with the Muslim world.
Your Majesty, we thank God that you were blessed with the quiet, plain modest steel of your being. Just like your late mother, Queen Elizabeth, and her husband, George VI. That stiff upper lip. That invincible quality. That relentless commitment to duty away from the glory of self. You remind me too of George V, who also deliberately shunned the political and media spotlight in favour of a quiet fortitude and plodding servitude. You have the mettle, Your Majesty; the endurance and the strength to be the longest reigning Sovereign in the history of monarchy on this Earth. By my estimation, another 25 years should do it.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 8:22 a.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
I say this only because he needs saving. The Prince does great charitable work, but His Royal Highness really has me worried. My hope is that we won't be headed for that rarest of possibilities in the history of the British Monarchy: a King that will mostly underwhelm us. It happens from time to time, usually no more than once per century, but it does happen. Reigns like that of King Stephen, Charles I and Edward VIII. My fear is that Charles III will be one of these, that he means to test the mettle of monarchists the Commonwealth over.
In case you haven't been following the news this past week, Paris is burning. Other European cities are also under the threat of Islamist riots. Iran has point blank announced their intention to wipe Israel off the map. The "Kissinger of Islam" believes that because America is overstretched in Iraq, he can defeat the great Anglosphere Satan in a game of chicken. The Islamo-fascists are out to destroy us. And what is our noble Prince doing? Why, he's telling our American friends that they're being too confrontational with the Muslim world.
Your Majesty, we thank God that you were blessed with the quiet, plain modest steel of your being. Just like your late mother, Queen Elizabeth, and her husband, George VI. That stiff upper lip. That invincible quality. That relentless commitment to duty away from the glory of self. You remind me too of George V, who also deliberately shunned the political and media spotlight in favour of a quiet fortitude and plodding servitude. You have the mettle, Your Majesty; the endurance and the strength to be the longest reigning Sovereign in the history of monarchy on this Earth. By my estimation, another 25 years should do it.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 8:22 a.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
What the Paris riots remind me of
The Paris riots remind me of the philosopher professor and writer, Roger Scruton, and his highly impressionable essay, Why I became a conservative. This is a must read for all monarchists, traditionalists and conservatives alike, and The Radical Tory is right to call him “The Burke of our age”. Because like Burke, who wrote his greatest work in response to the French revolutionary uprisings in Paris of the late 18th century, Scruton began to formulate his own conservative philosophy in response to the Paris riots of 1968. Here are the three Scruton-on-Burke passages that I think have impressed upon me the most:
Burke on Authority and Obedience
“Far from being the evil and obnoxious thing that my contemporaries held it to be, authority was, for Burke, the root of political order. Society, he argued, is not held together by the abstract rights of the citizen, as the French Revolutionaries supposed. It is held together by authority—by which is meant the right to obedience, rather than the mere power to compel it. And obedience, in its turn, is the prime virtue of political beings, the disposition which makes it possible to govern them, and without which societies crumble into “the dust and powder of individuality.” Those thoughts seemed as obvious to me as they were shocking to my contemporaries. In effect Burke was upholding the old view of man in society, as subject of a sovereign, against the new view of him, as citizen of a state. And what struck me vividly was that, in defending this old view, Burke demonstrated that it was a far more effective guarantee of the liberties of the individual than the new idea, which was founded in the promise of those very liberties, only abstractly, universally, and therefore unreally defined. Real freedom, concrete freedom, the freedom that can actually be defined, claimed, and granted, was not the opposite of obedience but its other side. The abstract, unreal freedom of the liberal intellect was really nothing more than childish disobedience, amplified into anarchy.”
Burke on Tradition and Prejudice
“Burke’s provocative defense [of tradition as a political virtue through] “prejudice” —by which he meant the set of beliefs and ideas that arise instinctively in social beings, and which reflect the root experiences of social life—was a revelation of something that until then I had entirely overlooked. Burke brought home to me that our most necessary beliefs may be both unjustified and unjustifiable from our own perspective, and that the attempt to justify them will lead merely to their loss. Replacing them with the abstract rational systems of the philosophers, we may think ourselves more rational and better equipped for life in the modern world. But in fact we are less well equipped, and our new beliefs are far less justified, for the very reason that they are justified by ourselves.”
Burke on the Social Trust
“In Burke’s eyes the self-righteous contempt for ancestors which characterized the Revolutionaries was also a disinheriting of the unborn. Rightly understood, he argued, society is a partnership among the dead, the living, and the unborn, and without what he called the “hereditary principle,” according to which rights could be inherited as well as acquired, both the dead and the unborn would be disenfranchized. Indeed, respect for the dead was, in Burke’s view, the only real safeguard that the unborn could obtain, in a world that gave all its privileges to the living. His preferred vision of society was not as a contract, in fact, but as a trust, with the living members as trustees of an inheritance that they must strive to enhance and pass on.”
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 3:41 p.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
The Paris riots remind me of the philosopher professor and writer, Roger Scruton, and his highly impressionable essay, Why I became a conservative. This is a must read for all monarchists, traditionalists and conservatives alike, and The Radical Tory is right to call him “The Burke of our age”. Because like Burke, who wrote his greatest work in response to the French revolutionary uprisings in Paris of the late 18th century, Scruton began to formulate his own conservative philosophy in response to the Paris riots of 1968. Here are the three Scruton-on-Burke passages that I think have impressed upon me the most:Burke on Authority and Obedience
“Far from being the evil and obnoxious thing that my contemporaries held it to be, authority was, for Burke, the root of political order. Society, he argued, is not held together by the abstract rights of the citizen, as the French Revolutionaries supposed. It is held together by authority—by which is meant the right to obedience, rather than the mere power to compel it. And obedience, in its turn, is the prime virtue of political beings, the disposition which makes it possible to govern them, and without which societies crumble into “the dust and powder of individuality.” Those thoughts seemed as obvious to me as they were shocking to my contemporaries. In effect Burke was upholding the old view of man in society, as subject of a sovereign, against the new view of him, as citizen of a state. And what struck me vividly was that, in defending this old view, Burke demonstrated that it was a far more effective guarantee of the liberties of the individual than the new idea, which was founded in the promise of those very liberties, only abstractly, universally, and therefore unreally defined. Real freedom, concrete freedom, the freedom that can actually be defined, claimed, and granted, was not the opposite of obedience but its other side. The abstract, unreal freedom of the liberal intellect was really nothing more than childish disobedience, amplified into anarchy.”
Burke on Tradition and Prejudice
“Burke’s provocative defense [of tradition as a political virtue through] “prejudice” —by which he meant the set of beliefs and ideas that arise instinctively in social beings, and which reflect the root experiences of social life—was a revelation of something that until then I had entirely overlooked. Burke brought home to me that our most necessary beliefs may be both unjustified and unjustifiable from our own perspective, and that the attempt to justify them will lead merely to their loss. Replacing them with the abstract rational systems of the philosophers, we may think ourselves more rational and better equipped for life in the modern world. But in fact we are less well equipped, and our new beliefs are far less justified, for the very reason that they are justified by ourselves.”
Burke on the Social Trust
“In Burke’s eyes the self-righteous contempt for ancestors which characterized the Revolutionaries was also a disinheriting of the unborn. Rightly understood, he argued, society is a partnership among the dead, the living, and the unborn, and without what he called the “hereditary principle,” according to which rights could be inherited as well as acquired, both the dead and the unborn would be disenfranchized. Indeed, respect for the dead was, in Burke’s view, the only real safeguard that the unborn could obtain, in a world that gave all its privileges to the living. His preferred vision of society was not as a contract, in fact, but as a trust, with the living members as trustees of an inheritance that they must strive to enhance and pass on.”
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 3:41 p.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
The Kissinger of Islam
The Anglosphere is in the cross-hairs of the "Kissinger of Islam", Hassan Abbasi, the Iranian President's strategic advisor. "According to Tehran sources, Abbasi is the architect of the so-called “war preparation plan” currently under way in Iran". He has concluded that the idea of a major US military attack against Iran is “a bluff”, and that Iran is in a strong position to stare down the Satanic powers in this grand game of chicken.
"But it is not only the US that Abbasi wants to take on and humiliate. He has described Britain as “the mother of all evils”. In his lecture he claimed that the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, and the Gulf states were all “children of the same mother: the British Empire.” As for France and Germany, they are “countries in terminal decline”, according to Abbasi.
“Once we have defeated the Anglo-Saxons the rest will run for cover,” he told his audience.
You can read the whole thing at Arab News.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 12:50 a.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
The Anglosphere is in the cross-hairs of the "Kissinger of Islam", Hassan Abbasi, the Iranian President's strategic advisor. "According to Tehran sources, Abbasi is the architect of the so-called “war preparation plan” currently under way in Iran". He has concluded that the idea of a major US military attack against Iran is “a bluff”, and that Iran is in a strong position to stare down the Satanic powers in this grand game of chicken.
"But it is not only the US that Abbasi wants to take on and humiliate. He has described Britain as “the mother of all evils”. In his lecture he claimed that the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, and the Gulf states were all “children of the same mother: the British Empire.” As for France and Germany, they are “countries in terminal decline”, according to Abbasi.
“Once we have defeated the Anglo-Saxons the rest will run for cover,” he told his audience.
You can read the whole thing at Arab News.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 12:50 a.m. | Author | Works | Permalink | COMMENTS () | LINKS |
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