The WitanagemotHeadlines
| THE MONARCHIST | ||
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| Updated | Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:15:49 +0000 | |
| Description | Defending the British Crown Commonwealth and the English-Speaking Peoples
- Splendour Without Diminishment - The act of defending any of the cardinal virtues has today all the exhilaration of a vice - G.K. Chesterton |
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| Pimpernel Smith - 1941 | ||
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| Darkest England and an Old Way Out | ||
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| Description: | The Return of Hogarthian Britain:Figures released for launch showed 1,000 young people, aged between 15 and 25, receive serious facial injuries in alcohol-related attacks each week while 18,000 suffer permanent scars every year. Separate figures show some 5,500 people are "glassed" every year while more than 80,000 others are threatened with glass or a broken bottle. Treating such injuries costs the [National Health Service] NHS £2.7 billion a year.Follow the Kipling brain at work here, or not, depending on your perspective. This story proves that Britain needs a monarchy. Yes, exactly. I don't mean the media monarchy of today, I mean the sort that Queen Victoria projected. A values monarchy. That was largely the current monarch's plan. She of the older stiff upper lip generation. Not how it turned out. Between coming down that tree in Kenya (see below), and her eldest son's nasty divorce, the Royal Family became a sad joke. Actually the same joke, repeatedly endlessly. The modern Royal Family is no more or less dysfunctional than its predecessors. The difference is that whenever one of them says or does something daft, it gets included as part of a snarky headline in The News of the World. Imagine living your life with Rupert Murdoch's minions waiting, often up a tree, for you to do something silly or tactless. No matter how bright and decent you might be, you'd wind up looking like a prat within days. Had the modern tabloid media existed in the medieval era, they would have accused St Francis of practicing bestiality. It's the way they work. The problem here is democracy, not the political sort, though that's partly to blame, but its cultural tributary. When you establish vox populi, vox dei, you establish at the same time a vulgarian ethos. It's worse in Britain, than in America and Canada, because of the war on manners and civility. North America, lacking an aristocracy in the traditional European sense, never generated the lower class themes of alternating resentment and aspiration. In America it was shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations. Sir Robert Peel's father and grandfather were pioneer industrialists, yet neither would have, despite their obvious talents, been considered as possible ministers of the crown. Their hands had been sullied in trade. That block to merit was the spur for genuine, and understandable resentment. As so often in history, the understandable soon married with the vicious. Socialism, either Marxist or on the rocks, worshiped the working man as victim of the modern world, and soon to be heirs of the glorious utopia of tomorrow. Whatever smacked of the elites and their bourgeoise lackeys - including manners, civility and restraint - was automatically despised. Generations of intellectuals, and their avatars in the teaching profession, began a war against the painfully constructed world of Victorian manners. By manners I mean something far broader than personal conduct in a public setting. Social reformers, many of whom were also humourless puritans at heart, in the early nineteenth century sought to moderate the excesses of Hogarthian Britain. The rampant alcoholism and promiscuity - sound familiar? - was to be replaced by moderation and personal restraint. Acting upon your impulses rejected, and behaviour subordinated to an understanding of morality, however imperfect it may seem in hindsight. If the stoicism of these reformers, and the Britain they created, seems harsh and alien to us, the Rome in later days decadence of modern Britain would seem no less strange, and repulsive, to them. The call here is not for reaction. What was was not always good. Restraint too often drifted into repression, and rules of thumb into commandments. A more flexible approach would be needed, the details of which are really beyond the purview of this post. We are talking about means, in particular about the means of the monarchy as projector of better values. It's often remarked that the monarchy is doomed. It has lost the magic, and once lost it cannot be regained. Yet magic is only a metaphor. Bagehot's monarchy was a Victorian creation. As was the Victorian world. As is the modern world. History is not a teleology, men possess free will and what has been made can be unmade. One of the standard saws of Canada's crypto-republicans is that the monarchy is no longer relevant to Canadians. Neither is castor oil. The reason is the same for both, neither is used in modern schooling, If you don't teach people things, good or bad, they won't know them. A few intrepid minds will discover the treasure trove, but ignorance is the fate of the less curious. Along with monarchy is manners, in the broad sense we are employing here. I join the two because they were once seen as synonymous in the public's mind. At the end of the film version of The Madness of King George, the much missed Nigel Hawthorne (playing George III) remarks about how his vast progeny must become the model family. It's a bit of anachronism. It was Victoria that created the model family with her tremendously clever, if perhaps too ambitious, consort. The Britain of the 1840s and 1850s wanted and needed an ideal family. Whereas future generations would look to television sitcoms, that Britain looked to the Royal Family, for the serious and the trivial.Prince Albert liked Christmas Trees, they became a fad and then an institution almost as entrenched as images of the Nativity. George IV had been a notorious rake. Albert was the perfect husband and father, preferring family duties to carousing. Real men in Georgian England went out and stayed out. Real men in Victorian Britain stayed home. As projector of an ideal few have, or could have, done better at creating a new conception of manhood. There is little reason why Prince William, who looks ever inch the future monarch, cannot play that same role. It's been said that modern monarchy is celebrity with a conscience. We here, at any rate, aspire to something a little higher and broader for the crown. A sort of cultural touching stone. The monarch in Britain, and in the fifteen other Commonwealth realms, does not rule, she reigns. The influence of the monarchy cannot today be felt by brute force, but by persuasion. The power of a good example. Staring the media monster straight in the face and being as anti-vulgarian as possible. The original meaning of aristocracy is "rule by the best." It's a meaning the monarchy needs to reflect again, if neo-Hogarthian Britain is be reformed. more... | |
| Ascended into a Tree and onto the Throne | ||
| Category | Elizabeth Regina, British Empire, Royal Visits | |
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| Description: | For the first time in the history of the world, a young girl climbed into a tree one day a Princess and after having what she described as her most thrilling experience she climbed down from the tree next day a Queen ? God bless her.Edward James Corbett (1875-1955) Plaque commemorating Accession at Aberdare Treetops Lodge, KenyaFor you are beautiful, I have loved you dearlyMore dearly than the spoken word can tellRoger Whittaker (born 1936 in Nairobi)bids farwell to the Land of Endless Sunshine The current Aberdare Treetops LodgeOn the eastern shore of the great Lake Victoria of Africa, source of the mighty Nile, lies the Land of Endless Sunshine. It was in this beautiful gem of the British Empire the Duchess and Duke of Edinburgh came in the early days of 1952. Here lies the magnificent Aberdare Mountain Range. Here lies the beautiful Aberdare Forest. Here lies the mighty Mount Kenya. The waterhole at Treetops Lodge58 years ago, on February 5, 1952, Their Royal Highnesses the Duchess and Duke of Edinburgh ascend into a tree. On that night the Princess Elizabeth ascends the Britannic Throne. The Princess becomes Her Britannic Majesty. Unknowing of the Accession, the Royal couple descend from the tree the next morning, returning to the Royal residence of Sagana Lodge in the foothills of the mighty Mount Kenya. It is at Sagana Lodge Her Britannic Majesty receives the tragic message about her father – His Late Britannic Majesty. Their Royal Highnesses the Duchess and Duke of Edinburgh at the grounds of Sagana Lodge before the night at TreetopsIt is said that it was the first time in more than two centuries that a Sovereign succeeded the Throne whilst being abroad. George I succeeding Queen Anne was the previous time. Queen Elizabeth II was simply in another part of the British Empire. Her Majesty ascended to the Throne on firm ground where she was Sovereign, or at least in a tree that stood firmly on such ground.During an uprising in the 1950s the original Treetops lodge was destroyed. A new and larger lodge was built at a nearby location.Upon independence, Sagana Lodge was given to the government of Kenya. Upon independence, Her Britannic Majesty was given the title of Queen of Kenya, a title which she retained for exactly one year.A waterfall in the AberdaresCongratulations to Her Britannic Majesty on Accession Day!Happy Accession Day! more... | |
| Happy Waitangi Day! | ||
| Category | British Empire | |
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| Description: | 170 years ago today, the Treaty og Waitangi was signed.Happy Waitangi Day! more... | |
| State of the Throne | ||
| Category | Crown-in-Parliament | |
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| Description: | Iain Murray compares America's State of the Union address with our Speech from the Throne (via Brits at their Best):What is interesting in its monarchical design, though, is that it compares unfavorably to its actual monarchical counterpart. The Queen's Speech at the State Opening of Parliament also lays out the priorities of the executive for the year. The difference is that, despite all the splendor (crown, throne, Lords walking backwards, Silver-Stick-in-Waiting, Black Rod, etc.), it actually downplays the content of the speech and provides little glory to the government. Her Majesty reads the speech from paper in a flat monotone, while the chap who actually wrote it has to stand crammed in a small alcove literally rubbing shoulders with his worst political enemy (or, in Gordon Brown's case, the Leader of the Opposition). Advantage the Constitutional Monarchy there, I think . . .Yes, but if only it were more what it should be...Yes, the flat delivery is a relief, but the role of the Sovereign, long part of Britain's Constitution, has been usurped by the Prime Minister and House of Commons. There is no longer an independent monarch, sworn to defend the people's laws and liberties, who can check the power of Parliament...How sad and true. Her Majesty looks more and more like the King of Sweden who holds no reserve powers at all, who has no theoretical ability to withhold Royal Assent, declare war or dismiss a government. In Sweden, the king is purely ceremonial and purely symbolic. How much longer will it be until Her Majesty becomes a bicycle riding monarch too? more... | |
| Happy Australia Day | ||
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| Description: | Non-Australians are unlikely to be familiar with Ray Martin, a staple of Australian television for over 30 years. Star of Australia's orginial "60 Minutes" team, daytime chat show host, election debate chair - and now, professional republican.You see, for the last 24 hours in Australia, Ray Martin has been acting as the frontman for the latest push to change the Australian flag, with a side order of denigrating Prince William's recent visit.Dismissing the only flag to ever fly over an entire continent as "colonial", Martin suggested he'd rather replace the Union Jack with Aboriginal symbolism and was bemused by the interest in the monarchy during Prince William's visit.Never mind the fact that last week's Newspoll showed more Australians preferred the Queen to a republic, another showed a massive fall in support for a republic, and another again showed just 27% want a new flag.Ray won't let consistency on this issue cloud his appetite for recognition though. Who do we see in today's Australia Day honours list for services to the community and the media? As a Member of the Order of Australia - an honour that has the Queen has Sovereign?Step forward, Ray Martin, AM. Looking forward to you supporting the Crown you will wear on your insignia, Ray.Happy Australia Day. more... | |
| The Lord's Day | ||
| Category | The Lord's Day | |
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| Description: | And after this, with joy and holy fear, and the forwardness of love, address thyself to the receiving of him, to whom, and by whom, and for whom, all faith, and all hope, and all love, in the whole catholic church, both in heaven and earth, is designed; him, whom kings and queens, and whole kingdoms, are in love with, and count it the greatest honour in the world that their crowns and sceptres are laid at his holy feet."—'Preparation to the Holy Sacrament' by Revd. Jeremy Taylor (1613 - 1667), Chaplain in Ordinary to King Charles the Martyr more... | |
| Follow the Flag | ||
| Category | Her Majesty's Ships, Flags and Heraldry | |
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| Description: | Of logos and ensigns:Yet the festivities started off on a jarring note. On January 1, a "naval centennial flag" was hoisted in all naval establishments across the country. It is apparently to be flown until December 31, 2010. In fact, the "flag" is not what military people would normally think of as a flag. It is simply a nylon banner bearing what the government describes in bureaucratese as a "project identifier" -- what ordinary folk would call a logo. It is exactly the sort of thing that one can see flying outside otherwise non-descript offices in business parks across the country. The navy's website says that the aim of the centennial is "to build and strengthen in Canadians an appreciation for their navy and to promote the role of the navy within the Canadian Forces in a maritime nation like Canada." It is, in other words, a branding exercise. One supposes that it is part of what General Rick Hillier described in his recent autobiography as the mission to recruit the nation. But if the "centennial flag" is any indication of the depth with which the navy has thought it through, the project is doomed to fail. Indeed, it will most likely be largely forgotten by the time the year is out.The author goes onto call for the return of the White Ensign as the flag of the Canadian Navy. We should also take this opportunity, being the Centennial year for the Navy, to remind our readers of the petition to once again add the qualifier Royal to the Canadian Navy. The fleet was known as the Royal Canadian Navy from its inception in 1910 until the unification of the services in 1968. The dropping of the "Royal" was part of a deliberate campaign, waged since the Pearson government (1963-1968), to steadily efface the monarchy from Canadian society. The corporate logo "flag" does contain a crown - I think it's a crown - and a maple leaf and an anchor. It looks like a rummage sale poster. Someone, in an office building in downtown Toronto, was probably paid a lot of money to design it. But I digress. A country without a sense of its own past, and its own traditions, is a country liable to be suckered in by any passing fad. In Canada, tradition means the monarchy. A Canada where the monarchy has been faded to background dressing, is a country that will not reflexively protest such a bland insult to our naval tradition. more... | |
| Prince William "The Hammer" | ||
| Category | Royal Visits | |
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| Description: | Prince William's three day visit to Australia has come to an end and what a success it has been. He has shown once again how the Crown provides leadership above and beyond party politics.The level of support he received in Australia was truly breathtaking, much to the frustration of angry republicans here. One might call him "The Hammer" because he is driving the nails into the republican's coffin. Or maybe "William the Conqueror" becaused he has conquered our hearts. Either way it has been a great boost for the Crown down under. more... | |
| Secret Places, Hidden Sanctuaries | ||
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| Description: | Dear Friends and Colleagues,I am delighted to recommend the recently published book "Secret Places, Hidden Sanctuaries", written by my friends Stephen Klimczuk and Gerald Warner of Craigenmaddie. This truly splendid book has already received glowing reviews in the US (most recently in The American Spectator) and is about to be launched in the UK.Sensible, informative and entertaining, Secret Places, Hidden Sanctuaries is essential reading for anyone interested in orders of knighthood, sacred sites, masonry, gentlemens' clubs, elite university dining societies and fraternities (Bullingdon, Skull & Bones etc.), monarchist trivia, private banks, sinister and secret locations (Area 51 and Wewelsburg Castle, spiritual home of the Nazi SS) etc.etc. No other popular book covers such a wealth of material and such depth of knowledge. Please visit their site (and related blog) for more information: http://www.secretsanctuaries.com/Secret Places, Hidden Sanctuaries is an eclectic cornucopia of the elite, the elusive and the esoteric. In just over 250 pages the authors have been able to collate and succinctly detail some of the most fascinating secretive sites from around the world. Ranging from ancient shrines to top secret military bases, we are taken on a tour of a wide variety of locations; some so secret that many readers will be reading about them for the first time. Others have attempted to tackle this subject but no one commands the broad field with as much authority, knowledge or style. Through this entertaining and informative tome we are provided with privileged armchair admission through some of the world's most closely-guarded doors. "Secret Places, Hidden Sanctuaries" is the much-needed popular introduction to a world which some readers may inhabit and to which some may aspire, which some will envy and others will despise but about which we will never cease to be fascinated. Secret Places, Hidden Sanctuaries (available via Amazon): Official Web Site: http://www.secretsanctuaries.com/Blog: http://www.secretsanctuaries.com/secrets/ I heartily recommend this book.Sincerely,Rafal Heydel-Mankoo more... | |