Greeks will not be allowed to vote for a Monarchist Party

A total of 32 parties, coalitions and individual candidates will contest the general election on 6th May, following their approval by the Supreme Court (Areios Pagos) on Thursday.

The court banned four parties from taking part: National Hope, PAME in GESEEP [Π.Α.Μ.Ε. στο Γ.Ε.Σ.Ε.ΕΠ.], the Friends of Man, and Citizens Assembly-(Direct) Democracy in Practice.

It is understood that National Hope (ΕΘΝΙΚΗ ΕΛΠΙΔΑ) was prohibited under the electoral law from participating as it is a Monarchist Party.

Less of a problem were strange parties like these:

Communist Party of Greece (Marxist-Leninist)-Marxist-Leninist Communist Party of Greece (KKE (m-l)-ML KKE), 

Anticapitalist Left Cooperation for the Overthrow (Antarsya), 

Organisation of Communist Internationalists of Greece (OKDE), 

Workers Revolutionary Party (EEK Trokskyists), Sabetai Matsas

Organisation for the Reconstruction of the Communist Party of Greece (OAKKE).

from: neoskosmos

French Royalists ask supporters to vote for François Hollande

"The directing committee of the Nouvelle Action Royalist (NAR) is happy about the big turn-out of the French in the first round of the presidential election. It welcomes the massive rejection of Nicolas Sarkozy to which the NAR contributed by asking the French  people to vote for Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, who in difficult circumstances has received an honourable result [644,043 votes or 1,79%]. It regrets the success Marine Le Pen achieved by exploiting the betrayel of de Gaulle’s legacy by the classic right, the abandonment of the popular classes by a cast of Socialist managers and and the ravages of ultra-liberalism.

"For the second round of the presidential elections the directing committee of the Nouvelle Action Royalist asked to transform Nicolas Sarkozy’s setback into a final defeat."

 
Voter François Hollande

Le Comité directeur de la Nouvelle Action royaliste se réjouit de la très forte participation des Français au premier tour de l’élection présidentielle. Il se félicite du rejet massif de Nicolas Sarkozy, auquel la NAR a participé en appelant à voter pour Nicolas Dupont-Aignan qui a obtenu, dans des conditions difficiles, un premier résultat très honorable. Il constate avec regret le succès remporté par Marine Le Pen qui exploite la trahison du gaullisme par la droite classique, l’abandon des classes populaires par la caste des gestionnaires socialistes et les ravages de l’ultra-libéralisme.

Pour le second tour de l’élection présidentielle, le Comité directeur de la Nouvelle Action royaliste appelle à transformer le revers de Nicolas Sarkozy en une défaite définitive. Tout au long de ce quinquennat, la Nouvelle Action royaliste a dénoncé l’instauration d’une autocratie brouillonne dénaturant la fonction présidentielle, le durcissement de la guerre sociale menée par l’oligarchie, la destruction méthodique de l’administration centrale, le mépris de l’autorité judiciaire, la xénophobie d’État, la corruption du milieu dirigeant et, sur le plan international, le retour dans l’Otan, l’enlisement sanglant en Afghanistan et l’alignement sur l’Allemagne qui est inscrit dans la lettre des nouveaux traités conçus à Berlin.

Livrée à la concurrence effrénée et déloyale que permet le libre échange, prise dans le carcan monétaire, exposée à la violence de la déflation, la France a été engagée par Nicolas Sarkozy dans un processus à tel point désastreux qu’il est impossible de prendre pour le second tour une position de neutralité. Les critiques que la Nouvelle Action royaliste a adressées au Parti socialiste ont toujours été sévères : elle n’a jamais accepté le tournant de la rigueur de 1983, le ralliement à l’ultra-libéralisme, la dérive oligarchique, les illusions européistes et la croyance en l’euro. Mais il s’agit de choisir le 6 mai un président de la République, non un Premier ministre, sans oublier que l’orientation du nouveau gouvernement sera fonction des résultats obtenus par les différents partis lors des élections législatives.

Quant au choix du président, tel qu’il est défini par l’article 5 de la Constitution, nous avons la certitude que François Hollande saura redonner à la fonction présidentielle la dignité qu’elle a perdue et qu’il retrouvera, dans les négociations internationales, le langage et le comportement d’un chef d’État. Et nous sommes persuadés que le nouveau président, chef des Armées, veillera au retrait rapide et ordonné des troupes françaises positionnées en Afghanistan. Telles sont les raisons décisives qui nous conduisent à appeler les militants et les sympathisants de la Nouvelle Action royaliste à apporter leurs voix à François Hollande.

Cet appel doit être entendu comme un message d’espérance quant aux révolutions que la France peut accomplir à la faveur de l’élection présidentielle et des élections législatives. La crise de l’euro s’aggrave. Elle a pris un tour tragique en Grèce et la logique déflationniste conduira tous les pays qui l’acceptent à la violence sociale et à l’extrémisme politique. Des solutions nouvelles devront être trouvées, avec le soutien du peuple français. Ouverte par François Hollande, la perspective de la renégociation du pacte budgétaire européen et du Mécanisme Européen de Stabilité donne à la France la possibilité de mettre radicalement en question la politique dictée par l’Allemagne, la recherche inepte de l’équilibre budgétaire et les décisions de la Banque centrale européenne.

Nous espérons que le nouveau président de la République ne cherchera pas à obtenir une simple déclaration sur la croissance mais engagera la négociation avec nos partenaires européens après avoir soumis à référendum le traité signé mais pas encore ratifié. Nous espérons que le peuple français confirmera le refus qu’il avait exprimé en 2005 et qui a été ignoré au mépris de la démocratie. Nous attendons de ce choc salutaire une redéfinition de la politique française, selon les objectifs généraux de l’indépendance nationale, de la justice sociale et du développement économique qui nous permettront de retrouver le sens de notre histoire.

LE COMITÉ DIRECTEUR DE LA NOUVELLE ACTION ROYALISTE

Beginning of Diamond Jubilee Celebrations in Australia

At St John's Anglican Church, Toorak, Melbourne, a service to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen and the Feast Day of St George the Martyr, patron saint of Engalnd, was held on Sunday 22nd April 2012.

The Governor of Victoria, H.E.  Alex Chernov AC QC, and Mrs Chernov attended the St George’s Day Service at St John’s Toorak for the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty The Queen.

The church service in Victoria took place one day after Her Majesty's 86th birthday.
 

(By coincidence, this is the 500th posting on this blog. Quite apprepriate for a message announcing Her Majesty's Diamon Jubilee celebrations in Australia.)

His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan

Before the European Parliament, Strasbourg, France, 18th April 2012



In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate,

Mr President,

Distinguished Members of the European Parliament,

Thank you, and thank you all, for your warm welcome. The ties between Jordan and Europe are anchored in rock. It is more than our mutual interest in the prosperity and security of our multi-region neighbourhood. It is our shared belief in the kind of neighbourhood it should be -- the kind of neighbourhood our people deserve: rich in human dignity and freedom ... powered by opportunity and progress ... and secured by peace.

It is to talk about our neighbourhood and future that I join you today.

My friends,

A long Spring is unfolding in the Arab World. It will not be over in a season; not even in a year. Our societies are facing the challenge of moving from protests to programs, from criticism to national strategies. Different countries will take different paths. In some countries, debate and consensus are in the air. Elsewhere, we are seeing the winds of division and reaction, bringing instability, violence and a region-wide cost. There are outside actors that seek to take advantage of discord. The risks and uncertainties are real.

But I speak for millions when I say: the Arab World is awake. And positive change is on the move.

The signs were already there for those who wanted to see them. For a decade or more, people across the region had been raising questions ... nurturing aspirations ... seeking meaningful reform ... and empowering civil society, especially women and our digitally-connected, globally-aware youth.

Events added to the urgency. Global crises in finance, food and energy seriously hurt our economies. Arab families who sacrificed to educate their children have seen their sons and daughters leave school, prepared for jobs that simply are not there. Today my region faces the highest youth unemployment of any region. Some have called it a 'generation in waiting. It is 100 million strong; the largest youth cohort in our history.

I know that youth concerns are important here in Europe as well. Our regions have different demographics, but in one statistic they are the same: today's young people are 100 percent of our future. We cannot afford to let a single young citizen wait in vain.

This reality drives Jordan's approach to the Arab Spring. We have embraced it as an opportunity to push past roadblocks that have slowed reform in the past. Last year, we took immediate steps to engage in a national dialogue to build consensus on concrete actions. An early focus has been the Constitution -- the foundation of our political system. Last September, after recommendations by a national committee, one-third of the entire document was amended. New Constitutional provisions widen representation, strengthen political parties, protect civil rights and freedoms, and enhance separation of powers. Other milestones include new laws on political parties and municipal and national elections; as well as legislation for the new Constitutional court and independent elections commission. Our next tests will be municipal and parliamentary elections. As guarantor of the political reform process, I have urged both government and parliament to keep to the agreed timeline, and finalise the remaining legislation as quickly as possible, without sacrificing the inclusive nature of our process.

Only we, all Jordanians, can build Jordan's future. And we must do so in such a way that our country remains a secure, safe haven -- in spite of a region getting more turbulent around us; in spite of economic threats; in spite of neighbouring crises. This path demands consensus-based reform, based on structural, comprehensive change -- political, legal, economic, and social -- respecting the rights and freedoms of all our citizens. In the process, Jordan can set a regional model of peaceful political evolution and democratisation.

I am confident that 2012 will be a year of key political reform in Jordan. Among the most important steps is building the robust political party life that parliamentary government requires. We know that it is not one election, but the next and the next and all those that follow, which show that a system is working.

We greatly value the EU's recognition of our reform path. Just two months ago, the new EU-Jordan Task Force met in Amman to discuss key programmes that will support our reform priorities -- democratic institutions, civil society, job creation, local economic development, humanitarian assistance, and more. Next month marks ten years since our Association Agreement went into force, opening markets and job opportunities on both sides. I hope these opportunities, now strengthened by our “advanced status” partnership, will further blossom in the years ahead.

Jordan has pursued its domestic goals despite regional conflict. But my friends -- peace must come if our region is to thrive and be secure. We cannot afford one more 'generation in waiting' for a Palestinian state.

Ten years ago, the Arab States spoke with a united voice on behalf of a just peace. We made the decision to look forward, not back; to seek agreement; and to offer acceptance. The Arab Peace Initiative has been recognised by every major friend of peace in the world, including the EU and other members of the Quartet. We need Israel to engage.

The Arab Peace Initiative is based on the only possible solution: two states, side by side, in dignity and self-determination -- a sovereign, viable and independent Palestine, on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital – collective peace and security guarantees for Israel -- and a final settlement, in accordance with U.N. resolutions, and the agreed resolution of all final status issues. This initiative went even beyond offering Israel peace and normal relations with all its Arab neighbours. The entire Muslim world endorsed it. What has been on the table for the past 10 years is a 57-state solution.

Some political elements point to the changes in the Arab World, and tell the Israeli people that negotiations can wait. There is no time to wait. The Arab Spring is rooted in a profound call for human respect. No affront is felt more deeply than the Israeli occupation. The longer Palestinian suffering endures, the longer settlement-building continues, the greater the frustrations, dangers, and unknowns. If we cross the line where the two-state solution is no longer possible, Israel will be further than ever from real security. It would take decades, even generations, for peace to regain the initiative.

Jordan sees an effective peace process as a moral duty and a strategic interest, and we continue to pursue results. This year, in Amman, we succeeded in getting negotiators back to the table several times. We would not have been able to do so, without the magnificent work of European diplomacy ... energising contacts, mobilising support, keeping up the pressure for peace … and, most important, keeping hope alive. Indeed, over the past two years, the European Union has been an invaluable friend to those, on both sides, working for peace in the Middle East.

The exploratory talks in Amman were baby steps, giving the parties an opportunity to resume bilateral contacts. Now the process needs a quantum leap forward -- and EU partnership is vital. The EU has taken a principled stand for a just, two-state solution, and against the illegal settlement building that is obstructing progress. You understand the global risks of continued conflict and the global benefits of peace. And you hold tremendous credibility for your experience in building democratic institutions, security, and trust. I hope you can bring all this to bear in the days ahead.

My friends,

Many peoples, one neighbourhood ... and one future. This is the challenge for Europe and the Middle East ... and it is our strength.

Together, we face immense issues -- economic, political, peace. The solutions are complex and the path forward difficult.

But together, we have the will and wisdom to reach the goals we seek. And together, we can succeed.

Thank you very much.

----------------------------------------------------------------

During His Majesty's European visit, HRH Crown Prince Hussein was sworn-in as regent of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

65 years ago: King Christian X is dead - Long live King Frederik IX

At the beginning of this year, the Danish people celebrated the 40th anniversary of Queen Margrethe II as Queen of Denmark.


However, there is another significant anniversary to be commemorated. To this day 65 years ago the present Queen’s grandfather, King Christian X, died and her father ascended the Danish throne as King Frederik IX.

King Christian X and Queen Alexandrine.

King Christian (*26th September 1870) was not only King of Denmark from 1912 to 1947, but was also the only official King of Iceland (1918 – 1944). During the German occupation King Christian X remained in Denmark and became to the Danish people a visible symbol of the national cause.

Iceland’s Act of Union with Denmark recognized the island as a fully sovereign state united with Denmark under a common king on 1st December 1918. The Kingdom of Iceland established its own flag and asked that Denmark represent its foreign affairs and defense interests.
King Christian's Icelandic Royal Standard 1920.

On 18th June 1936 King Christian X of Denmark and of Iceland, arrived in Reykjavik on board the royal yacht Dannebrog with Queen Alexandrine, and their younger son, Prince Knud and his wife, Princess Caroline Mathilde. It was a holiday for the Reykjavik's 33,000 residents. Virtually every resident was at the harbor when the Dannebrog dropped anchor. The King addressed his subjects in Icelandic. The official delegation of reception was headed by Iceland's Prime Minister, Herman Jonasson, 35, who might have been the world's youngest Prime Minister at that time. During the US occupation of Iceland the union between the two countries was declared dissolved and a republic was proclaimed.

On 20th April 1947, King Christian X died, and his eldest son, Crown Prince Frederick (*11th March 1899 - +14th January 1972), succeeded to the throne.


He was proclaimed King Frederik IX from the balcony of Christiansborg Palace by Prime Minister Knud Kristensen. He remained Denmark’s popular King until his death on 14th January 1972.

95th birthday of HM Queen Frederica of the Hellenes

The Greek Queen Frederica was born on 18th April 1917 as daughter of Duke Ernest Augustus III of Brunswick and his wife, Duchess Victoria Luise, née Princess of Prussia, the only daughter of German Emperor Wilhelm II and Empress Augusta Viktoria. As daughter of the head of the House of Hanover, she was Princess Frederica of Hanover, Great Britain and Ireland, and also Duchess Frederica of Brunswick-Lüneburg. As a descendant of King George III of the United Kingdom, she was, at birth, 34th in the line of succession to the British throne.


HRH Crown Prince Paul of Greece proposed to her during the summer of 1936, while he was in Berlin attending the 1936 Summer Olympics. Prince Paul was the son of King Constantine I of Greece and Queen Sophie, sister of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Their engagement was announced officially on 28th September 1937. They married in Athens on 9th January 1938. With her marriage Frederica used the title Hereditary Princess (Greek: Πριγκήπισσα Διαδόχου, Prinkēpissa Diadókhou, literally "Princess of the Heir") of Greece, her husband being heir presumptive to his elder brother, King George II of the Hellenes.


During the early part of their marriage, they resided at Villa Psychiko in the suburbs of Athens. Ten months after their marriage, their first child, Princess Sophia (the future Queen Sofia of Spain), was born on 2nd November 1938. On 2nd June 1940, their son and heir, Prince Constantine (the future King Constantine II), was born.

On 28th October 1940 Mussolini's troops attacked Greece, but were defeated by the Royal Greek Army. In April 1941 Hitler came to Mussolini’s rescue and invaded Greece. Crown Princess Frederica and her infant children were evacuated on a British warplane to Crete, where they were repeatedly strafed by the Luftwaffe. Several weeks later, Crete fell, and the Royal Family escaped to Cairo. From there, Crown Prince Paul accompanied King George to London, where a government-in-exile was formed. Crown Princess Frederica and the children spent the next two and a half years in South Africa, where a third child, Princess Irene, was born in 1942.


After the war, the Allies oversaw a plebiscite, and in September 1946, the Royal Family returned to Athens. On 1st September 1946 the Greek people decided by referendum on the Monarchy, which won 69 percent of the vote. King George II returned to the throne for a third time.


On 1st April 1947, King George II died suddenly and Frederica's husband ascended the Greek throne as King Paul I. Civil war was raging with the Communist guerrillas in the North, and that spring the Truman Doctrine had been launched to prevent Greece and Turkey from coming under Communist control. The King and Queen toured Northern Greece under severe security to try to appeal for loyalty in the summer of 1947.



During the civil war, Queen Frederica set the Queen's Camps or Child-cities (translation of: Παιδο(υ)πόλεις / Paidopoleis or Paidupoleis) a network of 53 camps around Greece where she would gather mostly orphans and children of poor families. These camps provided much needed shelter, food, and education to these children.


The Greek Civil War ended in August, 1949. The Sovereigns took this opportunity to strengthen the monarchy. But Queen Frederica has been described as "inherently undemocratic". The reason why the Queen became an often hated figure was because she was involved in Greek politics. However this involvement was often undertaken out of necessity. A closer analysis of Queen Frederica’s actions indicate that she was motivated by a desire to promote democracy and ultimately ensure that the Greek Monarchy became an institution that was above politics.


On 6th March 1964, King Paul died of cancer, and her son ascended the throne as King Constantine II. Queen Frederica assumed the title of queen dowager but continued to serve in the role of Queen. When King Constantine married Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark later that year on 18th September, Queen Frederica stepped back from the majority of her public royal duties in favor of the new Queen. She remained a target for vicious attacks. In response she renounced her apanage and retired to the countryside where she lived an almost reclusive life. However, she continued to attend Royal events that were family-oriented, such as the baptisms of her grandchildren in both Spain and Greece.


After King Constantine’s counter-coup to restore democracy failed on 13th December 1967, Queen Frederica left the country with the King, Queen Anne-Marie, the King’s two year old daughter Princess Alexia, Crown Prince Pavlos, the King’s sister, Princess Irene and Prime Minister Kollias.


Queen Frederica died during a surgery in Madrid on 6th February 1981. Her funeral on 12th February 1981 in the garden of the Royal Estate Tatoi was attended by a multitude of reigning and deposed royalty. This was testament to the high esteem that the late Queen was still held in royal circles. Unfortunately Queen Frederica’s status as an important twentieth century historical figure progressively diminished following her son’s exile and the repudiation of the monarchy in 1974. When King Constantine II and his family were allowed to return to briefly attend Queen Frederica’s funeral at Tatoi, the King’s return was brief and His Majesty was not even allowed to stay overnight. At Athens Airport the King and his family were greeted by cheers from Monarchists behind a wire fence. Poignantly, many of the assembled Monarchists were vexed to the point of crying that their King was not allowed to go over and meet with them.

In February 2006 the Royal Family commemorated the late Queen Frederica at Tatoi.

Spanish republicans propagate the re-use of the guillotine

To commemorate the proclamation of the 2nd republic on 14th April 1931, Spanish republicans have launched a campaign to revive their dead cause. The Izquierda Unida issued posters that state "Nuestros recortes serán con guillotina" (“Our cuts will be done with the guillotine”).

The Izquierda Unida, United Left (iu) consists mainly of the former Communist Party (PCE). Originally the Carlist Party was also a founding member of the iu but they parted ways in 1987. In 2012 the iu holds 11 out of 350 seats in the Spanish Parliament and none of 264 seats in the Spanish senate.

Spanish Monarchists counter the republican campaign by using the Communist motto and denouncing it:

NO to terror!

NO to assassination!

NO to dictatorship!

NO to the republic!

Long live the King!

Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee stamps

Minisheet

First Day Cover

60 cent stamps

$2.35 stamps

Australia Post issued the stamps on 3rd April 2012. Details see here.

1st April 1922 - Death of an Emperor

"No one will ever persuade me that the war could not have been ended long ago. The Emperor Karl offered peace. There is the only honest man who occupied an important position during the war, but he was not listened to. In my opinion his offer ought to have been accepted. The Emperor Karl had a sincere desire for peace, so everyone hates him."

Anatole France

On 1st November 1921 the Austrian Emperor and Hungarian Karl and is wife Empress-Queen Zita were taken aboard the British monitor HMS Glowworm, and removed to the Black Sea from where they were transferred to their final exile, the Portuguese island of Madeira. Determined to prevent a restoration attempt, the Council of Allied Powers had decided to exile the Imperial couple to Madeira because the island's isolation in the Atlantic Ocean.

Originally the couple and their children, who joined them on 2nd February 1922, lived at Funchal at the Villa Vittoria, next to Reid's Hotel, and later moved to Quinta do Monte.

Emperor Charles should not leave Madeira again. On 9th March 1922 he caught a cold walking into town. Since he could not afford a doctor, he delayed calling for medical aid, and his sickness became worse. He developed bronchitis which subsequently progressed to severe pneumonia. Having suffered two heart attacks he died of respiratory failure on 1st April in the presence of his wife, who was pregnant with their eighth child and nine-year-old Crown Prince Otto, retaining consciousness almost to the last moment.


His remains except for his heart are still kept on the island, in the Church of Our Lady of Monte, in spite of several attempts to move them to the Capuchin Crypt in Vienna. His heart, and that of Empress Zita, repose in the Loreto Chapel of Muri Abbey.

Pope John Paul II declared Emperor Charles "Blessed" in a beatification ceremony held on 3rd October 2004.

There are plenty of biographical articles on Emperor Charles on the web, which are better than anything the RadicalRoyalist could write. See for example:

Lover of Peace:

As soon as he succeeded to the throne, Ven. Emperor Karl bent his energies to seeking the end of the carnage of World War I, which had been raging for two years. To that purpose he authorized a brother-in-law, Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma, an officer in the Belgian army, to deliver a set of peace proposals to president Poincaré of France. As testimony to the sincerity of his effort, the Emperor stipulated his readiness to sacrifice his hereditary claim to Lorraine and to cede to Italy the Italian ethnic portion of the Trentino, even though Austrian troops at the moment were well advanced into the northern part of the Italian boot.

In a Peace Note of 1st August 1917, Pope Benedict XV seconded Karl’s initiative. Both the Pope and Emperor foresaw that unless the war was quickly ended, the unstable Kerensky government that had taken power in Russia in March 1917, could degenerate into something far worse because it would be far more threatening than imperial Russia ever was to what remained of Western Christendom. This is to speak of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in terms of what it was: the last Catholic world power.

Unfortunately, Austria’s Western enemies of the moment, who were looking for U.S. intervention to enable them to achieve territorial and other ambitions, were not ready for peace. At the same time Karl’s own ally, the Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, hoped to beat England and France on the Western Front before effective U.S. aid could arrive. The war continued.

It produced great deprivations on the home front. The poor were especially hard hit. In his capital of Vienna, Karl ordered that carriages and coaches of the imperial court be used to deliver coal to them. Further, he established a new Ministry of Social Welfare in his cabinet and gave its portfolio to the redoubtable Msgr. Ignaz Seipel, an apostle of reforms based on Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum and other papal social encyclicals. Karl also acted to restructure the Empire politically along federalist lines.

Establishment of a kind of United States of Greater Austria was his aim. In a manifesto of 16th October 1918, he ordered each ethnic group in the Imperial Parliament to caucus and draw up a plan for the government of its portion of the Empire. These were excellent and desirable moves. However, powerful forces were working against Karl, forces within the West itself, forces which had their agents even inside the Empire.

The head of Austria's Imperial Family, Archduke Karl, and his brother, Archduke Georg, visited their grandfather's coffin. They were accompanied by Dom Duarte, Duke of Bragança.

The French Royalists and the presidential elections

The French are in the middle of a presidential campaign that is not only costlier than ever, but also nastier. Incumbent president Nicolas Sarkozy is trailing behind the Socialist competitor François Hollande.

The French Constitutional Court has approved ten candidates to run for the presidency in elections starting on 22nd April. Former prime minister and foreign minister Dominique de Villepin is not among them, because he did not succeed in convincing 500 dignitaries of the French republic to support him with a "parrainage" (sponsorship). He very bitterly complained that he, who held high offices in the first decade of the third millennium, could not find 500 French dignitaries to give their signature for his candidacy - due to pressure from the ruling conservative party (UMP) and arch-enemy Nicolas Sarkozy with whom he sat at the same cabinet table.

De Villepin pointed out that "fantasist" candidates of all sorts had an easy go to fulfil the parrainage requirement. He aimed not only at the Trotskyite or the Revolutionary Communist candidates, but also at Jacques Cheminade. The 71-year-old - who first sought the presidency in 1981 - is again running as an independent. In 1995 he secured 0.28 percent of the vote. But he is hardly an independent candidate, he is the head of the ominous LaRouche movement in France and spreads their bizarre theses.

This year there is no outspoken Royalist candidate who tries to make it to the Elysée Palace. In 2007 Yves-Marie Adeline, chairman of the Alliance Royale, failed to find 500 signatories. Although he could convince 250 dignitaries to endorse his candidacy, he had to give up his attempt to present a Royalist alternative to the voters. This year his successor Patrick de Villenoisy failed to find 500 godfathers to endorse him.

However, in 2012 there is one candidate, whom the Italian news agency AGI.it connects with Monarchists:

The Constitutional Court has confirmed that there are officially 10 candidates for the French elections, after the official deadline for the presentation of 500 signatures of at least 30 departments of local administrations. ... and monarchist Nicolas Dupont-Aignan.

Strangely enough Monsieur Dupont-Aignan's party is called Debout la république and he could collect 708 signatures.


On the other hand, the royalist organisation (and semi-party)La Nouvelle Action Royaliste (NAR) last week endorsed Nicolas Dupont-Aignan:

Élection présidentielle - COMMUNIQUÉ de la Nouvelle Action Royaliste
Dans le souci primordial de restaurer l'État dans son indépendance et sa dignité, la Nouvelle Action royaliste confirme son rejet de Nicolas Sarkozy et appelle à en délivrer la France. Elle s'oppose, non moins fermement à la propagande xénophobe de Marine Le Pen qui nie la tradition nationale du droit du sol et qui viole, par ses diatribes antimusulmanes, la lettre et l'esprit de la loi sur la laïcité.

Pour le premier tour de l'élection présidentielle, la Nouvelle Action royaliste appelle à voter pour Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, proche de ses positions sur les questions institutionnelles et européennes.

Paris 26 mars 2012

Already ten years...

This Friday the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and other senior members of the Royal family will attend a service of thanksgiving for Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret at St George’s Chapel, Windsor. The service will mark the 10th anniversary of the deaths of Queen Elizabeth on 30th March 2002 and Princess Margaret on 9th February 2002.

Born on 4th August 1900 as ninth of ten children of the Earl of Strathmore, Lady Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was descended from the ancient kings of Scotland. Robert the Bruce was a forebear and Stuart blood ran in her veins.

There is an immense lesson of duty to be learned from the Queen Mother. More importantly, this can turn out to be of significance even to countries that are republics, led by presidents.


Initially she refused Prince Albert, second son of King George V and Queen Mary, as she had set her heart on the Hon James Stuart, a son of the Earl of Moray, a dashing war hero. But the formidable Queen Mary had earmarked Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon for her second son and she was not to be disappointed. But even then she was never meant to become Queen. She married Prince Albert, Duke of York, in 1923. The abdication of her husband's brother, King Edward VIII, in 1936 changed everything.


Contrary to King Edward’s lack of responsibility, she brought a constant sense of duty to the royal family. She had a genuine love for her people, and she reinvented the role of the royal family.

During World War II she became a national figure symbol of resistance. Her refusal to send the children to a safe place outside Britain are still well known: "The children won't leave without me. I won't leave without the King, and the King will never leave."

After King George’s death, she served for 50 years of public work for her people, in support of her daughter, the Queen. She became an exemplary grandmother and great-grandmother. She was much loved by Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry.


When Queen Elizabeth died, there was a huge outpouring of affection for the "Grand Old Lady of the House of Windsor", which was a solace for the Queen. The United Kingdom had lost not only the Queen Mother, but with her the last Empress of India had left!

The Queen Mother as Queen of Australia


To mark her 100th birthday Australia Post issued a special souvenir cover (see above). The cover featured Australia Post’s 1999 Queen’s Birthday stamp which also celebrated the life of the Queen Mother. The stamp featured images of both the Queen and the Queen Mother and was the first time mother and daughter had appeared together on an Australian stamp.

The cover itself shows Her Majesty on her 96th birthday; at six years of age; and in 1937 as Queen, beside King George VI at the time of his coronation, and with her daughters.

The postmark (Strathmore in Victoria) was selected because the Queen Mother’s father was the 14th Earl of Strathmore. A thistle is used in the design because the Queen Mother also became the First Lady of the Thistle.


The then-Duke and Duchess of York arrived for the first time in Australia on 26th March 1927. By 1927 the Federal Parliament had moved to the new Federal Capital, Canberra, and the main duty of the Duke of York was to perform during this tour the opening of the first session of the Commonwealth Parliament. The Duke and the Duchess attended the new Parliament House in Canberra on 9th May. This grand occasion, which Dame Nellie Melba got underway with a rendition of the national anthem, finished with a fanfare of bugles and a twenty-one gun salute at noon.

The Queen Mother performed another visit in 1958. Flying in from New Zealand, she arrived at the RAAF Station Fairbairn, Canberra on 14th February. Later she visited the Australian War Memorial to lay a wreath on the Stone of Remembrance. She paid visits to every Australian state and left the country again on 7th March by flying out from Perth.

Australia's Queen's Diamond Jubilee stamps

From 3rd April the Queen's Diamond Jubilee stamps will be available at Australia Post offices. Usually at this time of the year Queen's Birthday stamps are issued, but for this special occasion of the Monarch's Diamond Jubilee, the jubilee takes precedence of Queen Elizabeth's birthday, which is on 21st April, but will be celebrated in most Australian states on 11th June 2012.


Australia Post's official presentation gives justified credit to Australia's Queen:
One of the major celebrations of 2012 is the Diamond Jubilee of the accession to the throne of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Australia Post has produced some very special products for collectors. The stamp issue presents a young monarch on the base rate stamp with the international stamp featuring the Queen as we know her today.

Royal jubilees celebrate significant periods of a monarch’s reign. In 2012, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Diamond Jubilee, marking 60 years as Australia’s sovereign. She acceded to the throne on 6 February 1952, following the death of King George VI.

Throughout her reign the Queen’s priorities have been loyalty and service to her people. The Diamond Jubilee provides Australia – along with Britain and other Commonwealth countries – the opportunity to celebrate her dedication to duty, and the grace and strength she has brought to her public life and role of monarch.

Tongan King fare welled

This Tuesday, the Tongan people laid their monarch to rest. The body of His Majesty King George Tupou V was placed on a large wooden bier at noon after lying in a casket in the throne room of his palace where locals observed an overnight vigil.

The pall bearers, who according to an official programme for the funeral number 1,000, were drawn from former students of Tonga's Tupou College and villages throughout the country's main island of Tongatapu.

The Free Wesleyan Church bell began to toll as a Tonga Defence Services detachment led the procession as a guard of honour, followed by royal musicians, officiating clergy and church leaders and then the royal bier.



In 2006 a memorial service was held for the late King's father, His Majesty King Tupou IV and a surprising hymn was sung: Austria's Imperial Anthem, "Gott erhalte" in Tongan. (The German republics took Haydn's hymn and transformed it into their national anthem.)



The following message was sent by The Queen to King Tupou VI of Tonga:

It is with great sadness that I learnt of the death of your brother, His Majesty King George Tupou V. King George was a true statesman who served his country with distinction.

On behalf of the people of the United Kingdom, Prince Philip and I wish to convey to your family and to the people of the Kingdom of Tonga our deepest sympathy at this sad time.

ELIZABETH R

His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester represented the Queen at the funeral of King George Tupou V.

Arguments for an Upper House of Parliament

Contrary to other editions, today's Saturday Age contained a letter to the editor that is worth considering:

Queensland voters today may deliver electoral devastation not only to the ALP, but to significant voices of opposition - as the state continues without its upper house. Yet the major parties refuse to restore that second chamber of Parliament, which was abolished in 1922.

Upper houses accommodate significant smaller and opposing voices who can restrain government. They promote accountability, unhurried consideration and better public consultation.

Family First, One Nation, the Greens and the Australian Party want to restore the Queensland Legislative Council - but they may not gain any representation under existing arrangements.

David d'Lima, Sturt, South Australia

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visiting the Kingdom of Norway

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall were guests of honour at the banquet at Oslo's Royal Palace.

The Prince said it was "such a pleasure" to be in Norway again, as he began his tour of Scandinavia with his "darling wife"

The Prince's speech raised a laugh from the 74 people attending, as he told them: "I have the fondest memories of my first visit to Norway in August 1969 when my sister and I came with our parents in the old Royal Yacht Britannia.

"It was then that I discovered three memorable and endearing things about the Norwegians.

"First of all that virtually every house seemed to fly the Norwegian flag, secondly that our anthems are exactly the same, and thirdly that Norwegians tend to stay up all night during the summer."

He described the "incredibly close and multiple family ties" shared by the British and Norwegian royals through their shared ancestor Queen Victoria and his pride that they stand "shoulder to shoulder" within NATO.

The Prince, who had already privately expressed his condolences to King Harald over the death of five Norwegian Air Force officers in a crash in Sweden last week, publicly extended his "most heartfelt condolences" to the families of those who lost their lives.


King Harald told the guests, who included Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and AUF leader Eskil Pedersen, who survived the Utoya massacre, that the two nations are "united by history and the North Sea".

He paid tribute to Queen Elizabth's reign, adding: "She has served the British people with unfailing devotion, dignity and distinction."

King Harald told The Prince and The Duchess: "We are more than friends. We are family."


20th March 2012
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall praised the bravery of survivors of the Utoya massacre when they arrived in Oslo for the first day of their tour of Scandinavia in Oslo.

The Royal Couple visited the Norwegian capital's Nobel Peace Centre on the first day of their tour of Scandinavia as part of The Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

They were introduced to members of Labour youth league the AUF who were on the island of Utoya for a summer camp on 22nd July last year when right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik launched an attack, shooting dozens of people.

The 33-year-old has confessed to the attacks on Utoya, and a bombing near government offices in Oslo, that left 77 people dead, but denies criminal responsibility

Mari West, 26, an AUF member and international co-ordinator for the Norwegian Labour party, told her: "We've talked to each other and also to professionals."

The Duchess asked: "Have you written a diary about what happened? I always think it's a good thing to do, while it's still fresh. Because as time goes on, you forget things."

Asmund Aukrust, 27, vice president of the AUF, replied: "I think we were recommended to do it. I didn't, and now I regret it."

The Duchess discussed when it was that those on the island realised what was happening and asked if the survivors still suffered nightmares, which some admitted they did.

Stian Valla Taraldsvik, 19, a political adviser for the AUF, added that the massacre was "a great challenge" to the organisation and said: "Some had nightmares and some have blind spots."

AUF leader Eskil Pedersen, 28, told The Prince in his discussion with the royal: "People have been through quite dreadful things.

"A lot of people were on the island up to the point where the gunman was taken into custody. Others swam or were taken on the boats.

"I think it's safe to say that these people have gone through the most dramatic thing in Norway since the Second World War. But at the same time, it is important to say that we don't want it to dominate our thoughts every day."

The Royal Couple also took part in discussions on youth engagement and enjoyed a performance by Norwegian musician Mikhael Paskalev, who trained at Liverpool's Paul McCartney Institute for Performing Arts, at the Nobel Peace Centre



21st March 2012
The Norwegian city of Bergen was the second stop on The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall's tour of Scandinavia today.

Known for its rain, the city did not disappoint and The Duchess of Cornwall and Queen Sonja of Norway braved the conditions at an outdoor nursery in Norway's second largest city.

The pair met school children who have their lessons in a forest environment in all weathers. It was a particularly foggy and wet day, and The Duchess said to one child in an anorak: "I wish I had my wet weather gear on."

The Prince and King Harald of Norway went on board the M/V Brennholm to see the work the Institute for Marine Research is doing to encourage sustainable fishing.

His Royal Highness's own International Sustainability Unit recently launched a report on sustainable fisheries and The Prince has for many years been concerned about global fish stocks.

The Prince and The Duchess then accompanied The King and Queen for a cultural performance at the Hakonshallen, a medieval hall first visited by The Prince with Queen Elizabeth in 1969. He had specifically asked to go back to the hall because of his earlier trip there.

They listened to musical performances on the recorder and harpsichord, songs performed by a choir and watched an African-inspired dance.

Their Royal Highnesses met familiar faces when they went on a walkabout in the Bryggen area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Prince was given the chance to show off his skills with an axe when he visited a workshop on the Bryggen. Watched by The Duchess, he stood astride a log - to be used as part of a beam to support the wooden buildings - and wielded an axe to split it.

Their Royal Highnesses stopped to speak to locals as they made their way around the historic area.

The Prince then made his way to HMS Liverpool, while The Duchess and The Queen of Norway visited Troldhaugen, a wooden villa overlooking a fjord which was used as a summer house by composer Edvard Grieg. They were given a private piano recital of his work and had afternoon tea at the villa, which is now a museum.

Here is a video of The Prince's speech given during a visit to HMS Liverpool, in which he thanked the crew ahead of the ship's decommissioning.

Belgian Crown Prince Philippe ready to be King

Crown Prince Philippe of Belgium is ready for the throne. King Albert II’s oldest son told journalists that he is ready to take over the reigns as our country’s head of state when the time comes.

Prince Philippe added: “My father is doing a good job and I try and help him as much as I can whenever he asks me to do so. I would be ready, if I were asked to step in”.


King Albert II was born 6th June 1934, the second son and third child of King Leopold III and Queen Astrid of the Belgians. On 9th August 1993, after the death of King Baudouin on 31st July, Prince Albert, Duke of Liège, was sworn in as sixth King of the Belgians.

Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant was born on 15th April 1960. On 4th December 1999 he married Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz, daughter of a Walloon Count of Belgian noble family and female line descendant of Polish noble families.


The couple has four children:
Princess Elisabeth Thérèse Marie Hélène, born 25th October 2001, heiress presumtive,
Prince Gabriel Baudouin Charles Marie, born 20th August 2003,
Prince Emmanuel Léopold Guillaume François Marie, born 4th October 2005,
Princess Eléonore Fabiola Victoria Anne Marie, born 16th April 2008.

Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee address

The Queen's address to both Houses of Parliament, 20th March 2012

My Lords and Members of the House of Commons,

I am most grateful for your Loyal Addresses and the generous words of the Lord Speaker and Mr. Speaker.

This great institution has been at the heart of the country and the lives of our people throughout its history. As Parliamentarians, you share with your forebears a fundamental role in the laws and decisions of your own age. Parliament has survived as an unshakeable cornerstone of our constitution and our way of life.

History links monarchs and Parliament, a connecting thread from one period to the next. So, in an era when the regular, worthy rhythm of life is less eye-catching than doing something extraordinary, I am reassured that I am merely the second Sovereign to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee.

As today, it was my privilege to address you during my Silver and Golden Jubilees. Many of you were present ten years ago and some of you will recall the occasion in 1977. Since my Accession, I have been a regular visitor to the Palace of Westminster and, at the last count, have had the pleasurable duty of treating with twelve Prime Ministers.

Over such a period, one can observe that the experience of venerable old age can be a mighty guide but not a prerequisite for success in public office. I am therefore very pleased to be addressing many younger Parliamentarians and also those bringing such a wide range of background and experience to your vital, national work.

During these years as your Queen, the support of my family has, across the generations, been beyond measure. Prince Philip is, I believe, well-known for declining compliments of any kind. But throughout he has been a constant strength and guide. He and I are very proud and grateful that The Prince of Wales and other members of our family are travelling on my behalf in this Diamond Jubilee year to visit all the Commonwealth Realms and a number of other Commonwealth countries.

These overseas tours are a reminder of our close affinity with the Commonwealth, encompassing about one-third of the world’s population. My own association with the Commonwealth has taught me that the most important contact between nations is usually contact between its peoples. An organisation dedicated to certain values, the Commonwealth has flourished and grown by successfully promoting and protecting that contact.

At home, Prince Philip and I will be visiting towns and cities up and down the land. It is my sincere hope that the Diamond Jubilee will be an opportunity for people to come together in a spirit of neighbourliness and celebration of their own communities.

We also hope to celebrate the professional and voluntary service given by millions of people across the country who are working for the public good. They are a source of vital support to the welfare and wellbeing of others, often unseen or overlooked.

And as we reflect upon public service, let us again be mindful of the remarkable sacrifice and courage of our Armed Forces. Much may indeed have changed these past sixty years but the valour of those who risk their lives for the defence and freedom of us all remains undimmed.

The happy relationship I have enjoyed with Parliament has extended well beyond the more than three and a half thousand Bills I have signed into law. I am therefore very touched by the magnificent gift before me, generously subscribed by many of you. Should this beautiful window cause just a little extra colour to shine down upon this ancient place, I should gladly settle for that.

We are reminded here of our past, of the continuity of our national story and the virtues of resilience, ingenuity and tolerance which created it. I have been privileged to witness some of that history and, with the support of my family, rededicate myself to the service of our great country and its people now and in the years to come.

This was the monarch's sixth address to both Houses of Parliament. She gave similar speeches in celebration of her Golden Jubilee in 2002 and Silver Jubilee 25 years earlier in 1977.

The Speakers of both houses lauded the Queen's dedication to her subjects. Introducing the Queen ahead of her address to Parliament to mark her Diamond Jubilee, the House of Commons Speaker, John Bercow, praised the monarch for "sixty years of stability. Sixty years of security. Sixty years of certainty. Sixty years of sacrifice. Sixty years of service."

The Lord Speaker, Baroness Frances D'Souza of Wychwood in the County of Oxfordshire, who is also President of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, stressed the Monarch's dedication the the Commonwealth.

Lord Speaker addresses Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Most Gracious Sovereign,

We, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, are assembled here today to celebrate sixty years of Your reign. We record with warmth and affection our appreciation of Your dedicated service to Your people, and Your unequalled sense of public duty over the years - service and duty to which You have only recently, and so movingly, re-dedicated Yourself.

We celebrate too Your stewardship of Your high office. You have personified continuity and stability while ensuring that Your role has evolved imperceptibly, with the result that the Monarchy is as integral a part of our national life today as it was 60 years ago.

We rejoice in this Jubilee and we give thanks for all that it represents.

At the same time, we record our gratitude for the support which You have received throughout Your reign from His Royal Highness Prince Philip, for in this year of jubilee we celebrate his service too.

This is one of the first of many celebrations to be held up and down the land. In the coming months You and the Duke will travel widely throughout the Kingdom. But today You have come to Parliament, the constitutional heart of the nation, and granted us the privilege of being the first of Your people formally to honour Your Jubilee. And where better to begin the celebrations than here, in the splendour of Westminster Hall - a hall of kings and queens for almost a millennium.

While this Hall has seen many historic events, few are permanently commemorated. So we look forward with great anticipation to the unveiling of the stained glass window which members of both Houses have commissioned in honour of this day. When placed in the window above the great doors, Your Coat of Arms and Royal Cypher will bathe the Hall in colour and be seen daily by members and staff as they walk through to their offices—and by the many thousands of visitors we receive here weekly, from both home and abroad.

For we must remember that Your Jubilee will be celebrated with joy in Your other realms and territories, and throughout the rest of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth as we know it today is of course one of the great achievements of Your reign and under Your leadership continues to flourish, with a membership of 54 countries. It is still growing. It is a tremendous force for good in the world and we are aware of its special personal significance to You.

Many of us present here today take an active part in the work of the United Kingdom Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. We work to share our experiences, to learn from one another, and to promote democracy. But our efforts are as nothing compared with those of Your Majesty in the service of Your beloved Commonwealth. Over the years You have visited all but two Commonwealth countries—some, many times—and attended all Heads of Government meetings since 1997. We look on with admiration and pride at the triumphs of some of Your recent tours and it is significant that members of the Royal Family are representing You this year at the Jubilee celebrations being held in all those lands in which You are Head of State.

Your Majesty, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament Assembled give thanks for this Your Diamond Jubilee. We look forward to the years to come and we pray that You and Your realms may enjoy the peace, plenty and prosperity that have so distinguished Your reign.

During the event a Diamond Jubilee window - a gift from the members of both Houses - was unveiled to mark the monarch's 60-year reign. It will be installed above the North Door of Westminster Hall later this year.