Elizabeth II has died

[lpetrich]

Looking at royal families, the most recently-founded one is the House of Bonaparte, founded by Napoleon in 1804.

Like most long-lived nations, France was a monarchy for most of its history, going through the Merovingian, Carolingian, Capetian, Valois, and Bourbon dynasties, and ending in 1792 with Bourbon king Louis XVI's head being sliced off by the French revolutionaries.

France became its First Republic from 1792 to 1804, when Napoléon Bonaparte proclaimed himself Emperor. He didn't want to call himself king, but he was a monarch just the same. Just like in ancient Rome, the emperors were monarchs who didn't want to call themselves kings.

When Napoléon was defeated and exiled to the island of Elba in 1814, a Bourbon became king, Louis XVIII. But Napoléon escaped, recruited some followers, and took over again in 1815. But after about a hundred days, he was defeated and exiled again, this time to a more distant island, St. Helena. Louis XVIII became king again, and in 1824, he was succeeded by Charles X.

King Charles X was overthrown in the July Revolution of 1830, and succeeding him was Louis Philippe I of the House of Orléans. It and the House of Bourbon are offshoots of the Capetian dynasty.

King Louis Philippe I was overthrown in the Revolution of 1848, giving the Second Republic. It was in turn overthrown in 1852 in a coup by Louis-Napoléon, nephew of the first Napoléon, and he proclaimed himself Emperor Napoléon III.

In the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, Prussia defeated France, capturing Napoléon III, and French politicians then declared France's Third Republic. That regime lasted until the defeat of France by Germany once again in 1940. The Vichy regime ruled southern France until the defeat of Germany, and the Fourth Republic was then started. It lasted 1946 - 1958, and it was brought down by the strife around decolonization of Algeria, West Africa, and Indochina. The Fifth Republic then emerged, lasting from 1958 to the present day.

As a result, French monarchists are split into Bourbonist, Bonapartist, and Orléanist factions, depending on which royal family that they think that a new French monarch ought to come from. France has for a long time had monarchist factions of either Bourbonist, Orleanist, or Bonapartist. What were the actual aims of the French monarchists? - Quora

 

[lpetrich]

I then looked at the other European monarchies that were founded in the shifted 19th cy., roughly 1814 - 1914.

All these nations got monarchies in in that time: Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Italy, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania. The initial monarchs all came from pre-existing royal or noble families.

For Serbia, the monarchs came from the  Karađorđević "Karageorgevich" and the  Obrenović "Obrenovich" dynasties, and neither of their founders came from royal or noble families, as far as I can tell.

In Brazil, the first Emperor, Pedro I, came from the Portuguese royal family.

-

I'll now turn to recent hereditary successions.

In Haiti, "Papa Doc" François Duvalier (1907 - 1957 - 1971) was succeeded by his son "Baby Doc", Jean-Claude Duvalier (1951 - 1971 - 1986 - 2014). JCD was overthrown in a rebellion and spent most of his later years in exile.

In Syria, Hafez Assad (1930 - 1971 - 2000) was succeeded by his son Bashar Assad (1985 - 2000 - ).

 

[lpetrich]

North Korea is now a monarchy in all but name. Kim Il-sung (1912 - 1948 - 1994) was succeeded by his son Kim Jong-il (1941 - 1994 - 2011) in turn succeeded by his son Kim Jong-un (1982 - 2011 - ).  Kim family (North Korea)

North Korea rewrites rules to legitimise Kim family succession | South China Morning Post

North Korea has revised the 10 fundamental principles of the ruling Workers’ Party to legitimise the hereditary succession of current leader Kim Jong-un and his family, reported South Korean daily Chosun Ilbo on Monday.

...
The revised rules stipulate that North Korea and the Workers’ Party will be “kept alive forever by the Baekdu bloodline”. Baekdu Mountain is the highest on the Korean Peninsula and the ‘Baekdu bloodline’ refers to the Kim family.

...
References to socialism and communism were also removed from the revised principles and replaced with “juche revolution”, a belief that is the essence of North Korean politics which declares the North Korean people as the masters of the country’s fate.

Factionalism, regionalism and familism were also condemned in the changed principles.

The "Baekdu bloodline" (or Paektu) is a new royal family, it seems. Possible successors:

• Kim Yo-jong - younger sister of Kim Jong-un
• Kim Pyong-il - last living son of Kim Il-sung - with adult son Kim In-kang and adult daughter Kim Ung-song
• Kim Jong-chul - older brother of Kim Jong-un
• Kim Yong-ju - surviving brother of Kim Il-sung, 100 years old in 2020 - 2 biological, 2 adopted children
• Kim Ju-ae, - reported daughter of Kim Jong-un, a young child

 

[Politesse]

I then looked at the other European monarchies that were founded in the shifted 19th cy., roughly 1814 - 1914.

All these nations got monarchies in in that time: Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Italy, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania. The initial monarchs all came from pre-existing royal or noble families.

For Serbia, the monarchs came from the  Karađorđević "Karageorgevich" and the  Obrenović "Obrenovich" dynasties, and neither of their founders came from royal or noble families, as far as I can tell.

In Brazil, the first Emperor, Pedro I, came from the Portuguese royal family.

-

I'll now turn to recent hereditary successions.

In Haiti, "Papa Doc" François Duvalier (1907 - 1957 - 1971) was succeeded by his son "Baby Doc", Jean-Claude Duvalier (1951 - 1971 - 1986 - 2014). JCD was overthrown in a rebellion and spent most of his later years in exile.

In Syria, Hafez Assad (1930 - 1971 - 2000) was succeeded by his son Bashar Assad (1985 - 2000 - ).

Some others currently "enthroned": the Kim family of Korea, the Eliyev family of Azerbaijan, the Ondimbas of Gabon, the Gnassingbé family of Togo, and the Deby family of Chad. In almost all cases, an election process was used to justify the succession in the international stage, however suspicious the circumstances of those elections were. Only the Kims managed to preserve succcession to a third generation, though the Eliyevs are widely expected to do the same.

 

[lpetrich]

 Family dictatorship - essentially de facto monarchy - the Wikipedia article states "A family dictatorship is different from a monarchy (where the descent is required by general constitutional law), or a political family (where members of the family possess informal, rather than formal and overwhelming political authority)." Which is correct about de jure monarchy.

The article listed the Kim dynasty, though it's making itself a de jure monarchy by stating the leadership of the "Baektu bloodline" in its official documents.

Also the Dutch Republic, where the stadholders came from the House of Orange-Nassau, and the British Protectorate, where Oliver Cromwell chose his son Richard as his successor.

In Cuba, Fidel Castro (1926 - 1959 - 2016) was succeeded by his brother Raúl (1931 - 2011 - 2021), but Raúl's successor, Miguel Díaz-Canel, has no connection to the Castro family.

 

[Politesse]

In Cuba, Fidel Castro (1926 - 1959 - 2016) was succeeded by his brother Raúl (1931 - 2011 - 2021), but Raúl's successor, Miguel Díaz-Canel, has no connection to the Castro family.

Nor nobility of any kind; his parents were middle-class and he rose up through the bureaucratic ranks the slow way. He is also too young to have any memory of the Revolution. He has landowning family in Spain, but they have firmly disowned him. An interesting personality to see step into executive power in a modern state, even a communist one.

 

[lpetrich]

Rising up through the ranks was what Napoleon did also. He distinguished himself as a military leader before he took over.

François "Papa Doc" Duvalier, Hafez Assad, Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gaddafi, and Kim Il-sung also had proletarian origins.

 

[lpetrich]

Barbados bid farewell to the Queen and celebrate the birth of a republic - CNN

With the stroke of midnight, Barbados cut its last remaining bonds to the British monarchy after nearly 400 years. In a ceremony on Monday evening, Prince Charles acknowledged the "appalling atrocity of slavery" as the nation removed Queen Elizabeth II as head of state and inaugurated its first-ever President.

Official festivities marking the island's historic transition from realm to republic took place in National Heroes Square, decorated in the national colors of gold and ultramarine, in the heart of the capital of Bridgetown.

The heir to the British throne had come from London for the occasion and watched as the Royal Standard flag was lowered from the flagpole and the new Presidential Standard raised in its place.

Moments later, the Queen's own former representative, Governor-General Sandra Mason -- a well-respected 73-year-old former jurist -- was sworn in as President by the Chief Justice. It was exactly 55 years to the day since Barbados declared independence from Britain.

 

[lpetrich]

Barbados parts way with Queen and becomes world’s newest republic | Barbados | The Guardian

Sandra Mason, Governor General of Barbados, and now President of the Republic of Barbados:

“Republic Barbados has set sail on her maiden voyage,” Mason said in her inauguration speech as the first president of the country, recognising the “complex, fractured and turbulent world” it would need to navigate.

“Our country must dream big dreams and fight to realise them,” the former governor-general told those gathered for the ceremony.

A solemn Prince Charles was on hand to witness the transition. “The creation of this republic offers a new beginning,” he said in a speech to the ceremony. “From the darkest days of our past and the appalling atrocity of slavery, which forever stains our history, people of this island forged their path with extraordinary fortitude.”
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“Full stop this colonial page,” Winston Farrell, a Barbadian poet said in a reading at the ceremony. “Some have grown up stupid under the Union Jack, lost in the castle of their skin.”

“It is about us, rising out of the cane fields, reclaiming our history,” he said. “End all that she mean, put a Bajan there instead.”

 

[lpetrich]

Jamaica PM tells British royals island nation wants to be independent | Reuters

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness told Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate on Wednesday his country wants to be "independent" and address "unresolved" issues, a day after protesters called on the United Kingdom to pay reparations for slavery.

The royal couple arrived in Jamaica on Tuesday as part of a week-long tour of former British Caribbean colonies, but have faced public questioning of the British Empire's legacy.

Prince William is a grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, and next in line after his father Prince Charles.
[/quote]
Jamaican officials have previously said the government is studying the process of reforming the constitution to become a republic. Experts say the process could take years and would require a referendum.

Jamaica's government said last year it will ask Britain for compensation for forcibly transporting an estimated 600,000 Africans to work on sugarcane and banana plantations that created fortunes for British slave holders.
[/quote]

Jamaica: government ‘has already begun’ process of removing Queen as head of state | The Independent - "Exclusive: Talks commenced weeks ago and a figure has been appointed to government who is expected to oversee the nation’s transition to republic, The Independent has been told"

Last weekend Jamaica’s culture minister, Olivia “Babsy” Grange, confirmed ahead of the royal visit that the government was pushing forward with its strategy to seek reparations for slavery from Britain.

Addressing members of the Reparations Council, a governmental advisory body, Ms Grange said the time had come to “step up the pace” on developing the nation’s ‘Roadmap to Reparation’ policy.

The council must “continue to work impatiently for justice for the atrocities committed against our ancestors, and those which flow from this history and persist against our people today (...),” she said, adding that the time for “talk” is over and “action” is required.

“We need a roadmap for legal and diplomatic actions which will bring us monetary reparation,” the minister continued. “We need that roadmap that will extinguish a debt we have never owed.”

 

[lpetrich]

From  Elizabeth II and  Abolition of monarchy - and grouped by geographical region and ethnic composition:

• Former part of the UK: Ireland 1949
• Large Anglo: Canada, Australia, New Zealand continuing
• Mediterranean: Malta 1974
• Caribbean and nearby: Trinidad and Tobago 1976, Barbados 2021, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines continuing
• Central and South America: Guyana 1970, Belize continuing
• Africa: Ghana 1960, South Africa 1961, Tanganyika 1962, Nigeria, Uganda 1963, Kenya 1964, Malawi 1966, Gambia 1970, Sierra Leone 1971, Mauritius 1992
• South Asia: India 1950, Pakistan 1956, Sri Lanka 1972
• Oceania: Fiji 1987, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu continuing

By date:

• 1949: Ireland
• 1950: India
• 1956: Pakistan
• 1960: Ghana
• 1961: South Africa
• 1962: Tanganyika
• 1963: Nigeria, Uganda
• 1964: Kenya
• 1966: Malawi
• 1970: Gambia, Guyana
• 1971: Sierra Leone
• 1972: Ceylon
• 1974: Malta
• 1976: Trinidad and Tobago
• 1987: Fiji
• 1992: Mauritius
• 2021: Barbados
• Continuing: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Grenada, Jamaica, St Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu

 

[DrZoidberg]

Jamaica PM tells British royals island nation wants to be independent | Reuters

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness told Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate on Wednesday his country wants to be "independent" and address "unresolved" issues, a day after protesters called on the United Kingdom to pay reparations for slavery.

The royal couple arrived in Jamaica on Tuesday as part of a week-long tour of former British Caribbean colonies, but have faced public questioning of the British Empire's legacy.

Prince William is a grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, and next in line after his father Prince Charles.

Jamaican officials have previously said the government is studying the process of reforming the constitution to become a republic. Experts say the process could take years and would require a referendum.

Jamaica's government said last year it will ask Britain for compensation for forcibly transporting an estimated 600,000 Africans to work on sugarcane and banana plantations that created fortunes for British slave holders.
[/quote]
From  Elizabeth II and  Abolition of monarchy - and grouped by geographical region and ethnic composition:

• Former part of the UK: Ireland 1949
• Large Anglo: Canada, Australia, New Zealand continuing
• Mediterranean: Malta 1974
• Caribbean and nearby: Trinidad and Tobago 1976, Barbados 2021, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines continuing
• Central and South America: Guyana 1970, Belize continuing
• Africa: Ghana 1960, South Africa 1961, Tanganyika 1962, Nigeria, Uganda 1963, Kenya 1964, Malawi 1966, Gambia 1970, Sierra Leone 1971, Mauritius 1992
• South Asia: India 1950, Pakistan 1956, Sri Lanka 1972
• Oceania: Fiji 1987, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu continuing

By date:

• 1949: Ireland
• 1950: India
• 1956: Pakistan
• 1960: Ghana
• 1961: South Africa
• 1962: Tanganyika
• 1963: Nigeria, Uganda
• 1964: Kenya
• 1966: Malawi
• 1970: Gambia, Guyana
• 1971: Sierra Leone
• 1972: Ceylon
• 1974: Malta
• 1976: Trinidad and Tobago
• 1987: Fiji
• 1992: Mauritius
• 2021: Barbados
• Continuing: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Grenada, Jamaica, St Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu

[/QUOTE]

I think this is simply down to that the shiny glow of the British empire fading. I don't think Brexit helped. A bunch of backward xenophobes running Britain isn't going to endear them to their ex colonials.

 

[Metaphor]

I feel ashamed that Australia has proven herself so immature that she has not yet been able to wrest herself away from mother's skirts.

I am mildly comforted that the Queen of Australia's heirs and successors are not nearly as popular as she is.

 

[Hermit]

The monarchy in question has been around for 1,094 years.

More like 361, surely? The Cromwells were no kings.

The Commonwealth was a brief pause, lasting not much more than a decade. It is akin to the 20 minute intermission you get at the cinema, after which you resume watching more of the same movie. The continuity of the monarchy is emphasised by the fact that the successor to the deposed/decapitated king, Charles I, was his son, Charles II.

That said, talking about a 1,094 year old monarchy makes about as much sense as speaking of my grandfather's axe. The one I replaced the head on after my brother replaced its handle. Once you take the circumstantial changes into account that occurred between the reign of Athelstan and those of QEII, bugger-all the two have in common other than the fact that they were monarchs. Another analogy might be the a comparison between Carl Benz's Patent Motorwagen and Tesla's Model Y. Both are cars, of course, but apart from that label they share little else. Anyone who disagrees is invited to take each on a trip from from Mannheim through Heidelberg, and Wiesloch to Pforzheim and back again.

 

[Politesse]

Last weekend Jamaica’s culture minister, Olivia “Babsy” Grange, confirmed ahead of the royal visit that the government was pushing forward with its strategy to seek reparations for slavery from Britain.


Addressing members of the Reparations Council, a governmental advisory body, Ms Grange said the time had come to “step up the pace” on developing the nation’s ‘Roadmap to Reparation’ policy.

The council must “continue to work impatiently for justice for the atrocities committed against our ancestors, and those which flow from this history and persist against our people today (...),” she said, adding that the time for “talk” is over and “action” is required.

“We need a roadmap for legal and diplomatic actions which will bring us monetary reparation,” the minister continued. “We need that roadmap that will extinguish a debt we have never owed.”

Did they really think a tour of their family's former slave plantations was going to just be a jolly holiday, or were they expecting and intending to spark these conversations along the way? There's a reason European monarchs almost never visit their colonies in person.

 

[lpetrich]

I am mildly comforted that the Queen of Australia's heirs and successors are not nearly as popular as she is.

Seems that QE2 is very likable. The same cannot be said of Prince Charles or Prince William. Prince Charles strikes me as very reckless, while Prince William seems like a nobody.

 

[bilby]

I am mildly comforted that the Queen of Australia's heirs and successors are not nearly as popular as she is.

Seems that QE2 is very likable. The same cannot be said of Prince Charles or Prince William. Prince Charles strikes me as very reckless, while Prince William seems like a nobody.

It's a monarchy.

Being likeable is entirely optional, as is being competent.

Nobody gets to vote, so public opinion is utterly irrelevant.

People in the west have apparently forgotten that their opinions don't matter to aristocrats. But they never did, and they still don't.

When Lizzy kicks the bucket, her successor will be Charlie, unless he croaks first. His abilities, qualifications, popularity, or likeability will not be taken into account.

 

[Metaphor]

I am mildly comforted that the Queen of Australia's heirs and successors are not nearly as popular as she is.

Seems that QE2 is very likable. The same cannot be said of Prince Charles or Prince William. Prince Charles strikes me as very reckless, while Prince William seems like a nobody.

It's a monarchy.

Being likeable is entirely optional, as is being competent.

Nobody gets to vote, so public opinion is utterly irrelevant.

On the contrary.

The power to uphold or abolish The Crown lies with the British people. They can be legislated "out of office" with Parliamentary Acts, or, if that cannot be done, there are also acts of revolution.

People in the west have apparently forgotten that their opinions don't matter to aristocrats. But they never did, and they still don't.

When Lizzy kicks the bucket, her successor will be Charlie, unless he croaks first. His abilities, qualifications, popularity, or likeability will not be taken into account.

Australia determines who the heirs and successors are for the next Queen (or King) of Australia, as we have since 1901.

The republican movement in Australia, unfortunately, appears moribund. But the increasing number of overseas-born people with no ties to the British Commonwealth might yet provide the critical mass to jettison it.

 

[Politesse]

I am mildly comforted that the Queen of Australia's heirs and successors are not nearly as popular as she is.

Seems that QE2 is very likable. The same cannot be said of Prince Charles or Prince William. Prince Charles strikes me as very reckless, while Prince William seems like a nobody.

It's a monarchy.

Being likeable is entirely optional, as is being competent.

Nobody gets to vote, so public opinion is utterly irrelevant.

People in the west have apparently forgotten that their opinions don't matter to aristocrats. But they never did, and they still don't.

When Lizzy kicks the bucket, her successor will be Charlie, unless he croaks first. His abilities, qualifications, popularity, or likeability will not be taken into account.

Maybe. You know that republicans will see this as an opportunity to drive a much larger wedge between the Royal Family and matters of State, once the very particularly popular cult of Elizabeth II is no longer there to generate public emotional sympathy for her family's role and the justification of their lifestyle and expenses.

 

[bilby]

I am mildly comforted that the Queen of Australia's heirs and successors are not nearly as popular as she is.

Seems that QE2 is very likable. The same cannot be said of Prince Charles or Prince William. Prince Charles strikes me as very reckless, while Prince William seems like a nobody.

It's a monarchy.

Being likeable is entirely optional, as is being competent.

Nobody gets to vote, so public opinion is utterly irrelevant.

People in the west have apparently forgotten that their opinions don't matter to aristocrats. But they never did, and they still don't.

When Lizzy kicks the bucket, her successor will be Charlie, unless he croaks first. His abilities, qualifications, popularity, or likeability will not be taken into account.

Maybe. You know that republicans will see this as an opportunity to drive a much larger wedge between the Royal Family and matters of State, once the very particularly popular cult of Elizabeth II is no longer there to generate public emotional sympathy for her family's role and the justification of their lifestyle and expenses.

Sure. But the crown is just a distraction. The wider aristocracy is a bigger problem, and one that's not even on most people's radar.

A handful of people own most of the UK, and are wealthy and powerful for no reason other than that they have a distant ancestor who kissed royal backside.

Never mind Lizzy and Charlie; What's being done to redistribute the obscene and totally undeserved wealth of the Dukes and Earls? Nothing much, that's what. They bitch about being taxed to ruin, but still live lives beyond most people's imagining, despite doing (at best) token work for the society they parasitise.