| Music is "Wha'll Be King but Charlie" |
| My Legitimist Position in Royal Politics |
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| I'm sure, going through this website, any visitor will be quick to judge me as a legitimist, someone in the same league with the Jacobites, Carlists and supporters of the Duc d'Anjou to be the King of France. With this assumption, I will not put up much of an argument since, I would consider myself to be in good company with any Carlists, Jacobites or any other group with similar beliefs. However, as with most things with me, it is not quite as simple to say I am just a legitimist or just a Jacobite etc. I try to be as realistic and thoughtful as possible while not compromising my very deep, spiritual beliefs on the subject of something as important to me as monarchy. Let us start with my personal favorites, the Jacobites. Am I a Jacobite? Most people think I am, and I often say that I am although it is the question of degree that is the "fly in the buttermilk". Here is my position on the subject and you can |
| decide (perhaps even let me know) if I am a Jacobite, or just how 'good' a Jacobite I may be. When it comes to the "Glorious Revolution" I am 100% King James II all the way. To me it is a very simple case of law and tradition being cast aside and treasonous politicians, eager for more power, betraying their country by crowning a man who was simply a foreign invader. Furthermore, in 1715, were I alive & able at the time, I would have been rushing to the front with my Scottish comrades to fight for the "Old Pretender". Likewise, in 1745 you could count on me to be following Bonnie Prince Charlie to London and back with a white rose in my hat. I also have a great deal of admiration for Prince Henry, Cardinal York. However, it is there that things become difficult. It seems plain to me that the good Cardinal reconciled with the House of Hannover, recognized that since he had no heirs, anyone coming after him would have legitimacy only as far as drawing-room conversations go. I will always support the principles of the Jacobites, but from that time on (if not a little before) I consider the existing Royal Family to be the only 'legitimate' choice for the British people. I certainly see nothing legitimate about claiming a Bavarian prince to be the lawful King of England & Scotland. The Windsors have managed to hang on long enough to acquire more legitimacy than a Wittlesbach would certainly have to the British throne. So, I would have supported every Jacobite uprising whole-heartedly, but as it is now, there is no one more legitimate than Elizabeth II to be Queen. She is recognized as such by His Holiness the Pope, and if her claim is good enough for him, it is good enough for me. I wager she has more Stuart blood in her than any German on the continent. |
| The French are a much more difficult case. My strong desire to see the monarchy restored in France pushes me toward the more progressive House of Orleans, who, by most accounts, have the larger following by a considerable margin. However, the actions of the family in the past, their collaboration with many of the enemies of the monarchy, and the fact that most do not share my social and religious principles as much as the legitimists makes me incline toward the Duc d'Anjou as the candidate to support, though being a Spaniard works against him. |
| In the days before nationalism, there would not be a problem here. However, it would be hard enough for the monarchy to be restored without the added liability of the future King of France being Spanish. I remain very divided, also because information has come my way that another candidate exists who may have a more legitimate claim than the Duc d'Anjou. However, barring further information, all I can say is that, at heart I am forced to support the legitimist cause of the Duc d'Anjou, however, were the Comte d'Paris to gain ground in the cause of a royal restoration, I would certainly be overjoyed at the prospect. Once the monarchy was restored the two sides may be able to work out an agreement towards reconciliation. I would cheer for Paris, but my principles are with Anjou. Finally, having mentioned earlier the Carlists I think I should set my opinions down on that subject for the record. Again, much like the case of the Jacobites, I would have fought for the Carlists in every war against the Cristinos, the republic, and even alongside the Fascists to get the Soviets out of the country. I am in total agreement with all of their policies: strong adherence to the traditional Catholic faith, protection of the monarchy, and stronger regional autonomy instead of an ultra-powerful central government. However, over time the Carlists have fallen victim to the ravages of time like any dynasty, and it seems to me that the current monarch, King Juan Carlos I, is the most legitimate choice available. Would I have supported the Carlists in the past?-definitely. Do I support King Juan Carlos I now?-absolutely. In times such as this, all monarchists need to be "circling the wagons". I think it is important to keep defending legitimate succession, without which monarchy would degrade into nothing more than republicanism. However, monarchists should not let these issues divide them in the face of the larger republican attacks against the very principle of monarchy as a whole. |
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