Monarchy New Zealand
Volume 5 Issue 1 The Newsletter of The Monarchist League of New Zealand Incorporated February 2000
Patrons: Hon Sir Peter Tapsell, KNZM MBE; Ian Revell
ISSN 1174-8435
In this issue
Editorial
The people of Australia voted last November to reject the republic proposed by their political leaders. Although the vote was closer than we might have liked, the message it conveyed was clear enough.
Overall, some 54% of the votes cast were in favour of the status quo, with a majority in all states (although the Australian Capital Territory was lost- and the outcomes in Victoria and the Northern Territory were very close). Queensland gave the strongest endorsement for the monarchy, with some 62% voting against a republic.
The first of two constitutional questions concerned a "proposed law to alter the Constitution to establish the Commonwealth of Australia as a republic with The Queen and Governor-General being replaced by a President appointed by a two-thirds majority of Members of the Commonwealth Parliament".
Some commentators (including many republican) criticised the wording of the question, alleging that the Prime Minister, Mr Howard had "sabotaged" the referendum by including the unpopular option of an appointed president, rather than simply offering a choice of monarchy or republic.
But the republicans themselves chose the model of republic on offer, and it would not have made any sense to simply ask people to choose between the present system and a vague republican model
Opinion polls clearly indicated that the people would prefer to elect their own president, if one was necessary, rather than have one appointed or elected by Parliament, in any republic. But the republican factions, more divided than the media coverage of the campaign in New Zealand suggested, chose what they thought was the option which would cause the least disruption to the delicate balance of the Australian constitution
The lesson for the Australian republicans must be that they cannot expect to achieve their goal simply by relying on the argument that Australia doesn't need a "foreign" head of State.
No doubt many people voted against a republic because they opposed the specific plan. But many others did so because they actually wanted Australia to remain a monarchy. Many in the republican camp portrayed support for the monarchy as eccentric or "un-Australian".
The Australian people showed that they were concerned that the substance of the constitution was right. Unless a better system is proposed, the Australian people are unlikely to support change. If the republicans cannot win a referendum after almost ten years campaigning, then the support for a republic cannot be as strong as many commentators believe.
The latest argument is that the voters would have chosen a president, had the choice been a directly elected president or the monarchy. This may be so- though few polls have been produced to actually confirm this. This looks from New Zealand suspiciously like the republicans rewriting the rules because they lost the game.
Though a failure to get what they want is unlikely to silence the republicans, it can be expected that even a future Labour Government in Canberra will be in no hurry to hold another referendum, given the cost and its divisive nature.
New Zealand should learn from the Australian experience, and not let the issue of a republic become the cause of division. The monarchy should be a source of unity.
News in Brief
The Queen's Christmas Broadcast
The Queen's Christmas message in 1968 was changed following pressure from senior officials in Harold Wilson's Labour government, it has emerged from documents released to the Public Records Office under the 30-year rule.
References in the broadcast to Britain's "economic difficulties" were dropped, reveal official documents made public for the first time.
The draft text for the Queen's Christmas broadcast in 1968 had for the first time been written by the monarch and the Duke of Edinburgh, rather than by an official outside the royal household.
The papers show that the broadcast was raised with Mr Wilson - who was sensitive about the government's economic record following the devaluation of the pound - by an official.
The official wrote: "We do not usually seek departmental advice on The Queen's Christmas broadcast. But I suggest that the content of this one is such that we ought to ask the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to look at it."
Mr Wilson agreed, writing on the letter, "Yes, HW".
The draft was then sent to senior diplomat Sir Paul Gore-Booth, who said the draft text was "quite unexceptionable".
But it was revised so that one part was changed.
It had said: "Every individual and every nation have their problems. Some are more pressing than others. Britain is not the only Commonwealth country contending with serious economic difficulties.
"Fortunately there are others who are enjoying better times, and this is certainly the moment for us all to do our utmost to help each other."
This became: "Every individual and every nation have problems, so there is all the more reason for us to do our utmost to show our concern for others."
The following year, in what may have been a hint of royal displeasure, the Queen announced the traditional broadcast was being dropped in favour of televised coverage of the Christmas Day service at St George's Chapel, Windsor.
The Prince of Wales's Millennium broadcast
This is the full text of Prince Charles' message on BBC Radio 4's first Thought for the Day of the new millennium.
"I suspect many of us will have been wondering how to approach the millennium, wondering what it actually means in the midst of our daily lives".
"I daresay many of us will have decided what it does not mean. Will it, for instance, be an experience, the dawning of an exciting moment when we step boldly across a threshold marked 21st Century and emerge into the golden promised land of a perennial future, where there shall be no more wailing and gnashing of teeth, where water flows uphill and the whole of humanity is genetically re-engineered?"
"Or will it perhaps provide a sacred moment of reflection as we celebrate the 2,000th anniversary of that unique occurrence when the word became flesh and dwelt among us?"
"Will it remind us that each new year represents, as did Christ's mysterious birth, a microcosm of the vital process of renewal that dominates our existence?"
"For although our everyday lives seem to be dominated by linear time, one day following the next and year following year in an unbroken line, each new year reminds us of the importance in our existence of natural cycles, of events which continually recur".
"But of course there is all the difference in the world between renewing what is old and replacing old with new".
"The millennium provides us with an opportunity to abandon the poles of blind optimism on one hand and total despair on the other, and to rediscover a much older emotion - hope".
"Hope belongs to a world which recognises the idea of limits - going with the grain of nature and cherishing and learning from the best of what we have inherited from the past".
"In this sense, the dawn of a new millennium should not be the excuse for a bonfire of the past, but a chance to rediscover the profound wisdom of those who have made the difficult journey through this life before us. Those who, like our Lord Jesus Christ, taught that this life is but one passing phase of our existence and that the reality lies within each one of us".
"Or, as Rilka put it, death is the side of life turned away from us".
"In an era when we are tempted to believe that science knows nearly all the answers, it is instructive to recall that Einstein understood the close connection between wonder and the sacred".
"To him the sense of wonder was the most important sense to open ourselves to the truth, the immensity of the mystery and the divinity of ourselves and our world".
"He wrote that 'a person who is religiously enlightened appears to me to be one who has, to the best of his abilities, liberated himself from the fetters of his selfish desires and is preoccupied with thoughts, feelings and aspirations to which he clings because of their supra-personal value'".
"As we enter a new millennium with all its hopes and fears, I pray that we may come to realise that life is a strange paradox and that the art of living it lies in striking a balance, and that it is a sacred thing to compose harmony out of opposites".
"Two and a half thousand years ago Plato was at pains to explain, through the words of Timaeus that the great gift of human rationality should not be disparaged. Far from it, he said, it should be exercised to its utmost, but it must not make the mistake of believing it has no limits".
"In an age of secularism I hope with all my heart that, in the new millennium, we will begin to rediscover a sense of the sacred in all that surrounds us, whether in the way we grow our crops or raise our livestock on the land that God has given us, whether in the way we create places for people to live in the countryside we have inherited, whether in the way we treat disease in our fellow human beings or whether in the way we educate or motivate our young people".
"But to do that we must first of all understand that life is a more profound experience than we are told it is. After all, the likelihood of life beginning by chance is about as great as a hurricane blowing through a scrapyard and assembling a Rolls Royce".
"Perhaps, in the midst of all the celebrations and the hype, deep down inside many of us may feel intuitively - to paraphrase a wonderful passage from Dante - that the strongest desire of everything, and the one first implanted by nature, is to return to its source. And since God is the source of our souls, and has made it alike unto himself, therefore this soul desires, above all things, to return to him".
Commonwealth Day
The annual Commonwealth Day Service will be held at Holy Trinity Cathedral, Parnell, Auckland. This will be at 9.30 am, on Sunday the 12th March. Members are urged to attend this Service, or their local equivalent, if at all possible.
New Privy Counsellor
The Right Honourable Simon Upton, Minister of the Environment in the last Government, became the 79th New Zealander appointed a member of The Queen's Most Honourable Privy Council. There are now 38 living New Zealand Privy Counsellors, of whom 19 are now or were formerly High Court or Court of Appeal judges.
The Privy Council is traditionally regarded as having been established in the year 895 by King Alfred. Today, except for the Judicial Committee and various other standing and ad hoc committees, it is, in the words of one writer, 'a purely formal body, meeting on purely formal occasions, to transact purely formal business'.
Members of the Privy Council are summoned wherever the Sovereign may require them. Privy Council meetings have taken place in New Zealand whenever Her Majesty The Queen has been in residence. No business has been transacted however, except for swearing in new members.
It is customary for Court of Appeal judges and the Chief Justice to be Privy Counsellors, enabling them to be members of the Judicial Committee. This hears appeals from the Courts of Appeal of New Zealand and a number of other Commonwealth countries.
Political leaders are also appointed, to the Council. These normally include the Prime Minister and his or her deputy, and senior Cabinet Ministers. The Leader of the Opposition and the Parliamentary Leaders of the major parties are also customarily Privy Counsellors.
For a non-judicial member there are no duties normally associated with the office. However membership of the Privy Council is more than just an honour. It is a recognition that the appointee has reached a certain seniority that they may be regarded as counsellors of the Sovereign. Thus it is the Privy Council which formally advises The Queen on certain matters of state, such as the approval of royal marriages.
The senior living New Zealand member of the Privy Council is the Right Honourable Sir Thaddeus McCarthy, a former Court of Appeal judge, who was appointed in 1968. Although most members are British, the majority of Prime Ministers of Her Majesty's various realms are Privy Counsellors (with the notable exceptions of Canada and Australia), as well as some judges from the Caribbean.
New Councillor co-opted
On 28th November 1999 Mr Nicholas Albrecht was co-opted to the Council of the League. We welcome his commitment, and the Council looks forward to working with him.
It is felt that more members are required to enable the Council of the League to function effectively. The Editor would be pleased to here from any other members who would like to join the Council, or could help in some other capacity.
Membership of the Council is as follows-
Mr Merv Tilsley (Chairman), Mr Noel Cox (Vice-Chairman), Miss Nancy Sellars (Secretary and Treasurer), Captain Chris Barradale, Lt-Cdr Ken McGrath, Mr Roger Barnes, Mr John Cox, and Mr Nicholas Albrecht.
New Years' Honours List
In the December 1999 royal honours list the Right Honourable Mike Moore, former Prime Minister of New Zealand and now Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, was made a member of the Order of New Zealand (ONZ).
New Knights and Dames included Professor Evelyn Stokes (DNZM), the Honourable Rodney Gallen, Patrick Hogan, Gilbert Simpson, and John Turei (KNZM).
The thirteen new Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) include Dr Joy Drayton, former Chancellor of the University of Waikato.
The twenty-four new Officers (ONZM) included Associate Professor Bernard Brown, of the University of Auckland Law School. Two honorary ONZM were Dr Vanchai Vatarasapt, of Khon Kaen, Thailand (whom the Duke of York met on his recent visit to that country), and Rodney Walshe, an Irishman living in Auckland.
Forty-six new Members (MNZM) included Captain Robert McKillop,RNZNVR, Reserves Adviser to the Chief of Naval Staff. Additional MNZM were awarded to members of the New Zealand Defence Forces for services abroad.
There were eight new Companions of the Queen's Service Order for Community Service, and five for Public Service (QSO).
There were also thirty Queen's Service Medals for Community Service, and thirty-one for Public Service (QSM).
In the immediate aftermath of the announcement of the awards, certain members of the new Labour Government indicated that the honours system may be facing more reform. Given that the entire system has undergone a complete revision in the last five years, one wonders what further reform would be hoped to achieve.
Monarchist League webpage
The webpage of the Monarchist League of New Zealand has been moved and updated by the Editor of Monarchy New Zealand. The new webpage address is: <http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Parliament/7802>. Any suggestions for improvements are most welcome. The Editors email address has also changed, and is now [email protected].
Monarchist League badge
The League has commissioned lapel badges, which comprise the official emblem of the society. The badges, which can be purchased at $7.50 each (incluing postage within New Zealand), are of quality metal work, enamelled in red, white and blue.
These badges are made by Brandwell Moller Ltd, Dunedin, one of the few survving traditional engravers and badgemakers. They will be suitable for everyday wear, as well as proclaiming our membership of the League.
Badges are available from the Secretary, 16/90 Remuera Road, Remuera, Auckland 1005.
New bravery and gallantry medals
On 21st September 1999 the Prime Minister announced that The Queen has approved the formal institution of a new range of royal awards to recognise acts of gallantry and bravery performed by New Zealanders.
Mrs Shipley said the awards are the final major element in the development of a distinct New Zealand royal honours system.
The awards were proposed by the 1995 Honours Advisory Committee that reviewed the honours system. Until May 1996 New Zealand made recommendations for various British awards for acts of gallantry performed during military operations and acts of bravery by civilians. The British Government's review and simplification of their awards system provided an opportunity for New Zealand to develop a unique and simplified system.
The new range of awards fall into two categories, awards for bravery and for gallantry, with both categories having four levels.
The four gallantry awards are designed to recognise acts of gallantry by New Zealand Defence Force members and certain other personnel during war and war-like operations, including peacekeeping operations.
The Victoria Cross, now constituted under a New Zealand Royal Warrant, will remain New Zealand's highest award for acts of gallantry in war and war-like operations.
The Queen has also sanctioned a slight amendment to the criteria for the Victoria Cross so that it can also be awarded in situations other than in the presence of the enemy. This means that people involved in peacekeeping operations between two hostile parties will be eligible.
The New Zealand Gallantry Star
The criteria is now most conspicuous gallantry, or some daring or pre-eminentact of valour or self-sacrifice or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy or of belligerents.
The VC will precede the NZGS and all other honours from the Crown.
The New Zealand Gallantry Decoration
The second gallantry award is the New Zealand Gallantry Star (NZGS), for acts of outstanding gallantry in situations of danger. This replaces the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM), and the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (Naval and Flying) (GCM). It is a silver eight-pointed star, based on the shape of the proposed Gallipoli Star 1915 which was later abandoned.
The New Zealand Gallantry Medal
The New Zealand Gallantry Decoration (NZGD) replaces the Distinguished Service Cross and Medal (DSC and DSM), the Military Cross and Medal (MC and (MM), the Distinguished Flying Cross and Medal (DFC and DFM), and the Air Force Cross and Medal (AFC and AFM). It is awarded for acts of exceptional gallantry in situations of danger. It is a silver cross of four equal points (a "Greek" cross). The design was inspired by the plain and elegant design of the British MC. Persons killed on the battlefield are usually buried under a plain cross of this design.
The fourth level award is the New Zealand Gallantry Medal (NZGM), awarded for acts of gallantry. It replaces Mention in Despatches. It is a bronze medal bearing on the obverse (front) the effigy of The Queen. They will have precedence of wear immediately after the various British third level awards such as the Military Medal and Queen's Gallantry Medal.
The other new awards takes precedence of the comparable British awards they are replacing. Apart from the VC (which is of traditional deign), all the awards bear the inscription "FOR GALLANTRY - MO TE TOANGA" on the reverse.
The ribbon of the VC remains the same as the British VC, crimson. The ribbons of the other awards are crimson with additional stripes of white and purple, the colours previously associated with the various British awards they replace. The New Zealand bravery awards are designed to recognise the actions of those persons who save or attempt to save the life of another person and in the course of which they place their own safety or life at risk. The awards are primarily for civilians, but may be awarded to military personnel for acts for which gallantry or other awards are not appropriate.
The level of an award is generally determined by the nature of the incident which has resulted in an act of bravery, the degree of risk to the life of the person performing the act and his or her personal skills or qualifications relevant to the incident, and whether the actions were taken with disregard for his or her own safety.
Royal Diary
Prince Michael in New Zealand
Prince Michael of Kent, Commonwealth President of the Royal Life-Saving Society, was in New Zealand in January to present the Mountbatten Medal. His Royal Highness last visited this country in 1997 for the Wellington to Sydney leg of the BT Global Challenge yacht race.
Duke of York's Own
The Private Secretary to Prince Andrew, Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment, writing to Brigadier Tom Leighs, Colonel Commandant of the regiment, has said a suggestion from the regiment that the unit become the "The Duke of York's Own" was being looked into.
Some Army units traditional bear such styles as "The Queen's Own". In New Zealand, the only current examples are "the Countess of Ranfurly's Own", after the wife of the then Governor-General, and Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles.
It would be desirable for the question of such styles to be looked at properly, ideally with the intention of bestowing more up-to-date names. Such a process occurred in the United Kingdom in the early years of the last decade, at a time of major army restructuring and amalgamations.
Overseas News
Oath bars republican's admission to legal practice
An applicant for admission to the Bar in Victoria has found that his republican convictions prevented his practising as a barrister and solicitor.
Justice Beach confirmed in the recent case of Moller v The Board of Examiners for Legal Practitioners that the oath of allegiance to The Queen is a prerequisite to becoming a legal practitioner in Victoria.
The applicant Mr Moller was born in South Africa and became an Australian citizen in 1995.
In his application to be excused from taking the oath of allegiance Mr Moller stated:
"I have a conscientious objection to taking an oath of allegiance to Her Majesty the Queen. My objection is bona fide and unrelated to any disloyalty or lack of respect for either the laws of Australia or Her Majesty the Queen. Rather, my objection stems from my sincere and genuine belief that to take an oath is a solemn, serious and sincere act which should not be undertaken lightly or without full or proper consideration of its content and I believe that Australia should adopt a republican form of government".
Mr Moller said that if he were to take the oath of allegiance he might be accused of inconsistency or hypocrisy in relation to his republican views. He argued that he was consistent in his views; he did not make a commitment to Australia by taking out Australian citizenship until the Australian Citizenship Act was amended in 1994, removing the requirement for applicants for Australian citizenship to swear an oath of allegiance to the Queen.
While Mr Moller shows a laudable regard for the due seriousness of an oath of allegiance, his view is somewhat irrelevant. Australia may or may not become a republic in the future, but for the present Mr Moller owes allegiance to The Queen as an Australian subject of Her Majesty, whether or not he has sworn an oath of allegiance.
Justice Beach quite properly rejected Mr Moller's application and strictly applied case law and statute. An oath of allegiance to Her Majesty The Queen remains a requirement for admission to the bar in all Australian states and in New Zealand.
Northern Law News 21 January 2000 (amended)
New Private Secretary for Princess Royal
Colonel Timothy Earl (56), has been appointed as Private Secretary to Princess Anne. Colonel Earl, who served for thirty years in the Life Guards, the senior regiment of Household Cavalry, replaces diplomat Rupert McGuigan.
Since leaving the army in 1993 Colonel Earl had been Secretary of the Government Hospitality Fund. This body organises official hospitality on a regular basis, with a view to the promotion of international goodwill.
In other recent appointments to the Royal Households, Lord Vestey, GCStJ DL has become Master of the Horse, in place of Lord Somerleyton, GCVO. The Master of the Horse has nominal supervision of all royal land transport, including the Royal Mews, and for all outside staff such as gardeners.
Day-to-day control of the royal horses, carriages and cars of the royal mews is in the hands of the Crown Equerry, and the Master of the Horse is normally only seen on major royal ocasions, such as the Trooping the Colour.
Lord Vestey, Lord Prior of the Most Venerable Order of St John of Jerusalem since 1991, is Chairman of the family whose meat business has strong links with New Zealand.
Belgium wedding
The Prince of Wales was Special Representative of Her Majesty The Queen at the Wedding of His Royal Highness Prince Philippe Crown Prince of Belgium, and Mademoiselle Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz, at La Cathedrale des Saintes Michel et Gudule, Brussels, on the 4th December 1999.
Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant, the 39-year old heir to the Belgian throne, married a 26-year old speech therapist, who is a member of an aristocratic Belgium family. Princess Mathilde is fluent in French and Flemish, a vital qualification in the linguistically and racially divided country.
Royal Yachts
Royal Yachts Overseas
There are a number of royal yachts in use throughout the world today, as well as a number of yachts used by presidents of republics.
In Denmark, the royal yacht Dannebrog is used for visits to the various islands which make up much of the country, as well as providing a means of visiting neighbouring countries. Commissioned in 1932, she displaces 1,112 tonnes, and is 75m overall. Although carrying 57 crew, she is essentially not an ocean-going vessel, her voyages being confined to the North Sea. Despite her advanced age, the question of a replacement has yet to be settled.
The Norwegian navy operates the royal yacht Norge. This was commissioned 1946, at a cost of £250,000. She was originally built in 1937 for Sir Thomas Sopwith. Somewhat larger than the Dannebrog, she displaces 1,659 tonnes gross, is 80m overall, and carries 34 crew. The Norge has been used for state visits to Britain, but again her ocean-going capability is limited.
The newest of several royal yachts used by the King of Saudi Arabia is the Abdul Aziz. Commissioned in 1984, she cost £100m (NZ$236m), in 1997 terms considerably more than is being allowed for the proposed replacement for the Britannia. Displacing 1,450 tonnes dead weight, and measuring 147.1m overall, she operates with a crew of 65.
Oman operates the Al Said as a royal yacht. Commissioned in 1982, she is one of the few modern yachts of a size comparable to that of the Britannia. She displaces 4,443 tonnes gross, is 103.7m long, and has 156 crew. Whilst she is of a similar size to the proposed new British yacht, the Al Said, like her counterparts in Saudi Arabia, was built more as an expression of regal splendour and wealth than as a working royal residence.
reprinted from Navy Today August 1997
The Nahlin, built in 1930 for Lady Yule and notorious as the yacht on which King Edward VIII and Mrs Simpson cruised the Mediterranean in 1936, is to be restored. The 300 foot yacht, which became the Romanian royal yacht in 1937, has spent the last twenty years as the Libertatae, a restaurant on the Danube. It has been bought by Nicholas Edmiston, a wealthy yacht broker, and will be restored to something approaching its original condition in a shipyard in Britain.
Royal Residences past and present
Castle of Mey
Once called Old Borrogill Castle, the Castle of Mey is The Queen Mother's private Highland retreat near Thurso, overlooking the Pentland Firth, in the county of Caithness. It is therefore not only the most northerly royal residence, but also one of the most northerly houses on the British mainland.
The house, a small "z-plan" castle with walls six feet thick, was built 1566-72 by the Earl of Caithness. The earl's family, the Sinclairs of Mey, owned the estate till 1899. The castle, with a small piece of land, was acquired in 1952 by The Queen Mother from Capt FB Imbert-Terry.
The castle, which was in a dilapidated state, was restored between 1952 and 1964. It is used by The Queen Mother for three weeks in August, and ten days in October. It now also has 256 acres of farmland.
The main house is quite small, but its main rooms include a 40 foot long great hall.
The most distinctive feature of the castle is the 2\'bd acre walled garden, a feature made necessary by the persistent winds from across the Pentland Firth. The gardens have been open to the public since 1953.
The days of the Castle of Mey as a royal residence are numbered. The castle, with its lands, was passed to a charitable trust in 1996. Four trustees, including Viscount Thurso (a Sinclair), the Earl of Caithness, and The Queen Mother's Assistant Private Secretary, Major Raymond Seymour, CVO, will administer the castle as a museum after the death of The Queen Mother.
Although no longer a royal residence, the castle will be preserved as a monument to The Queen Mother after her death, and as an important historic building in its own right.
Book Reviews
Spain's English Queen, by Gerard Noel
"Gerard Noel has unearthed a vast archive of material from the family and friends of Queen Ena ... Even those with little relish for the broad themes of history will enjoy this book, for it is a mine of mild indiscretion"
Sunday Telegraph
An irresistible biography of Queen Ena, the only English queen of Spain in history. A human story, largely sad, often inspiring and with an unexpected happy ending. Ena's grandmother was Queen Victoria, her husband King Alfonso XIII of Spain who, in 1905 was told by his advisors to find a suitable and healthy wife as quickly as possible, who would provide him with an heir to the Spanish throne.
This masterly biography of Queen Ena is not only a balanced account of Ena's personal life, illustrated by many anecdotes, but it combines the wider perspective of European history and the intricacies of Spanish politics from the 18th century onwards. A sympathetic as well as accurate account of two different countries and two different royal worlds, which does not conceal awkward truths and has an eye open for amusing and subtle detail.
Published by The Monarchist League of New Zealand Inc. Editor: Mr Noel Cox, 123 Stanley Road, Glenfield, Auckland 1310, New Zealand. Tel: +64 9 444-7687; Fax: +64 9 444-7397; E-mail: [email protected]