Monarchy New Zealand
The Journal of The Monarchist League of New Zealand Incorporated
ISSN 1174-8435
Volume 5 Issue 4 November 2000
The Monarchist League of New Zealand, Inc.
Secretary, 16/90 Remuera Road, Remuera, Auckland 1005, New Zealand
Website URL: http://www.geocities.com/Capitolhill/Parliament/7802
Patron: Hon Sir Peter Tapsell, KNZM MBE MBChB FRCSEd FRCS
Council:
Chairman: Noel Cox, Esq., LLM(Hons) DCIL HonCIL FFASL
Vice-Chm: Merv Tilsley, Esq.
Secretary: Miss Nancy Sellars
Treasurer: John Cox, Esq., LLB MNZTA
Councillors:
Nicholas Albrecht, Esq., MA(Hons)
Roger Barnes, Esq., FHSNZ
Richard Girdwood, Esq., JCD CLJ
Neville Johnson, Esq.
Ian Madden, Esq., MA LLB FSA(Scot)
Robert Mann, Esq., MSc PhD
Lt-Cdr Ken McGrath, VRD MSc(Hons) LIBiol MNZIMLS RNZNVR(rtd)
Professor Peter Spiller, BA LLB PhD Natal LLM MPhil Cambridge PhD Canterbury
League Officers:
Legal Adviser: Noel Cox, Esq., LLM(Hons) DCIL HonCIL FFASL
Librarian and Archivist: Noel Cox, Esq., LLM(Hons) DCIL HonCIL FFASL
Provincial Representative, Wellington: Mathew Norman, Esq.
Editor, Monarchy New Zealand: Noel Cox, Esq., LLM(Hons) DCIL HonCIL FFASL
Assistant Editor of Monarchy New Zealand: John Cox, Esq., LLB MNZTA
Advertising Manager, Monarchy New Zealand: John Cox, Esq., LLB MNZTA
Monarchy New Zealand is published by The Monarchist League of New Zealand Inc. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the policy of The Monarchist League of New Zealand. Correspondence should be addressed to the Editor, Monarchy New Zealand, 123 Stanley Road, Glenfield, Auckland 1310, New Zealand. Tel: +64 9 444-7687; Fax: +64 9 444-7397; E-mail: [email protected]
Editorial
Immediately after the weekend in which New Zealanders joined people throughout the world in celebrating the centennial of the Queen Mother, some diehard republicans came out of hiding. Kate Belgrave, writing in the New Zealand Herald, expressed the views of these people. In effect dismissing the Queen Mother as a useless parasite, she observed that Her Majesty should do the 'economically responsible thing', and die.
One cannot expect good taste from a youthful journalist who is something of a loose cannon. But surely there are limits below which even these people will not stoop?
Even the Germans, the Queen Mother's enemies for much of the late King's reign, freely acknowledged the Queen Mother's virtues. Typical was the Frankfurter Allegemeine Zeitung, which pronounced the Queen Mother the "favourite matriarch" of the world. In the United States of America the birthday also received ample and genial coverage.
Russia marked the birthday with a message from President Putin thanking the Queen Mother for her wartime efforts, and newspaper coverage included a front-page editorial under the title "Legend". President Putin praised her "kind and interested attitude towards this country", adding: "We will always remember your support of the residents and defenders of Stalingrad in the Second World War years."
The French entered into the spirit. Le Monde, put aside its republican principles as it described her as "synonymous with rectitude, conviction and loyalty in adversity". The Italians La Nazione noted that she had won universal admiration and the love of many ardent admirers.
Miss Belgrave should show some maturity. Criticise the monarchy if she must, but there is no justification for personal abuse. Foreign media recognised the Queen Mother for what she is, a living symbol of the monarchy. In failing to recognise or acknowledge this Miss Belgrave has shown the shallowness of her knowledge of the world, and of New Zealand's place in it.
News in Brief
HM The Queen to make fleeting visit
Her Majesty The Queen will visit New Zealand in October 2001, after the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Brisbane.
This will be the first visit Her Majesty has made to this country since 1995, when CHOGM was held in Auckland. Although details have not yet been announced, it is expected that there will be some events to mark the coming Golden Jubilee.
The Queen has visited New Zealand on nine previous occasions, beginning with her coronation year tour in 1953-54.
New Governor-General announced
It has been announced that the Hon Dame Silvia Cartwright, DBE will be the next Governor-General of New Zealand. She will succeed His Excellency the Rt Hon Sir Michael Hardie Boys, GNZM GCMG next April.
Dame Silvia was the first woman High Court judge when she was appointed to the Bench in 1993. Prior to that she was Chief District Court Judge 1989-93, and a District Court judge 1981-89.
Justice Cartwright, who sits on the High Court Bench in Auckland, is 57. She rose to public prominence in the late 1980s heading an inquiry into National Women's Hospital in Auckland. She will be the second woman Governor-General of New Zealand.
Royal Jubilee in 2002
On the 6th of February 2002 Her Majesty will have been of the throne for 50 years. Preliminary planning is underway for suitable events to mark this occasion, but it is expected that a number of factors may prevent it from being marked in as elaborate manner as the Queen's silver jubilee in 1977. In particular, the British Government has indicated that the jubilee will be funded from the Civil List.
New Zealand celebrations will depend on public support, and are further complicated by the fact that The Queen will be visiting in late 2001, but not 2002.
Members of the Monarchist League are urged to send suggestions for suitable events to the Editor. These events might be organised by local authorities, by local committees, or by members of the Monarchist League in their own communities.
Loss of royal portraits
As many members will be aware, the Department of Internal Affairs traditionally provided, free of charge, prints, posters and postcards of HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. However, this changed when a new series of portraits were taken in London in late 1997. If New Zealanders want a photograph of The Queen they must now buy one from the official photographer, Woolf. The Department of Internal Affairs no longer provides royal portraits, and even government agencies must purchase these from Woolfs.
The Council of the Monarchist League of New Zealand asks members to write to the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Hon Mark Burton, MP, Parliament Buildings, Wellington, asking that the provision of free portraits by the department be resumed.
Photographs by Woolf Ltd may be contacted at PO Box 6447, Marion Square, Wellington. Unlike the 1986 series of portraits, posters and postcards are not available.
Royal RSA
At the conclusion of his address to this year's New Zealand Returned Services' Association Dominion Council, the Governor-General, the Rt Hon Sir Michael Hardie Boys, said that he was there as representative of the association's Patron, Her Majesty The Queen. It was his privilege to open the 84th Dominion Council Meeting by reading a message from Buckingham Palace:
Her Majesty has granted that the title 'Royal' may be used in the renaming of the association, and for it to be known as The Royal New Zealand Returned Services' Association.
The RNZRSA joins a select list of organisations with the royal style, including the Royal Agricultural Society of New Zealand, the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand, the Royal Dunedin Male Choir, and the Royal Federation of New Zealand Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Royal Diary
Retirement of Princess Alice Duchess of Gloucester
On the 31st of July The Duke of Gloucester made the following statement:
"In response to the many people who are so kindly enquiring after Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, now in her 99th year, I am pleased to say that although frail, my mother is in good spirits.
Over the last few years Princess Alice has, nevertheless, become increasingly forgetful which greatly reduces her ability to communicate in the way she would wish. For this reason, my mother no longer feels confident in carrying out official engagements away from Kensington Palace or in coping with the clamour of social gatherings.
She does, however, receive family and friends in the comfort of her home and, occasionally, representatives from her Regiments and charitable organisations. My mother continues to enjoy partaking in family life with her three grandchildren at Kensington Palace, her London home since 1970, where she now lives permanently with my wife and myself, supported and cared for in her retirement."
The Dowager Duchess, known as Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester since the death of her late husband, will be 99 years old on Christmas Day. The daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch, she married Prince Henry, the son of King George V in 1935. The couple had two children, Prince Richard, the present duke, and Prince William of Gloucester, who was killed in an air crash in 1972.
Prince William to Commonwealth
It is expected that HRH Prince William will spent a year touring Canada, Australia, and New Zealand before embarking on a four-year MA course at the University of St Andrews on the 23rd of September 2001. He will study for an honours degree in the History of Art. Prince William will begin his year-long break from study with a 10-week expedition to some of the remotest parts of Patagonia, Chile, with Raleigh International. He and 110 other volunteers will take part in environmental and community projects.
The prince did well in A-Levels in geography, history of art, and biology, gaining A, B and C grades respectively.
The University of St Andrews School of Art History has an international reputation for excellence in teaching and research. Teaching and research interests of the School extend from the Mediaeval to the Modern periods, with particular areas of concentration being the art of Renaissance Italy, British architecture, furniture history, photography, and nineteenth and twentieth-century art in Britain, France and Russia.
All students are admitted initially for either an Honours degree or a General degree. The Honours degree is awarded to a student completing a period of normally four years.
A General Honours degree is also available to students who, with the Dean's permission, wish to take a novel but coherent combination of modules which does not constitute an already approved Honours Programme, e.g. a series of Honours modules on the 18th Century from Art History, Modern History and French. Completion of either degree gains the graduate an MA.
The Scottish university system is distinct from that in England, and undergraduates tend to be younger. The degree courses begin at a lower standard than English or New Zealand universities, and consequently first degrees are usually of four years duration. The MA is an undergraduate rather than a graduate degree.
St Andrews is Scotland's oldest university, having been founded in 1411. There has traditionally been a large contingent from south of the border (currently 40%). It remains a small university.
Prince Charles was educated at Gordonstoun School in Scotland, but the last member of the Royal Family to attend a Scottish university was King Edward VII, who attended the University of Edinburgh 1859-62. However, James Ogilvy, son of Princess Alexandra and Sir Angus Ogilvy, completed a four-year MA in Art History at St Andrews.
Princess Anne at 50
On Thursday, 30th November The
Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh will host a Reception at Windsor
Castle to mark the fiftieth birthday of The Princess Royal. This
will also be in recognition of the achievements of the many
organisations
linked with Her Royal Highness. Representatives from those
organisations will attend.
League News
Queen Victoria centennial celebration
In January 2001 it will be one hundred years since the death of Queen Victoria. To commemorate the life and times of the Queen, the Monarchist League has arranged a celebration in Albert Park, in the City of Auckland. This park, named after the Prince Consort, also contains a fine statue of the Queen.
The celebration, organised in conjunction with the Auckland City Council, will be held on Sunday the 21st of January. It will commence at 11 am with a brief official ceremony. A floral stole, made by members of the Takapuna Floral Art Group, will be placed on the statue of Queen Victoria. A picnic will follow and this will continue until 3 pm.
The Auckland City Brass Band will provide musical entertainment. Cultural groups will provide brief performances during the afternoon.
Members are encouraged to come to the ceremony, and are invited to wear Victorian costume. Bring a picnic lunch or afternoon tea.
Representatives of patriotic and historic societies from the Auckland region will be in attendance, along with civic dignitaries.
Changes to Council
Professor Peter Spiller joined the Council of the Monarchist League on the 10th of September. His legal expertise will be invaluable in formulating the response of the League to the actions of those who would deprive us of the benefits on constitutional monarchy.
Chris Barradale has retired from the Council. He will be greatly missed, and the Council would like to express its thanks and appreciation for his efforts. Chris had served as a Councillor since July 1996.
Visit to Old Government House, Auckland
Members of the League are cordially invited to a gathering in the grounds of Old Government House, Princes Street, Auckland, on Sunday 26th November. You are welcomed to bring friends and neighbours.
We will commence with an informal tour of the gardens from 2 pm. You are encouraged to bring some refreshments for a picnic, which will follow the tour.
Overseas News
The Queen still allegedly 19th wealthiest woman
The July issue of EuroBusiness magazine published a list of the 200 wealthiest women in the world. At the top was American Helen Walton, worth an estimated £27.6b. The Queen was said to be 19th wealthiest, at £1.9b, behind Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (£2.09b).
Although the Queen wasn't even the wealthiest woman in Britain- that distinction went to Lily Safra (at £3b), it is likely that even this relatively modest estimate is exaggerated.
Previous estimates of wealth of The Queen have varied enormously. Forbes magazine said in 1997 that the Queen was worth US$16b (NZ$32b), including the royal collection and Crown Jewels and similar assets. Without these, she was said to be worth US$350m (NZ$700m). The higher the estimate, the more likely it is that it includes assets which cannot be regarded in any sense as personal- such as the Crown Estates.
This fact has occasionally been realised, even by journalists. Yet in 1995 Business Age reassessed the Queen's wealth from £158m (NZ$450m) in 1994 to £2.2b (NZ$6.6m). The Press Complaints Authority in Britain subsequently upheld a complaint from Her Majesty that this higher figure conveyed a totally distorted view.
The size of the Queen's personal fortune is uncertain. In 1993 the Earl of Airlie, the Lord Chamberlain, said that estimates of £100m (NZ$300m) were a great exaggeration. At the time estimates ranged from £30m (NZ$90m) to £7b (NZ$21b). Philip Hall estimated in 1992 that the Queen was worth £341m (NZ$1b), though the Economist said even one-sixth or one-seventh of this would be an exaggeration.
In 1971 Lord Cobbold, then Lord Chamberlain, told the Civil List Estimates Select Committee that Her Majesty was worth much less than the £50-100m then widely cited.
There is no means of accurately ascertaining the value of the Queen's investments. However, estimates can be made of the value of the Sandringham and Balmoral Estates. These might be worth perhaps £50m (NZ$150m). It is probable that the personal assets of The Queen do include a respectable number of shares and similar investments. The size of her fortune is however insignificant compared to that of many leading businessmen and women.
Tsar and martyr- officially
The Russian Orthodox Church in Russia has declared Tsar Nicholas II and the members of his immediate family to be saints. On the 14th of August a Bishops' Council held in Moscow under Patriarch Alexiy II declared the Tsar, Tsarina Alexandra, Tsarevitch Alexei, and Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatya, Maria and Anastasia had died as martyrs.
In the Orthodox Church the process of canonization is less formal than in the Western Church, and is carried out by local synods of bishops. Because of the Russian revolution, the Russian Orthodox Church was divided between the Patriarchate of Moscow, based in Russia and controlled by the Communists, and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (Synod in Exile). There was also a Russian Orthodox Church under the Patriarch of Constantinople.
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (Synod in Exile) canonized the Tsar and his family some years ago, and the Patriarchate of Moscow, free of its communist shackles, has now followed suit.
The funeral of the Tsar in 1998
Nicholas II, killed in 1918 along with his wife, son and four daughters, was given a state funeral at the Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul, St Petersburg, on the 17th of July 1998. Other members of the imperial family were killed during the revolution, including Grand Duchess Elizabeth, Abbess of the Convent of Mary and Martha, Moscow, who was thrown down a mine shaft with other members of the family.
While the Tsar's political skills may have proven unequal to the enormous problems confronting Russia in the early years of the twentieth century, his personal motives were always irreproachable. While their ultimate fate became increasingly apparent, the Tsar and Tsarina remained convinced of their sacred duty to the Orthodox Church and to Russia. They saw themselves as martyrs to their Christian faith.
Overseas military forces providing the Queen's Guard
The Australian Army has provided a 150-member contingent for the Queen's Guard at Buckingham Palace and St James's Palace. The guard paraded every second day from the 1st to the 20th July 2000, as part of celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the Australian Constitution.
One of the officers of the specially recruited Australian Federation Guard Service was Captain Cynthia Anderson, who became the first woman to command the Queen's Guard at Buckingham Palace. The guard was accompanied by the Band of the Royal Military College of Australia.
The Queen's Guard is normally provided by the Foot Guards of the Household Division, from one of the three or four battalions stationed in London District. Other units participate from time to time, including the Royal Artillery, the Royal Marines, the Queen's Colour Squadron of the RAF, and some infantry regiments.
Units from abroad have included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Barbados, Jamaica, and other countries of which Her Majesty is Queen. The last Australian contingent was in 1988, on the occasion of the bicentennial of the settlement of the continent. During the time the latest Australian contingent were on duty, the guard was shared with the Royal Gibraltar Regiment, which mounted guard four times.
New Zealand has only provided a Queen's Guard once, in 1964, when 150 men under the command of Major Spencer Cocks, RNZA, were sent to London.
Canadian military personnel provided guards in September. Of particular importance was the presence of the Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians), who mounted the Queen's Life Guard at Horse Guards. This was the first time men other than the Household Cavalry or the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, provided a mounted guard in London.
More events to mark the Queen Mother's birthday
The climax of the celebrations of the one hundredth Anniversary of the Birthday of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother occurred on the actual anniversary.
In the morning Her Majesty took the Salute at Clarence House as The King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery marched past, followed by The Queen's Guard found by Nijmegen Company, Grenadier Guards, with the Band of the Irish Guards.
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, accompanied by The Prince of Wales, left Clarence House for Buckingham Palace in a carriage procession with a Travelling Escort of the Blues and Royals.
Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, accompanied by The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh and other Members of the Royal Family, appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to acknowledge the good wishes of the crowd gathered below.
The Queen has issued a special Honours List to mark the Queen Mother's 100th birthday.
Major Michael Parker, producer of the Queen Mother's centenary pageant, and Major-General Evelyn Webb-Carter, chairman of the pageant committee, were appointed Knight Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order, an honour in the Queen's personal gift.
Fiona Fletcher, secretary to the Queen Mother's ladies-in-waiting, is appointed Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, as are Ian Gill, Registrar and Seneschal of the Cinque Ports, Kent, of which the Queen Mother is Lord Warden, and Captain Ashe Windham, Chairman of the Castle Mey Trust, which administers the Queen Mother's Scottish home.
Colonel William Toby Browne is appointed Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order for his work as pageant organiser. Captain William de Rouet, Irish Guards, the Queen Mother's equerry, is appointed Member of the Royal Victorian Order, as is Warrant Officer Alan Mason, Coldstream Guards, the pageant's parade sergeant-major.
Emma Bagwell Purefoy, Major Parker's assistant, was awarded a Royal Victorian Medal (Silver).
The Royal Collection is an acknowledged leader in the design of commemorative items for Royal occasions. To mark the 100th birthday of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, the Royal Collection has commissioned a special range of fine bone china. The officially approved Centenary Range has been produced in Stoke-on-Trent exclusively for the Royal Collection.
Each piece features an elegant design of English roses and Scottish thistles, inspired by the life and style of The Queen Mother. All items are individually decorated before final embellishment with platinum or 22ct gold. The products are tissue-wrapped in their own presentation boxes, with a commemorative gift leaflet and certificate of authenticity.
The Centenary Range is now on sale at Royal Collection shops at the Royal Mews in London, at Windsor Castle, at the Royal Windsor Information Centre, and at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh.
From the 1st of August orders for the Centenary Range may be placed through the new Royal Collection Website at http//www.the-royal-collection.com
The City of London business district celebrated Queen Mother Elizabeth's 100th birthday with pealing bells and a banquet featuring lobster, lamb, and strawberry meringue.
The Queen Mother warmly thanked the 500 guests at the luncheon, given by Clive Martin, Lord Mayor of London.
"It has been a great joy and I have been greatly, greatly touched," she said, before proposing a toast to the gathering.
The bells of nearby St. Lawrence Jewry church rang out as the Queen Mother arrived at the Guildhall, the city's ancient town hall, with Princess Margaret.
Other royal guests included her grandson the Duke of York, and the Countess of Wessex, wife of Prince Andrew's brother, Prince Edward.
Before lunch began, the Queen Mother, dressed in her favorite light blue, received an early birthday gift — a historic print showing five ancient gates to the City of London, which is the one-square-mile financial district in the British capital.
Appropriately, the gift was No. 100 in a limited run of 100 prints. Later, she received an original watercolor of a view across London by the painter John Varley. The City of London has already presented the Queen Mother with camellias, now planted at Royal Lodge, her home at Windsor.
The Service of Thanksgiving for the Queen Mother, held at St Paul's Cathedral, was attended by most members of the Royal Family. The service was conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey.
PRAYERS TO MARK THE 100TH BIRTHDAY OF HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH THE QUEEN MOTHER
A Litany of Thanksgiving
As we call to mind the life of our nation and Commonwealth so may we give thanks to God in faith and trust.
For the gift of Christ Jesus and for all whose devotion to him has sustained the life of our Church and nation.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
For our Sovereign Lady The Queen, and all the Royal Family; for Parliament and all who bear the privilege and burden of government.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
For Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother; for all that she has done to enrich the lives of so many; remembering also with gratitude his late Majesty King George The Sixth.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
For all people touched by The Queen Mother’s devotion to public service and love of life, in times of hardship, prosperity, and in times to come.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
For our own lives, always giving thanks for all who have gone before, and asking that we might go forward with confidence and hope.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
O God, in whom we live and move and have our being, grant that your goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives, that we may ever trust in your unfailing love. Through Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Amen.
A Prayer of Intercession
Father of all, from whom comes every good and perfect gift, bless your servant, Elizabeth, The Queen Mother and pour upon her the riches of your grace; prosper all her days and endue her with happiness, health and peace, through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
New Zealand Post has produced a souvenir of the Queen Mother's 100th birthday. A Life that spans a Century is a collectors album which combines in one book the story of the Queen Mother, together with four collectable items- three sets of stamps, and a single sheet with three Queen Mother miniature sheets joined.
These books, which sell for $99, are available from New Zealand Post retail outlets, Regional Stamps Centres, and the Stamps Centre, Wanganui.
Luxembourg gets new Grand Duke
On the 8th October 2000 Crown Prince Henri, became Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, upon the abdication of his father, HRH Grand Duke Jean. Prince Henri had been Governor, or regent, since 1998.
Grand Duke Henri is married to Cuban-born Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, and the royal couple have five children. The new heir to the throne is Prince Guillaume, who turns 19 this month.
Guests at the inauguration of the new Grand Duke- Luxembourg has never crowned its rulers- included Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, and King Albert II of Belgium.
Royal Poetry
The third poem in this series is by Richard Lovelace. To Lucasta, going to the Wars, is short but very moving. To Lovelace, as to many of his generation, honour and loyalty to the king had a very personal and present reality. The increasing strife between the royalist and parliamentary adherents caused much bitterness during the years immediately before 1642. The outbreak of civil war put the consciences of the king's subjects to the test. Lovelace, to his credit, had no doubts as to where his duty lay.
The poem was first published in 1649 as Lucasta. The identity of Lucasta is not known for certain, although Anthony Wood in his Athenae Oxonienses, published 1691-92, says she was Lucy Sacheverel, "whom he usually called Lux Casta.''
TO LUCASTA, GOING TO THE WARS
Tell me not (Sweet) I am unkind,
That from the nunnery
Of thy chaste breast and quiet mind
To war and arms I fly.
True, a new mistress now I chase,
The first foe in the field;
And with a stronger faith embrace
A sword, a horse, a shield.
Yet this inconstancy is such
As you too shall adore;
I could not love thee (Dear) so much,
Lov'd I not Honour more.
Colonel Richard Lovelace
Royal visits
Alfred Duke of Edinburgh 1869-71
The first royal visitor to New Zealand was Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, a younger son of Queen Victoria. Born the 6th of August 1844, he passed the entry examination in 1858 and joined the Royal Navy. From 1858 to 1860 he served at sea on HMS Euryalus, under Captain JW Tarleton, CB Royal Navy. Promoted Lieutenant 24th of February 1863, and Captain 23rd February 1866, he was given command of HMS Galatea in 1867.
Prince Alfred, who had been created Duke of Edinburgh, then took the ship on a world-wide tour. They saw deployments to North America and the West Indies. HMS Galatea visited New Zealand from the 11th of April to the 1st of June 1869, calling at Dunedin, Christchurch, and Auckland, and parts of the North Island.
The ship also called at Wellington from the 27th of August to the 3rd of September 1870, this time at the head of a four-ship squadron.
The Duke called again at New Zealand from the 8th of December 1870 to the 16th of January 1871. The prince was escorted during his visit by the Flying Arawa Columns, commanded by Captains George Preece, Sub-Inspector Armed Constabulary, and Gilbert Mair, New Zealand Militia (a Resident Magistrate and later Judge of the Native Land Court).
The tour included a visit to the Pink and White Terraces on the edge of Lake Rotomahana, near Rotorua. It was to be many years before another royal visitor was to come to these shores.
In 1874 the Duke of Edinburgh married Grand Duchess Marie, daughter of Alexander II Tsar of Russia. He succeeded to the throne of Saxe-Coburg und Gotha on the death of an uncle in 1893, and died the 30th of July 1900.
He enjoyed a successful career in the Royal Navy. From 1883 to 1884 he was Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Squadron, and 1886-1889 he was Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet. His final posting was as Commander-in-Chief, Devonport, 1890-93. The Duke was promoted to the rank of Admiral of the Fleet on becoming reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg und Gotha in 1893.
Royal Residences past and present
Crocker End House
Built as a rectory in about 1870, this spacious Victorian house in Nettlebed, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, was bought by the Duke and Duchess of Kent in December 1989. They moved into the house in February of the following year, having left Anmer Hall, their Norfolk home of eighteen years.
Crocker End House, with two acres of garden, had previously belonged to Lord Campbell of Eskan, and to the Earl of Arran. The Duke and Duchess, with their family, use the house as their country retreat.
Book Review
Death by Fame: A Life of Elizabeth, Empress of Austria, by Andrew Sinclair
Just over a century ago an Empress was killed by a stalker. Elizabeth of Austria was a tragic and lonely figure. She set the style for royal misfits who would follow her. In particular there were aspects of her life that bore an uncanny resemblance to the life of Diana, Princess of Wales.
Elizabeth was born on Christmas Eve 1837, the daughter of Duke Max of Bayern and his wife Ludovika. She was one of eight children. Taught by her father, she developed a passion for hunting. She also went on starvation diets and suffered from anorexia, obsessed by the Greek ideal of physical perfection.
She was married very young to Archduke Franz Josef, heir to the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. After giving him three children early, including a son, Rudolph, who committed suicide at Mayerling, she found life at Court less and less tolerable. Increasingly erratic, she travelled incessantly.
Elizabeth supported the independence movements of Hungary and Ireland. She hunted superbly, always accompanied by her close companion, the English cavalryman Bay Middleton. On her travels she took a moveable gym, exercising daily to achieve the bodily perfection which she enshrined in the statues of athletes in her Greek villa on Corfu.
Abandoning her husband to the attentions of the Viennese comic actress Katharina Schratt, she went on errands of mercy to the docks and slums of London and Liverpool, Barcelona and Naples, Smyrna and Marseilles.
She was the despair of the local police, who could not protect her, even though she travelled anonymously and often wore disguises. In 1898 she was stabbed on the Mont Blanc Pier beside Lake Geneva. "I wanted to kill a royal", said the young Italian with the knife. "It did not matter which one".
Letter to the Editor
Sir,
We seem to have got ourselves into a bit of a pickle over our honours system. In a monarchy, the politicians work for us, in a republic we work for the politicians, and this has caused problems when it comes to trying to amalgamate monarchical and republican honours systems in one structure. In the past this structure gave respect to the monarch, so that she can rule the country, and power to the politicians, so that they can run the country. Power, but no glory, to the politicians, glory, but no power, to the monarch, a most effective way to limit absolute power.
Debt is an obligation to repay, not an obligation to pay. In a monarchical society the monarch repays society's debts to us for our service by including us in her honours system. In a republic, because we work for the politicians, they have an obligation to pay us for our work, but they have no obligation to repay us for our service to the nation. So they don't.
Instead politicians worked out an honours system which honours merit, not service, and merit is defined in my dictionary as excellence, worth, the quality of deserving well, and they introduced a governance called meritocracy, which is, "a government by persons selected according to merit in competition" and they make sure that they make the rules of the competition, and they make sure that they pick the winners. Selection not election is the name of the game, and the NZ Yearbook 2000 says it all: "the Honours system is administered by the Cabinet Office, and a select committee makes the final choices on nominations".
More than that, they make sure that meritocracy is the only game around, and this is the reason that Mr Bolger announced to an annoyed nation that, in future the Order of New Zealand, the New Zealand Order of Merit and the Queen's Service Order would be the only ones available to us, and we weren't going to be able to get any of the old monarchical honours that we worked for in the past. Competition is great for our economy and also the government service, but competition in society leads to a great deal of ambition, misery and crime. When the bourgeoisie rules, civilization is impossible, and revolution is inevitable.
Any worthwhile honours system must give out rewards that we all want to work for. We don't want competitive honours systems (the same as all the brain-dead republics throughout the world) which grades us according to a political idea of merit rather than our old idea of service to the community.
The only way out of our present difficulty is absolutely clear cut. The New Zealand Herald of Arms must work for the Governor-General, our politicians must get out of any involvement in our honours system, the Order of New Zealand and the New Zealand Order of Merit must take their place, in seniority, with the other monarchical honours and they must be made available to us once again, and our politicians must be encouraged to understand, that our ancient and valuable honours system must be restored to its proper place in our democratic, not meritocratic, governance.
Norman McLeod