Messages

1

Iberian Royal Families / Re: King Juan Carlos & Queen Sofia of Spain

« on: December 28, 2012, 11:00:23 AM »

Thanks for your reply.
It is indeed amazing how the House of Spain recovered its popularity after AXIII lost his in 1931, and especially after being out of power for two generations. It seems Spain becoming a republic in 1931 was only an accident, despite what the losers of the Spanish Civil War might say.

2

Iberian Royal Families / Re: King Juan Carlos & Queen Sofia of Spain

« on: December 27, 2012, 06:00:33 PM »

Hello, there! Have been out for more than a year.
I want to propose a discussion theme that I don't think has ever been discussed: the circumstances of the restoration of the House of Spain. It is indeed very remarkable how, after 1931, Franco restored the monarchy in 1947, appointed Juan Carlos as future King in 1969, and finally, after 44 years, JCI completed the process of restoration.
What other events can be compared to the events in Spain? I can think of the dramatic events in Cambodia, where Norodom Sihanouk was restored after being for three years a prisoner of the Khmer Rouge.

3

Iberian Royal Families / Re: King Juan Carlos & Queen Sofia of Spain

« on: March 27, 2012, 11:45:47 AM »

Perhaps I have asked this question before, but I don't think I received a satisfactory response, so I'm asking it again:
what did you expect on 22 November 1975?
'twas no secret that, when JCI came to power, many were eagerly salivating for a Spanish Civil War II. Miche Medina, cartoonist of EL MUNDO of Puerto Rico, drew a cartoon that showed a bull reading the news of Juan Carlos' enthronement while smiling a very malevolent leer. 36 years, 4 months and 5 days later, I have yet to hear from any of those ghouls any admission that they were totally wrong about His Catholic Majesty and modern Spain.

4

Iberian Royal Families / Re: King Juan Carlos & Queen Sofia of Spain

« on: March 18, 2012, 12:00:28 PM »

Does the King receive a lot of requests for help regarding particular emergencies? !HOLA! has often reported about people who, not having been helped through the customary govt channels, appeal directly to the king to intercede in their behalf.

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Iberian Royal Families / Re: Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofia of Spain

« on: March 09, 2012, 08:25:13 AM »

... is already six years of age; what kind of personality is she revealing? Certainly it has been obvious for years that she is the living image of her very handsome father.

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Balkan Royal Families / Re: Balkan Nobility & Aristocracy

« on: August 18, 2010, 10:45:06 PM »

Are there other forums where I can inform myself about the aristocracy of Central, Eastern and Balkanic Europe? I'm particularly interested in its heraldry, since I myself am an heraldist.

7

Iberian Royal Families / Re: King Juan Carlos & Queen Sofia of Spain

« on: July 19, 2010, 09:55:49 PM »

Has anybody ever considered how lucky the Spanish monarchy has been in regards to enemies? Without exception, its foes have always turned out to be either fools, or knaves, or both.
If the First Sp Republic had had a Gambetta, it would have at least lasted longer than barely two years; if the Second Republic had had a Kemal Ataturk or a Pilsudski, it might have won the 1936-39 War; instead, to quote TIME in its article about the proclamation of the 2d Republic, that regime--and, for that matter, also the previous one--had leaders of only ,,moderate'' ability--in other words, mediocrities and nonentities; 'tis the monarchists who always seem to have the big brains.

8

Having Fun! / Re: Suppose that Russia Had Not Entered the War ...

« on: July 19, 2010, 09:40:35 PM »

Speaking of France, its role in the beginning of the war cannot be excessively emphasized. The Third Republic was an inherently weak regime that lasted as long as it did only because everybody in France wanted to avenge the 1870-71 War. Once that was accomplished, the regime began to fall apart, so that the Germans defeated it in 1940 without an excess of effort.
What was one of the main reasons for which the Sp Second Republic was so weak from the start? Its founders chose to model it after the Third Republic, which by that time was no longer anything that could be regarded as a shining example of what a republic should be.

9

Having Fun! / About the Octopus With the Crown

« on: July 13, 2010, 08:05:39 PM »

I hear that there is around now a flag with a crowned pulpo=octopus, in reference to the player who accomplished the winning gol. I pray that it may be seen in the USA, at least so that Americans may learn what the Spanish crown actually looks like.
When Juan Carlos was appointed Prince of Spain, and when he acceded to the throne, there were many US cartoons showing him wearing crowns that were clearly modeled after those that GB's royalty uses. The Americans are so in love with the House Windsor that they think that all crowns look like the British crowns, when in fact the crowns of GB are unique in their design, and do not resemble at all those of the other kingdoms of Europe, including Spain.

10

The Windsors / Re: King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson (Duke and Duchess of Windsor)

« on: May 30, 2010, 04:30:58 PM »

... so why didn't he resign his rights while he still had the chance?
He had three brothers, so obviously the survival of the dynasty did not depend solely on him.

11

Iberian Royal Families / Re: TM King Felipe & Queen Letizia

« on: March 13, 2010, 10:00:23 PM »

Have the Spanish people totally accepted that the Golden Girl will succeed her father as Queen Regnant? In PR, everybody refers to her already as La Reinita=the Little Queen, in reference to the PR national bird, the reinita mora=Spindalis Portoricensis.

12

Iberian Royal Families / Re: Alternative history: the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939

« on: November 05, 2009, 05:53:39 PM »

Why would anybody want Spain to be a republic? Most European republics are drab and uninteresting; they don't have the glamour of the monarchies. Who knows who is the President of Germany? Nobody, not even the Germans, because the President of Germany is a total nonentity who has no influence in the government of the country. It would be an entirely different matter if Germany were a Kaiserreich with an Emperor, either elected, as in the 1st Reich, or hereditary, as in the 2d Reich.

13

Iberian Royal Families / Re: Alternative history: the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939

« on: November 05, 2009, 05:36:57 PM »

I can't feel sympathy for the losers of that war.
Louis XVI, Nicolas II, Charles I° Stuart, Alfonso XIII, Charles X of France, Louis-Philippe, James II Stuart, Humberto II, Karl I° of Austria, Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, Edward I° of England, Richard II of England, Henry VI of England, Richard III of England, Zog I° of Albania, Wilhelm II of Germany, Simeon II of Bulgaria, Napoléon I° and III, Constantin I° and II kings of the Hellens, king Felipe IV of Spain, Gustave IV of Sweden, Miguel I° of Portugal, Pedro II of Brasil, Manuel II of Portugal, Mickael I° of Rumania, Peter III of Russia, Carlos IV of Spain, Isabel II of Spain, Petar II of Yugoslavia... I'm not sure you like history (too many people you don't like !!)

I can certainly sympathise with the people you mention. Most of the people who took their place were unadulterated rascals who deserved deaths as violent as those of Robespierre and Ceausescu.

14

Imperial Russian History / Should the Monarchies of Poland and Lithuania be Restored, ...

« on: October 12, 2009, 06:09:52 PM »

... who would be the logical heirs to those thrones?

15

Iberian Royal Families / Re: Maria Christina of Austria, Queen Regent of Spain

« on: September 13, 2009, 07:51:24 PM »

... what does the Spanish Constitution provide for any future regencies?