On March 28th the Mad Monarchist
announced that he was done with
blogging for the foreseeable future.
I would like to take this chance to
pay homage to this man for his
​tireless advocacy of monarchy.

The Mad Monarchist has been posting since 2009 with a mix
of historical profiles, current events, rants, and observations.
For six years he maintained a punishing schedule of almost
daily posting. In fact, his output from 2009 alone dwarfs my
total output over these last four years. It was tireless and
somewhat thankless work. As a pan-monarchist he was not
interested in the petty disputes that had divided monarchists
of different cultural or religious backgrounds or the
never-ending dispute on what dynasty should rule France.
As such he sometimes got it from all sides. But he persevered
and he built up a respectable following.

​I, myself, have been following his blog for at least the last four
years and it was his blog that inspired me to start my own tiny
blog focused on the Canadian Monarchy. For being that
inspiration I thank you, Mad Monarchist.

This is not the first time the
Mad Monarchist has decided to
stop posting for a while (or had
to for personal reasons) but his
post did have a sense of finality
to it. Then again he did tack a
'for now' onto the title of the
blog post so who knows?

The monarchist blogosphere
has lost a valuable contributor
and it remains to be seen who
would, or could, pick up the
slack. Perhaps we should take
comfort in the sheer volume of
blog posts he has left behind.

Ok, I'm starting to inadvertently make it sound like he's died.
Time to re-orientate. The Mad Monarchist mentioned some
behind the scenes work he wants to pursue. He left it unsaid
whether this was monarchy-related or a different political
project. But what I do know is that if he says people are never
​likely to stumble upon his new project its likely true.

I suppose as a final parting thought I will re-state an opinion
I've held for sometime now (and which I've told the Mad
Monarchist himself). He should collect his blog posts into a
book. Or at least make a collection of 'greatest hits'. If he does
not intend to keep the blog up forever it would be a suitable
end for it to make the jump to the written page.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

While leaving the Riverview Public
Library I happened to notice a pamphlet
with 'Monarchy' in bright red type (ok,
that was a lie. I noticed the Queen's
image first). The pamphlet was put out by
the Monarchist League of Canada and
gives a good, although brief, overview of
Canada's monarchy. As far as I can tell
the League doesn't count this pamphlet
among its publications or resources on
its website. I will come back to this point
later.

The cover image is from the Queen's last
royal tour of Canada in 2010.

The body of the pamphlet is divided into five sections.

The Canadian Monarchy - An overview of the Crown's
history and the benefits of a non-partisan and hereditary head
of state. The image at the top is of the Queen and a Mountie
looking at something out of frame. Both are serious and I find
the image to be an effective one.

The Queen Speaks To Canadians - A selection of four
quotes by Her Majesty intended to illustrate her role as head
of state. The picture at the top is of Prince Charles and a First
Nation's chief. While it doesn't match the text below it the
importance of underlining the Crown's long friendship with
the First Nations makes it a good picture to place there.

Learning About The Canadian Crown - This section
talks about the League website and what resources it has. The
image at the top is of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
with Prince George. Taken together the images running along
the top show the current monarch and three generations of
heirs. 

I am making my way through
David Johnson's new book Battle
Royal when I came across what is
likely the only recorded case of a
royal crowd-surfing. The context
of this event was the 1919 Royal
Tour by Prince Edward (the future
King Edward VIII). The prince was
scheduled to inspect some
veterans of the recently-ended
Great War in Toronto when there
was a slight breakdown in
discipline. It serves as an excellent
example of the fondness our men
and women in uniform continue to
have for their sovereign. Below is
the account Edward recorded  in
his memoirs.

"The moment I appeared the veterans broke ranks and,
cheering and yelling, surged around me. At first my mount
showed commendable control. Then, as the human mass
engulfed us both, I felt its body quiver. Fortunately, even if
its instinct had been to rear up and bolt, the crowd held it as
a vise. The next thing I knew I was being lifted off the horse's
back by strong hands and passed like a football over the
heads of the veterans. Disheveled, shaken and breathless, I
eventually found myself on the platform, clutching the
crumpled notes of my speech. The roar of cheering had
changed to laughter. I wish Papa could have seen this."

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

The New Democratic Party of Canada is holding its policy
convention this weekend in Ottawa. The Monarchist
League of Canada was tipped off that a resolution has been
submitted for debate on ending the Canadian monarchy: 

The League has been told that there is a good chance the
resolution will not even be considered (which is standard for
conventions with large numbers of policy suggestions).
However the League has suggested two courses of action to its
members. 1. Contact convention delegates to express concern
about the resolution and 2. Write a polite letter to the NDP's
leader Jagmeet Singh to state support for the crown and
​opposition to the position in the above resolution.

Trouble-making during policy conventions is nothing new
(the Liberal Party had a similar motion come up at their
policy convention years ago which was voted down). However,
after an extremely disappointing result in the last election and
a growing feeling that the NDP has traded its principles for a
shot at power it is not inconceivable that this resolution could
pass as a sort of 'feel good gesture'. That is assuming it comes
up for a vote at all.

This motion comes on the heels of of Jagmeet Singh making
clear he is less than supportive of the monarchy. It is
possible some members proposed this motion in the hope
that Mr. Singh would be more inclined to support it than
​previous leaders. It is a disappointing development which
may yet come to nothing. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Several members of the Monarchist League's
youth wing successfully blocked the resolution at the policy
panel stage. It will not be debated during the plenary sessions.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

While my last search was side-tracked I still wanted to do
a post about the Canadian Crown Jewels. I sent an inquiry in
to the Governor General's office seeking more information. I
quickly found out that no items have ever been designated as
such. Canada does have a Crown Collection which includes
works of art, furniture, rugs, & other items used for furnishing
the various official residences in Canada but that is not quite
the same. This got me thinking about what items might
constitute Canada's Crown Jewels in an unofficial sense.
Which begs the question: What are crown jewels?

Wikipedia has a list of some common attributes of crown
jewels on their site.
1. Objects of metal work and jewelry in the monarch's regalia.
2. Used by the monarch during special occasions.
3. Often depicted in portraits of the monarch.
4. Symbolize the continuity of the monarchy.
5. Conservative in appearance (see #4).
6. Items remain largely unchanged (see #4 & #5).
Ok, with a clearer idea what constitutes a 'crown jewel' we can
begin to examine possible candidates.

The only entry in this list which is
also a part of the British Crown
Jewels. It is notable that since the
Canadian Crown became distinct
from the British Crown in the 1930s
it is the only one that the monarchs
have been crowned with at their
​coronations. The significance to
Canada really only began with the
reign of Queen Elizabeth II though.

Queen Elizabeth preferred St. Edward's Crown be the heradic
representation of the monarchy in her realms. It replaced the
earlier Tudor Crown (which is not a physical crown) in this
​purpose. As such, when you see a crown displayed in an
official capacity in Canada it most likely is St. Edward's Crown
​you are seeing.

The Queen's Maple Leaf Brooch
has an interesting history. King
George VI originally bought it for
his wife, Queen Elizabeth (the
Queen Mother) on the occasion of
their first state visit to Canada in
1939. This was the first royal tour
of Canada by a reigning monarch.
The brooch was worn frequently
throughout the tour.

It has often been loaned out to members of the Royal Family
when they perform roles related to the Canadian Crown. 
Queen Elizabeth II was the first to borrow it when she was
still a princess. She wore it on her first trip to Canada in 1951.
Both Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and Kate, Duchess of
Cambridge, have worn the brooch on their respective royal
tours. The brooch was also worn for the Queen's official
portrait in 2017 to celebrate Canada's 150th anniversary.

This brooch was presented to Her
Majesty on July 19th, 2017 at Canada
House in London, England. It was
made both to celebrate the Queen's
Sapphire Jubilee and Canada's 150th
anniversary. This brooch is meant
to be a companion to the Maple Leaf
Brooch.

The sapphires were discovered on Baffin Island by two Inuit
brothers, Seemeega and Nowdluk Aqpik in 2002. It remains
​the only deposit of sapphires ever discovered in Canada.

The Canadian Pacific Railway was
completed in 1885. To mark the event
a small ceremony was conducted as
the last ​spike was driven in. Donald
Smith, who provided financial backing
for the railway, drove the last spike
and... quickly bent it. The bent spike
was removed and later presented to
Donald Smith as a memento. He had
several pins made from the spike.

​The pin is conservative in appearance and is in the shape of a
railway spike. It has 13 diamonds along its length with a single
round piece of iron from the last spike itself in the center.
There were an indeterminate number of pins like this made
(partly due to the jealousy they invoked in the leadership of
the railway company) and the last spike itself has evidence of
having been drilled liberally. Four examples of the pin are
known to exist. The one that was presented to the railways'
president, George Stephen, was donated to Canada's Crown
Collection by a descendant. The Governor General or their
consort wear it for special events. It is the singular piece of
jewelry in the Crown Collection and signifies an event that
helped tie the young country together.

Ok, one might get the impression
that if these items can be considered
a part of Canada's Crown Jewels they
are all very transportable. And indeed
the monarch and vice-regal office
holders are often on the move when
carrying out their duties. Like one of
the other examples above this brooch
was a gift for Her Majesty.

​The brooch was presented to Her Majesty in 2013 by the
Lieutenant-Governor ​of Saskatchewan, Vaughn Schofield. It
was created by a jeweler in Regina. The brooch quickly
entered Her Majesty's rotation of brooches. Sadly, we are not
likely to see the Queen wear it on Canadian soil as Her
Majesty does not travel long distances anymore. 

This has been a brief overview of items I feel belong to an
unofficial Crown Jewels of Canada. There could very well be
others with their own stories to tell about the Canadian
Crown. And, who knows, maybe one day someone will
designate these items as being officially Canada's Crown
Jewels.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

A student organization at the University of Liverpool is in a
bit of hot water over a tweet it made on January 29th (since
deleted). The University of Liverpool Labour Students
seemed to advocate in the tweet that Queen Elizabeth II be
beheaded:

They have since apologized and stated the tweet was 'tongue-
in-cheek'. Now, this is not the first time in recent memory that
an organization/person connected to the Labour Party has
said some stupid thing and then justified it by claiming it was
all a joke.

But let us take them at their word that this was a joke rather
than a serious proposal. What kind of people joke about the
execution of another person, let alone their head of state?
Especially, when actual beheadings are becoming much more
common with the rise of ISIS. But civility is declining
everywheres it seems. The president of the Philippines has
joked about rape multiple times and in one notable
instance about eating someone. 

It is concerning when these 'jokes' are made because it shines
a light on what the person thinks are acceptable norms in
society. On the flip side it makes light of a terrible period in
English history. Had there been no outcry that tweet would
still be up ​and they would be fine with it.

To the credit of many Labour Party members on campus they
quickly distanced themselves from the comments made by
their student leadership. For my part I sent a quick email to
the Vice-Chancellor expressing my concerns about this
incident. This is important as the actions of a few students
reflects poorly on the University of Liverpool as a whole.

UPDATE: The Vice-Chancellor has replied to my email. The
full text of this reply is at the bottom of this post. 

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

You can stumble upon a lot of interesting things using Google.
I was in the process of searching for the Canadian Crown
Jewels when I noticed a link to the Crown Jewels of Canada
Society. My interest was piqued. Was there really a society
dedicated to the Canadian Crown Jewels? Well, yes and no.
The society isn't dedicated to the Canadian component of
Her Majesty's Crown Jewels (such as the Sapphire Jubilee
Snowflake Brooch). Instead, the society is a national
non-profit dedicated to "uniting women across Canada in a
social environment offering friendship and support." In
other words it is a social group for women with the women
who make up the organization being the metaphorical 'jewels'.
It is similar in purpose to the Red Hat Society. However,
while the Red Hat Society is a private business that operates
world wide, the ​Crown Jewels of Canada Society is a non-
profit organization operating only in Canada. 

As their history page relates
the society began in 2009 after it
was decided by a chapter of the
Red Hat Society in Canada that
it didn't make sense to continue
sending money to a private
corporation in the ​USA during a
recession. Initially the group
only planned to register at the
provincial level but as word of
mouth spread the decision was
made to jump to the federal
level. So what does any of this have to do with monarchy,
​monarchism, or royalty? Glad you asked!

Monarchy is not just a governmental system, it is a cultural
institution as well. A term like 'crown jewels' makes no sense
​in the American context as they do not have the familiarity
with why crown jewels are important (generally to represent
​the power and continuity of the monarchy). The Crown Jewels
of Canada Society has other symbolic trappings of the
monarchy such as purple being one of the organization's
colours, a modified St. Edward's Crown on their member pin
(see above), the title of Queen for each chapter's head, and
gatherings called royal courts. It is one more example of how
the monarchy is deeply embedded in the symbolic language of
Canada.

It is an interesting organization and I'm glad I stumbled upon
it. Her Majesty would likely also approve of the good work
they are doing which leads me to wonder whether they have
ever considered seeking her royal patronage.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Update: A clarification to the relationship between the Red
Hat Society and the Crown Jewels of Canada Society was
made 15/02/2018.

An article on the CBC webpage is reporting the discovery of
a rare colour film from 1939 recording the royal visit of King
George VI and Queen Elizabeth to Winnipeg.

It remains a mystery who took the footage at a time when
colour recording was just becoming commercially available.

It is interesting to note that First Nations and Chinese were
both present in the parade. Republicans often like to
characterize the Royal Family as being of limited interest to
those who are not Anglo-Saxon. This video is yet another
​example of how that just isn't the case.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Royalty has influenced many aspects
of our culture and Christmas is no
exception. The following holiday
traditions at least partially owe their
existence to royalty.

Gingerbread Men

While spiced cookies have been a
mainstay of the Christmas season since
the Middle Ages it took a canny act of
diplomacy to make gingerbread men a
reality.

Queen Elizabeth I held elaborate banquets where there
would be served gingerbread men made to represent her
favoured couriers and foreign dignitaries. Queen Elizabeth
carried out a careful balancing act throughout her reign in
order to avoid being sidelined, attacked, or pinned down. Her
banquets were only part of this strategy and allowed the
Queen to signal who was a rising star and to flatter the
representatives of potentially hostile states.  

The Christmas Tree

While evergreens were an important aspect of Europe's Pagan
and folk religions since ancient times the modern Christmas
tree tradition began in Germany in the 16th century when
devout Christians there started bringing the trees into their
homes and decorating them with candles. There is even a
story that this stemmed from Martin Luther wanting to show
his family the beauty of the stars shining amongst the
evergreens one night while he was outside working on a
sermon.

However, without royal intervention the Christmas tree would
likely have remained an oddity in the Western world. In 1846
a sketch appeared in the London News depicting Queen
Victoria, her German husband Prince Albert, and all their
children standing around a Christmas tree. The popular
Queen was quickly imitated at all levels of society and the
Christmas tree was on its way to being a worldwide tradition. 

Christmas Pudding

Christmas Pudding started off as being partly made of meat
(in much the same way as mincemeat pies did) and was more
of a soup than a pudding. This concoction was called
'frumenty'. It was traditionally eaten before Christmas to get
ready for the season.

By the late 1500s the addition of eggs, breadcrumbs, and fruit
had led to a proper pudding. This is where the story gets a tad
fuzzy. It has been said that the Puritans banned Christmas
during the English Interregnum. What is less clear is whether
or not they tried to stamp out the humble Christmas
pudding. The story continues that after the restoration of the
monarchy the pudding was legalized but didn't regain its full
popularity until the reign of King George I in 1714.

Is any part of this dastardly pudding ban story true? Who
knows! But the linkage of Christmas pudding with royalty has
endured.

Christmas Address

In 1932 King George V was persuaded to give a Christmas
address over the radio by the BBC. It would become an
annual tradition (with a few notable lapses) for the Royal
Family. In the years since the tradition has spread to other
monarchies in Europe. Several republics have also taken up
the tradition with the president typically giving an address at
Christmas or on New Years Eve. 

Turkey Dinner

Maybe I should have had more to eat before starting this
article, I keep coming back to food! It is widely reported
that King Henry VIII was the first english king to dine on
turkey but that it was Edward VII who made it fashionable to
eat the bird at Christmas time. Regardless, turkey remained
​a food for the mainly well-to-do until at least the 1950s. 

---

As this will be my last post before the 25th I would like to
wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

For many people the fact that Brazil
was once an empire can come as a
surprise. Whats more, a growing
number of people want their monarchy
back. So what is the current state of
​monarchism in Brazil today?

After a military coup d'ètat toppled the monarchy in 1889
various attempts were made to restore the monarchy. In 1993
support for the monarchy was strong enough to have a
referendum on what form of government Brazil should have.
The monarchist cause gained 10.2% support. If republicans
thought this would be the end of the monarchist question they
​were sadly mistaken. In 2013, 20 years after the referendum,
the Portal Terra newspaper asked its readers if they would
support the monarchy's restoration. 82% indicated they
would support such a move. At roughly the same time the
​republic was in the process of greatly undermining itself. 

A major scandal rocked the republic
in 2015 and implicated politicians
from across the political spectrum in a
criminal money-laundering scheme.
In the ensuing anti-government
protests monarchist organizations
played an ​increasingly important, and visible, role. The
claimant to the throne also began taking on more public
appearances and giving media interviews.

In 2016 a known monarchist, Paulo Eduardo Martins, was
elected to the Chamber of Deputies (the National Congress'
lower house). With a supporter able to shepard legislation
through the National Congress monarchists are well placed
for their biggest push thus far: a new referendum.

In 2017 an online petition to the Federal Senate asking for a
new referendum on becoming a monarchy collected 32,000
signatures and easily surpassed the 20,000 needed to have
the petition officially debated. Support on the Federal
Senate's website was stated at being over 90%. The process
received a boost with the state assemblies of Minas Gerais and
Rondônia both sending their official support for the
referendum proposal. The proposal is currently before
the Commission of Human Rights of the Brazilian Federal
Senate for debate, awaiting the appointment of a
rapporteur.

The Brazilian monarchists are doing well and I applaud their
tenacious efforts. One thing that concerns me it is that there
does not seem to have been a definitive nation-wide poll on
the subject. So while the high levels of support shown in more
limited polls are nice I don't think anyone should be resting.
The battle for hearts and minds cannot be considered won yet.

A second concern is that the Federal Senate might sit on the
proposed referendum until it can be killed in some way. Every
effort should be made to ensure the proposal actually results
​in a referendum.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour