Monocled Monarch is the King of Fashion
August 17th, 2008
Put Taft on a raft and forget Mr. Vorster: In terms of well-dressed heads of state, the King of Tonga is one of the last of his breed
It’s an easily observable fact that, in terms of public attire, the heads of state of today generally leave much to be desired, yet the newly crowned King of Tonga (seen right) keeps up the sartorial tradition, not only of his ancestors, but of ours. George Tupou V (or Siaosi Taufa’ahau Manumataongo Tuku’aho Tupou V to give his full name) was crowned just a few weeks ago in a splendid ceremony in Nuku’alofa, the capital of “the Friendly Islands”.
Though Tonga is certainly not the only monarchy in the Pacific — Japan, Australia, and New Zealand are the most prominent — it is one of the smallest and certainly one of the most traditional. So traditional, in fact, that it is on the naughty list of the CIA-linked “Freedom House” foundation. Tonga’s crime? That only a minority of the members of Tonga’s parliament, the Fale Alea, are directly elected. Of the 30 members, 9 are elected by a general electorate, 9 are elected by the nobility, 10 are members of the Privy Council, and 2 are governors appointed by the King. Curiously, Freedom House does not treat the United Kingdom the same as Tonga, despite the majority of parliamentarians being either directly appointed by the Crown or elected by hereditary lords — elected MPs consist of less than half of parliament.
His Majesty reigns over a kingdom that is predominantly Wesleyan in religion, but he was crowned by an Anglican archbishop from Fiji (itself a hybrid monarchy-republic) because Tongans are not allowed to touch the Royal Person. (Also, there are no Wesleyan archbishops, and it would hardly do for a King to be crowned by a mere minister!).
The King’s amicable nature ensures that the Tongan realm lives up to their sometime moniker of “the Friendly Islands”; above, His Majesty meets with one of his honorary consuls to Australia.
The King is seen here visiting his fellow monarch Elizabeth II on a visit to London. Tonga has long enjoyed friendly relations with Great Britain, having been a British-protected state from 1900 until 1970, and the Kingdom remains a Commonwealth nation today. His Majesty’s traditional sense of style frequently includes a monocle and top hat. While he does not look out of place at Buckingham Palace, his natural attire makes his audiences with less traditional heads of state (witness H.M. with President Shimon Peres of Israel, topmost, right) makes the boring leaders seem inappropriately dressed.
I am sure that all of our readers will join in wishing His Majesty a happy and blessed reign, that justice and order will flourish in Tonga, and that the Pacific seas will remain true to their name.
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Victoria Day – Fête de la Reine
May 19th, 2008
The Official Birthday of the Queen of Canada
ELIZABETH II will have had, in her lifetime, more birthdays than Methuselah. This is because, in addition to the actual date of her birth, April 21, 1926, she has several different days which are designated as the Sovereign’s Official Birthday. In Britain, her birthday (which is the official national day of the United Kingdom) generally falls on the first or second Sunday in June and is the occasion of the ceremony of Trooping the Colour. Australia celebrates her birth on the first Monday in June with a public holiday, except for in Western Australia, where it is usually either the last Monday in September or the first Monday in October. This is the day when the latest members of the Order of Australia are announced. New Zealand also holds the Sovereign’s Birthday on the first Monday of June. Fiji is now a republic but Elizabeth II remains ‘Paramount Chief of Fiji’ and so a Monday in June is declared a holiday each year to commemorate her birth.
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La principessa, non la senatrice
April 24th, 2008
Isn’t it a shame that the citizens of Rome & Lazio neglected to choose Princess Alessandra Borghese as their senator? Our favorite inhabitant of the Palazzo Borghese is a sound Catholic, is good friends with the Pope, and was seen from afar during our first pilgrimage to Rome; good enough reasons to get my vote. While the UDC won a respectable 36 seats in the population-based Chamber of Deputies (an acceptable loss of 3 seats since the last election), la Principessa was a candidate for the regionally-based Senate, in which the UDC won only 3 seats, a loss of 18 since the 2006 elections.
Another young royal vied for a parliamentary seat in the recent Italian election, but you will have to wait until the next Norumbega for our little overview of the results.
