One Thousand Posts

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Britain, graves, I claudius, majorca, Poetry, Spain

WordPress tells me I have now written one thousand entries on this blog. I use to be with Blogspot and I am sure I wrote a few hundreds on that site also.

I just finished reading Wild Olives by William Graves, written in 1995 for the centenary of his father author and poet Robert Graves, it is a biography and a family story of their life in the small mountain village of Deia in Majorca. Robert Graves lived most of his life there before and after the Second World War and the Spanish Civil War. A strange book, full of family recriminations and regrets. William was the oldest surviving son of Robert Graves and one of 8 children his father had with his two wives, Nancy Nicolson and Beryl Pritchard. Robert Graves also had loads of young nymphette his muses he called them, girls as young as 17 who moved in with him, his wife and the kids. Drugs, wild parties and celebrity lifestyle spanning the period from 1946-1985. The English would say that Robert Graves was eccentric, E.F. Benson in his book called them Freaks.  You feel no attachment to these people and frankly found the whole book strange, somewhat distateful.

Yes Robert Graves was probably the English Poet of the XXth century and he is best remembered for his book I Claudius and Goodbye to all that. The book also covers at lenght the life of a bunch of ex-pats in Majorca, friends of R.G. which is not endearing. Though to the credit of Robert Graves and his children, they all spoke several languages including Spanish and Catalan with the Majorcan accent. The children went to school in Palma and in England. University for them was Oxford.

Robert Graves was the big alpha male type, he justified seducing young women he fancied as a need for his inspiration for his poetic prose, developing the theme of satisfying the White Goddess. He did write celebrated poems and his books became required reading in the UK school system. His second wife Beryl Pritchard was 20 years his junior and put up with it, paying little attention to the muses and befriending some of them. William Graves in his book narrates his own childhood and the many difficulties he and his siblings had living with a world famous father who expected everyone to obey him in everything. A man who held Court at his house Canellun receiving many other famous people of the period an endless stream it seems. What did the people of Deia think of all this, William tells us that they were in awe of his father who could make things happen in the village and surrounding area in the years of the Fascist dictatorship of General Franco.

W. said to me do we really need to know all the imperfections of a famous person? We enjoy their work so why not leave it at that. When William Graves wrote this book, his mother Beryl was still alive, a person he describes as very private, she died in Deia in 2003. William as executor of this father’s Estate now runs the Robert Graves Literary Foundation at Canellun, the family home in Deia.

At the end of the book William Graves warns the reader that the village of Deia and the Isle of Majorca are no longer as he wrote about them. He spoke of a period in time whose actors are all gone now. From a simple village Deia in the 1960 and 70’s became first a hippie stop over and then a retreat for the wealthy German and British ex-pats. As he says the rustic Deia I knew no longer exist.

His father after 1975 suffered from senile dementia and became with time a confuse and then quiet vacant figure in a wheelchair and the celebrity seekers continued to come to Canellun to see the great man and get a photo.

Robert von Ranke Graves, 1895-1985.

Memories and developments

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Britain, Iran, Middle East, NATO, Politics, Russia, Syria, Trump, Turkey, World

In the last few weeks with the zigzags of international situations and the horrible nightmare circus of the Trump NO Foreign Policy, I am concerned for the safety of us all and for the stability of the World.

On my last visit to Damascus back in around 2002 just before the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, I was surprise to see the large number of Iranian visitors, business people and families living in neighbourhoods of Damascus a city before the Civil War of 2 million people. The official explanation was Shia Holy Sites which brought people to visit Syria. In the Southern Suburb of Damascus is the tomb and Mosque of Sayidda Zeinab daughter of Ali and grand daughter of the Prophet Mohammed. The Mosque in Persian Style was built in the 1990’s on the site of a much older mosque. The Iranian Embassy was also the next door neighbour of the Canadian Embassy in Damascus on Fayez Mansour.

The Assad Regime in Syria is allied with Iran for various complex political and military reasons and Iran is an important supporter of Hezbollah ( the Party of God) in Lebanon and these alliances are maintained to keep a foothold in Lebanon keeping the country unstable and ensuring the on-going influence of Syria in Lebanon. Iran can also maintain pressure on Israel with the help of its proxy Hezbollah.

Since the invasion of Iraq by the USA in 2003 and the final overthrow of the Regime of Saddam Hussein, Iran has moved into Iraq on the pretext of helping the Shia majority at the expense of the Sunni minority. It also helps control politics in Iraq and prevents the USA from dominating the region and helps Russia play a large role. Something Russia has been wanting to do since the 1930’s but was unable to do because of British and American interest in the area. Britain is now gone and the USA are in a weaken position.

Enters Trump and his simpleton politics of I know it all school of thought, who decided to abandon the Kurds who counted on the USA as an ally seeking protection from Turkey, Iran and Russia. Confirming the old belief that you really cannot depend on the USA as an Ally. Russia is consolidating its position in the region, having cultivated President Erdogan of Turkey by selling him armaments despite the fact that Turkey is still a member of NATO. Russia is undermining NATO and Trump in London said that he does not feel compelled to uphold article 5 of the Alliance of mutual assistance. This sends a strong message to Russia and China who understand that they can make a move with little fear of USA intervention.

Trump then makes threats against Turkey of sanctions thinking that President Erdogan will give in, which is unlikely given his own posturing at home and new found friends in Russia and China. This point escapes Trump completely and his arrogant attitude at the NATO Anniversary in London shows how much he is out of it, we also saw how the world thinks little of him and the USA.  His leaving early in a huff or calling President Macron and Prime Minister Trudeau names like a school child did little to enhance his profile.

The Civil War in Syria will come to an end with Russia and Iran as the winners, the USA will be out and the Kurds will be reduced once again to living on the margins, because they backed the USA.

What sort of Syria will we have in the future, not a democratic one, more like an enhanced dictatorship with more grinding poverty, a powerful Russia with naval bases in the port of Latakia, something Russia has been wanting for more than a century. Iran will also get access to the Mediterranean and come to dominate the region, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq. This puts even more pressure on Israel and pushes out Saudi interests in the entire region, Iran is the winner.  With Trump’s ever changing reasoning and attitudes, 60 years of complicated US diplomacy is gone. It leaves little Jordan alone with Israel to fend for themselves.

With Israel at the moment in a state of turmoil as Premier Netanyahu facing criminal prosecution for corruption, no clear winner after 2 back to back election. Trump may think he can just send in the Marines to clear things up, but it no longer works that way, this is not the 1940’s. The USA is running out of options but hey The Donald can’t seem to grasp this reality.

War with Russia is not possible, because Nuclear Weapons. A conflict with Iran is also not feasible, Russia again would certainly intervene on the side of Iran. Sanctions against Turkey will not work either and only push the Turks into the Russian camp further and undermine NATO on its Southern flank.

China has been moving for the last 20 years to displace the USA commercially in Africa, South America and Asia. China is having economic problems due to Trump’s tariffs but there is a limit to such tariffs, Stock Markets reflect the unease and worry of a trade war with China. Trump knows he is limited in what he can do without damaging the USA economy.  What has been lost in terms of  US Foreign Policy and influence in the World will not bounce back, it is simply too late.

Looks like the whole impeachment process is far to slow and uncertain and then the 2020 election another uncertainty.  No it does not look good at all.

About that documentary

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Britain, Canada., Crown, documentary, EIIR, GVIR, GVR, Jewels

I saw some preview of a new documentary on Queen Elizabeth II and the Coronation. I had forgotten that there are actually 2 Crowns, one for the Coronation moment itself when the intended is actually Crown and then a second Crown which is used for all State occasions, including the rest of the Coronation Ceremony and events that follow.

There is also the State Diadem of 1820 made for King George IV to wear on his way to his coronation. He was one of the many sons of King George III and Queen Charlotte.  This diadem was then worn by his wife Queen Adelaide and then by Queen Victoria and now Queen Elizabeth wears it on several occasions like when she travels from Buckingham Palace to Parliament each year.

The Crown of Saint Edward a solid gold crown is used at the moment of the Coronation itself and then put away until the next Coronation. Fairly heavy to wear on one’s head according to the Queen.

St Edward’s Crown is the centrepiece of the Crown Jewels. Named after Edward the Confessor (1003-1066) it has been traditionally used to crown British monarchs at their Coronation since the 13th century.

The original crown was a holy relic kept at Westminster Abbey, Edward’s burial place, until the regalia were either sold or melted down after Parliament abolished the monarchy in 1649, during the English Civil War.

The present version of St Edward’s Crown was made for Charles II in 1661. It is solid gold, 30 centimetres (12 in) tall, weighs 2.23 kilograms (4.9 lb), and is decorated with 444 precious and semi-precious stones. The crown is similar in weight and overall appearance to the original, but its arches are Baroque.

After 1689, it was not used to crown a monarch for over 200 years. In 1911, the tradition was revived by George V and all subsequent monarchs have been crowned using St Edward’s Crown. A stylised image of this crown is used in Coats of Arms, like those of  Canada to symbolise the royal authority of Queen Elizabeth II.

The other Crown we see most often is the Imperial State Crown, it is worn after the Coronation Ceremony and at all State functions.

Usually, the crown is taken to the Palace of Westminster under armed guard in its own carriage and placed in the Robing Room, where the Queen dons her robes of State and puts on the crown before giving her speech to Parliament.

Upon the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, a new state crown was made for Charles II by Sir Robert Vyner. About 10 versions of the crown have existed since the restoration. The one made for Queen Victoria in 1838 is the basis for today’s crown. Made by Rundell and Bridge in 1838 using old and new jewels, it had a crimson velvet cap with ermine border and a lining of white silk. It weighed 39.25 troy ounces, or just over 1.2 kilograms, and was decorated with 1,363 brilliant-cut, 1,273 rose-cut and 147 table-cut diamonds, 277 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, 4 rubies, and the Black Prince’s Ruby

The gems in the crown were remounted for the coronation of George VI in 1937 by Garrard & Co. The crown was adjusted for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953, with the head size reduced and the arches lowered by 25 mm (1 inch) to give it a more feminine appearance.

I also did not know that for the documentary, the producers were not allowed to photograph the crown from above, as it is considered disrespectful to God. The Crown is a religious sacred object and it is treated as such by the Sovereign and everyone around.  Only the Queen can actually put on the crown which she does by herself without anyone’s help. There is a lot of protocol surrounding this piece of jewellery,  do’s and don’t’s. Really fascinating when you think of it and how it all came about.

 

Reading

Tags

Albert, Britain, Canada., Crown, Imperial, Victoria

I have been reading the latest biography on Queen Victoria by Julia Baird.  A very different biography, written from the Queen’s journals, those the author could gain access to, much has been destroyed by family members and the rest is under lock and key, Queen Elizabeth II wishes to preserve some secrets. The author also used correspondence and journals of her close family and Prime Ministers who served in her time.

This is not the Official saccharine version presented constantly in stories about that era but a much more unvarnished portrait of her family and her life.

Victoria was born in 1819 and baptized Alexandrina Victoria, the grand-daughter of King George III and Queen Charlotte, both were Germans and the entire British Royal Family is in fact of German origin with very close Family ties to the German Imperial Family.  Her eldest daughter will marry German Emperor Frederick III and Victoria’s favourite grandson was Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1942).

Grandmama Victoria and grand son Wilhelm 

Victoria’s father was Prince Edward who will die young when Victoria was a small child. Her uncles King George IV and King William IV did not like her much and will make all manner of difficulties for her and her mother German Princess Victoria of Saxe-Cobourg-Saalfeld.  The reason being that they did not have children of their own and this created a succession crisis. Victoria had 2 step-siblings from her mother’s first marriage, Princess Feodora and Prince Carl, both lived in Germany and they visited each other often.

Victoria spoke fluent German and had an accent when she spoke English. At home life was in German and governess and personal attendants were also Germans. She had a sad childhood, which she describes as one of melancholy. She was very emotional, frivolous, obstinate, selfish, mean spirited, a conservative not in favour of greater democratic rights for her subjects, she often berated her Prime Ministers and tried to undermine her own Ministers. She reigned in an age when the role of the Monarchy was rapidly changing, responsible government was taking root and a greater proportion of men will be able to vote thanks to Prime Minister Gladstone many reforms. She also opposed voting rights for women and self-rule for Ireland.

In February 1840 she married her first cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Cobourg-Gotha at the suggestion of her uncle King Leopold of the Belgium. Victoria and Albert had daily strenuous sexual relations, of their union 9 children will be born and 7 will live into adulthood. This is were the hemophilia gene enters the story and how it spread to other Royal families in Europe through her daughters. Little was known at the time about this disease and how it was communicated through the female line.

It appears from the biography of Baird, that what is known as the Victorian Era was in fact a creation of Albert’s influence. Victoria had many pregnancies and she was unable to attend to State Affairs, Albert was happy to take care of everything, assuming the role of King, though he was in Law only a Consort with no authority. He came from a broken dysfunctional family and had strict puritanical attitudes and imposed a harsh moral code at Court. He was a cold intellectual and made people feel stupid when he spoke on any topic, had strong anti-semitic views which shocked people in Britain. He also had misogynist views on women and their role. Much correspondence exist on this topic between him and his brother.  Victoria in her diaries and in correspondence after a few years of marriage to Albert started to show a lack of confidence in herself, she will say I cannot make my mind up about anything without his guidance.  The Family spoke German in private and Victoria had to be reminded by her Prime Ministers to be careful to only use English in public. There was much resentment and mistrust of Prince Albert as he was seen as a foreign influence on Victoria.

Albert dies in December 1861 of what is believed nowadays to have been Crohn’s disease. Victoria enters into a 10 year period of very deep mourning and disappeared from view. Living away from London, refusing to open Parliament or do any public duty. She developed a system were a cohort of medical expert would present ”Doctor’s notes” to explain her absence or inability to do her duty to the Prime Minister and the Press.  The Press and the public criticized her for her absence and questions were raised about the role of the Royal family, why do we need them, she kept her adult children including the heir, the Prince of Wales, her eldest son Edward from any Royal duty. The image of the Royal family suffered during that period only to improve slightly towards the end of her life.

Her mental health after the death of Albert deteriorated so much that many feared she was going mad like her Grandfather King George III. In reading this biography, you see Victoria as indulged and weak and then as temperamental and emotional, much weeping about everything. Her children marry, they will move away and she feels always very depressed at every wedding. These marriages will also increase the prestige of Britain, connecting her family with other Royal Houses, like Denmark, Russia, Germany, Romania, Greece. She will offer asylum to French Emperor Napoleon III and his family in 1870 after his overthrow. She will also put Chancellor Bismarck in his place during a meeting in 1888 over the succession in Germany.

As for her relationship with the Scottish oaf John Brown, there is a strong suspicion that she had an affair with him for many years, he was a substitute for the dead Albert. Baird does bring a lot of context to this book and it helps the reader understand the dynamics of the time and destroy some myths about Victoria.

 

Painting of Victoria and Albert with 5 of the children in 1846 by Franz Xaver Winterhalter

 

In 9 days

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Britain, Canada., Charlottetown, George III, Germany, Havoner, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, PEI, Prussia, Victoria

This is the period of the New Year or Spring Festival in Asia, celebrated in China but also in Vietnam and other Asian countries but not in Japan which has a different history and gods. The number 9 is reserved for the Emperor, the Son of Heaven, who the Chinese see has the great dragon who has 9 sons, the little dragons. This image is found on walls and gates of Palaces in China and a somewhat different version in Vietnam. The number 8 is for everyone and seen as very lucky.

But in my case the 9 days refer to our imminent trip to Prince Edward Island. We will fly to Moncton in New Brunswick which is about 80 minutes from Ottawa and then drive the 2 hours across the great Confederation sea bridge to PEI. (see header image).

Here is some more history about the Island and the name of its Capital Charlottetown foundation date 1764 by British Officer Captain Samuel Holland. There was no town or village on that spot prior to that date, but at the entrance of the harbor facing the coast of New Brunswick across the strait of Northumberland, there was a small fort, Port La-Joye.

Coat of Arms of the Capital Charlottetown, PEI

Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was the wife of King George III. She was Queen of Great Britain and Ireland from her marriage in 1761 until the union of the two kingdoms in 1801, after which she was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until her death in 1818. She was also the Electress of Hanover in the Holy Roman Empire until the promotion of her husband to King of Hanover on 12 October 1814, after which she was also queen consort of Hanover (Germany). The city was name for her, being a new Queen and the Island was now part of an expanding Empire.

Queen Charlotte was a patroness of the arts and an amateur botanist, who helped expand Kew Gardens in London. George III and Charlotte had 15 children, 13 of whom survived to adulthood. She was distressed by her husband’s bouts of physical illness and insanity, which became permanent in later life and resulted in their eldest son being appointed Prince Regent in 1811.

Sophia Charlotte was born on 19 May 1744. She was the youngest daughter of Duke Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Prince of Mirow and his wife Princess Elizabeth Albertine of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a small north Prussian duchy in the Holy Roman Empire.

The children of Duke Charles were all born at the Untere Schloss (Lower Castle) in Mirow. According to diplomatic reports at the time of her engagement to George III, Charlotte had received “a very mediocre education”.

When King George III succeeded to the throne of Great Britain upon the death of his grandfather, George II, he was unmarried. His mother and advisors were anxious to have him settled in marriage. The 17-year-old Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz appealed to him as a prospective consort partly because she had been brought up in an insignificant Prussian duchy and therefore would have had no experience of power politics or party intrigues. He instructed her on her arrival in London “not to meddle”, a precept she was glad to follow.

Charlotte spoke no English but was quick to learn the language, albeit speaking with a strong German accent. It was noted by many observers that she was “ugly”, had a dark complexion and flared nostrils. “She is timid at first but talks a lot, when she is among people she knows”, said one observer.

The King announced to his Council in July 1761, according to the usual form, his intention to wed the Princess. By the end of August 1761, a party of escorts departed for Prussia to conduct Princess Charlotte to England. Arriving at St. James’s Palace on 7 September, the Princess met the King and the royal family. The following day at nine o’clock, the wedding ceremony took place in the Chapel Royal and was performed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Secker.

Less than a year after the marriage, on 12 August 1762, the Queen gave birth to her first child, the Prince of Wales, who would later become King George IV. In the course of their marriage, they had 15 children, all but two of whom (Octavius and Alfred) survived into adulthood.

Around this time the King and Queen moved to Buckingham House, at the western end of St. James’s Park, which would later be known as Buckingham Palace. The house which forms the architectural core of the present palace was built for the first Duke of Buckingham and Normanby in 1703 to the design of William Winde.

King George III and Queen Charlotte were music connoisseurs with German tastes, who gave special honour to German artists and composers. They were passionate admirers of the music of Georg Frideric Handel. Both George III and Charlotte were of German origin so this is understandable. George III was also the nephew of Frederic II the Great of Prussia.

In April 1764, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, then aged eight, arrived in Britain with his family as part of their grand tour of Europe and remained until July 1765. The Mozarts were summoned to court on 19 May and played before a limited circle from six to ten o’clock. Johann Christian Bach, eleventh son of the great Johann Sebastian Bach, was then music-master to the Queen. He put difficult works of Handel, J. S. Bach, and Carl Friedrich Abel before the boy: he played them all at sight, and those present were quite amazed. Afterwards, the young Mozart accompanied the Queen in an aria which she sang, and played a solo work on the flute. On 29 October, the Mozarts were in town again, and were invited to court to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the King’s accession. As a memento of the royal favour, Leopold Mozart published six sonatas composed by Wolfgang, known as Mozart’s Opus 3, that were dedicated to the Queen on 18 January 1765, a dedication she rewarded with a present of 50 guineas.

Queen Charlotte was an amateur botanist who took a great interest in Kew Gardens. In an age of discovery, when travellers and explorers such as Captain James Cook and Sir Joseph Banks were constantly bringing home new species and varieties of plants, she ensured that the collections were greatly enriched and expanded. Her interest in botany led to the South African flower, the Bird of Paradise, being named Strelitzia reginae in her honour.

The French Revolution of 1789 probably added to the strain that Charlotte felt. Queen Charlotte and Queen Marie Antoinette of France kept a close relationship. Charlotte was 11 years older than Marie Antoinette, yet they shared many interests, such as their love of music and the arts, in which they both enthusiastically took an interest. Never meeting face to face, they kept their friendship to pen and paper. Marie Antoinette confided in Charlotte upon the outbreak of the French Revolution. Charlotte had organized apartments to be prepared and ready for the refugee royal family of France to occupy. After the execution of Marie Antoinette and the bloody events that followed, Charlotte was said to be shocked and overwhelmed that such a thing could happen to a kingdom, and at Britain’s doorstep.

Today when Islanders think of a Queen in their history it is usually Victoria, another princess of german descent, because she is associated with Canadian Confederation. Charlotte has disappeared in collective memory and has far as I know there are no statues of her in the Capital, sad really because Queen Victoria never cared much for PEI.