Shame on the Thai King --The King Never Smiles - FREE JOE GORDON

The King Never Smiles is a very honest and illuminating biography of King Bhumibol of Thailand.  The book was written by Paul Handley and published by Yale University Press in 2008.

Unfortunately, the Thai government does not see the book in a positive light, and considers it an insult on the King.  

An American citizen, who was born in Thailand,  Joe Gordon was recently convicted of lese-majeste, or insulting the king.  According to the BBC, " Gordon, 55, reportedly translated parts of the widely available biography, The King Never Smiles by Paul Handley, several years ago and posted them on a blog while he was living in the US." 

I read the book shortly after it was published, and can state that the book is honest, well-researched, and an excellent accounting of the life of the longest reigning monarch, and the only monarch to be born in the United States of America.

Shame on Thailand and the Thai justice system.  King Bhumipol is far from being a constitutional monarch.    He needs to speak out about the right of free expression.  His "court" system violated the rights of an American who posted a translation of excerpts of Handley's book on an American blog.  The postings were done in the United States, which means the Thai court violated US law.  Shame on the king  for allowing censorship and the right of free expression.

 Free Joe Gordon now!     All the king needs to do is say an injustice was done, apologize to Mr. Gordon, an American citizen.

Mr. Gordon is protected by US law, thanks to the "Securing the Protection of our
Enduring and Established Constitutional Heritage Act.  The Thai justice system and their king, are violating the rights of an American citizen, whose postings were on an American-based blog, like mine. 

It is time for the King of Thailand to act like a real monarch, and not someone who allows his government to stamp out free speech.  

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16081337

Haakon og Mette-Marit i ti år

On August 25, 2001, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway married the woman he loved, Norwegian commoner, Mette-Marit Tjessem Hoiby.   The path to the altar was paved with obstacles, starting with Mette-Marit's background.

It did not matter that she was a commoner.  Haakon's mother was Miss Sonja Haraldsen when she married Crown Prince Harald in 1968.  Harald and Sonja had to wait ten years before King Olav would give his permission for the marriage to take place.

Sonja, the daughter of a draper, did not have Mette-Marit's problems.  Before meeting Crown Prince Haakon,  Mette-Marit moved in a circle that favored hard partying, drugs and alcohol.  She bore a child out of wedlock.

In spite of Mette-Marit's background,  Haakon fell in love with her and wanted to marry her.  His parents took their time in making their decision regarding Mette-Marit, but they realized that their only son loved Mette-Marit and wanted to marry her.  King Harald V and Queen Sonja came around, and gave their son and his girlfriend the support they needed.

It also took time for the Norwegian people to accept Haakon's choice.

Fast forward ten years to 2011.  Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary.  They have two children,  Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus.  As Ingrid is the eldest, she will succeed her father and grandfather as Norway's sovereign.

Norwegian journalist Liv Berit Tessem is the author of Haakon og Mette-Marit i t år (Schibsted).  The title translates to Ten years with Haakon & Mette-Marit.  The book is divided into eleven chapters, one for each year from the marriage through June 2011, two months before the book was published.

Tessem, a former court correspondent for the Norwegian newspaper, Aftenposten,  offers insight and perspective into the lives of Norway's future King and Queen.

It is also apparent that Mette-Marit, the former party girl, has evolved into a professional Crown Princess, respected, and perhaps, even loved by the Norwegian people.  

Do not be put off by the Norwegian text.   The 184-page book includes nearly 100 color photos of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess from their wedding to recent photos with their children. 

Haaakon and Mette-Marit are hands-on parents, and are devoted to their children.  Lots of affection, hugs and kisses, but one wonders, with a smile, how Ingrid Alexandra will react when she is older when she sees how she behaved at her younger brother, Sverre's baptism.  A priceless photo.

Each chapter also includes a month- by-month list of engagements, official trips and other events for that particular year.

The price of  Haakon og Mette-Marit  I ti  år is 199 Norwegian kroners.

Norli is a Norwegian bookstore.   The book also can be ordered from the publisher, Schibsted.
http://www.norli.no/SamboWeb/produkt.do?produktId=6232606
 
http://www.schibstedforlag.no/no/Kategorier/Sakprosa/Biografi-historie-og-dokumentar/HAAKON-OG-METTE-MARIT-GJENNOM-TI-AR/

Sarah Bradford: perhaps I got it wrong about Prince Philip

A new interview with Sarah Bradford, one of Queen Elizabeth's biographers

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/prince-philip/8932374/Sarah-Bradford-perhaps-I-got-it-wrong-about-the-Duke-of-Edinburgh-but-he-does-like-to-flirt.html

Das Fürstliche Haus Hohenzollern

What a wonderful addition to my library ... and yours, too!   Das Fürstliche Haus Hohenzollern Private Einblicke in die Fotalben is a superb book, from start to finish. 

Yes, there are few misidentified photos -- easily correctable for the next edition -- but on balance, this book strikes a golden shot, wonderful glimpses into the photograph collection belonging to the Princely family of Hohenzollern.

German publisher Gmeiner was given access to the private family albums of the princely house of Hohenzollern.  The book is divided into seven chapters: Writing in Light, The Imperial Prussian House, Castles and Residences, Celebrations and Recreation at Court, Small Worlds and Related Royal Houses.

Oh,  did I tell you the book's text and captions are in German and English.  Woo hoo!  

The authors, Karen Kuehl and Anette Hahnel, offer a perspective on how the Hohenzollerns adopted the use of the camera, especially from Karl Anton, Prinz of Hohenzollern.

One of the oldest photos in the collection is from 1858, and shows Ferdinand II, Pedro V and Queen Stephanie of Portugal.  The photo was taken at the time of Pedro and Stephanie's wedding near Sintra.  Princess Stephanie, born a Princess of Hohenzollern, died only a year after her marriage. Her husband died a year later from cholera.

There is a wonderful family group photo taken at Doorn on the occasion of Kaiser Wilhelm II's  75th birthday.

The Romanian royal family, a branch of the princely family, are also included in this book.  There are also photographs of more recent members of the princely family, including a rather sweet photograph of twin sisters, Princesses Maria Adelgunde and Maria Antonia licking a tree.  

The princely family owns Schloss Sigmaringen and several other residences, including Schloss Umkirch and Joseflust.   The Small world chapter focuses on the children of the family.  My favorite photo in this chapter is from 1895 and shows Prince Carol of Romania, Hereditary Prince Friedrich Victor, Prince Franz Joseph and Princess Auguste Viktoria of Hohenzollern.  There are also several photos of the present Prince of Hohenzollern, Karl Friedrich, as a child.

160 pages.  Publisher by Gmeiner.  The cost is €19.90.   The best way to order is from Amazon.com.  Overseas postage is not prohibitive, and if you have a credit card set up for Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk, you can breeze through the Amazon.de checkout .. it will be in German, but that should not be a major issue.

A Fine Romance

British royal wedding have a way of creating a mini-publishing industry with the publication of books about the couple getting married -- and royal weddings in general.

This was the case of the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1981 with the publication of dozens of books about royal weddings.

The same can now be said about the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding.  There have been at least a dozen books published about the couple's wedding (not including all those special magazines), as well as several books on Royal Weddings.

Australian-British publisher Hardie Grant is the latest to jump on the wagon with A Fine Romance (£20.00), 200-page book that covers 75 years of royal weddings and the most recent British Royal Wedding.

The book opens with the 1930s and the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.  The only royal wedding of the 1940s was the marriage of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.   Although there were several major royal weddings of the 1950s (Ragnhild of Norway, Josephine Charlotte of Belgium and Jean of Luxembourg, Prince Albert of Belgium and Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria), the publishers concentrate on the wedding of American film star, Grace Kelly, and Prince Rainier of Monaco.

There were more than a dozen of royal weddings in the reigning royal houses in the 1960s.  This volume focuses on the marriages of Princess Margaret, Prince Juan Carlos of Spain and Princess Sophie of Greece, Princess Irene of the Netherlands and Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Parma, Princess Anne Marie of Denmark and King Constantine II of Greece, and Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands and Claus von Amsberg.

Princess Anne's wedding leads the chapter for the 1970s, followed by the weddings of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Princess Caroline of Monaco.

It is not a surprise that the wedding of the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer is the primary focus of the 1980s.  Eight pages of photographs, followed by two pages on the wedding of the Duke of York and Sarah Ferguson.

The two marriages featured for the 1990s are the weddings of Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones and the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Belgium.

Four weddings are featured in the section for the 2000s: the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway, the Prince of Orange and Princess Maxima, the Crown Prince and Princess of Denmark and the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, but not the marriage of the Prince and Princess of Asturias, which I consider a major gaffe on the part of the publishers. 

The first part of the book ends with the 2010 marriage of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Daniel Westling.

Part Two is about the romance, engagement and wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.  Plenty of color photos of the couple at university, their engagement and the wedding.

The photographs are wonderful, and are enhanced by 20 double-page spreads. 

I think the book would have been better if the publishers had chosen to include all of the weddings that are included in the time lines.  They erred grievously by not including the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Asturias.

The timeline is not complete.  The 1950s include the wedding of the present King of the Belgians, but the wedding of his older brother, King Baudouin, does not even get a mention in the 1960 timeline.

The text also should have been more carefully vetted.  It is Archduke, and not Arch-duke.  Piccadilly,  not Picadilly, for example.  

A Fine Romance can be captivating, which is largely due to the photographs.  But I think the book could have been a lot better if the publishers had decided to provide a more comprehensive look at European royal weddings of the 20th century, a book that would have included all of the reigning royal houses. 

It was a grievous error to exclude the Asturias' marriage, which took place only two weeks after the Danish royal wedding.

In spite of the omissions,  A Fine Romance is a very lovely book, thanks to the superb collection of wedding photos.

A Fine Romance was edited by Lisette du Plessis.

The Royalty Weekend in Ticehurst

ROYALTY WEEKEND

Ticehurst and Flimwell Church of England Primary School,

Steellands Rise, Ticehurst, East Sussex, TN5 7DH, UK

Saturday and Sunday, 14-15 April 2012

Speakers include:


Coryne Hall on the Romanovs

Griffith Henninger on The Last Empress & The First World War

Neil Rees on Escaping Revolution & Awaiting Restoration – the story of King Louis XVIII of France in Exile at Hartwell House, near Aylesbury 1809-1814

Helen Rappaport on The Trouble with Albert

Richard Thornton on The Harrington sisters – from barmaids to princesses

Christophe Vachaudez on The Belgian Royal Family Through Photography

Charlotte Zeepvat on Royal Costume

There will also be other royal authors present including Robert Golden and Janet Ashton

Cost: £100 for all lectures, tea, coffee and snacks, two buffet lunches & one evening meal with wine.



Cheques in sterling payable to "Mrs S M Woolmans" and to be sent to 12 Lockswood, Brookwood, Woking, Surrey, UK, GU24 OHL. Payment can be accepted by PayPal for overseas attendees. Further details from royalweekend@gmail.com or call 0044 (0) 208 319 0696.

Books on the Romanian Royal Family

During my week visit to Romania to attend the 90th birthday celebrations for King Michael,  I visited several bookstores, looking for books on the Romanian royal family.  Much to my delight, I came home with several nice books.

The first book I found was Familia Regala o Historie in imagini (The Royal Famiy in History and images), which was published by Editura Cetaatea de Scaun in 2009.   This book was the companion volume to an exhibition at the National Museum of Romanian History in Bucharest.

The text is in Romanian.   The book has 168 pages, and includes an exellent array of photographs of the royal family, beginning with Carol I and Elisabeth, followed by Ferdinand and Marie,  Michael, Carol and Helen, Michael and Anne and their children.  The exhibition also included images of Ferdinand and Marie's younger children, Elisabeth, Marie, Nicolas, Ileana and Mircea.

I bought the book at an open air market in Bucharest's Old Town. The cost was 40 Ron (about $13.00).   However, the book is still available from the publisher.

http://www.cetateadescaun.ro/en/shop/search?search%5Bname%5D=familia+regala&search%5Bauthor%5D=


It was at Humanitas, one of Bucharest's better known bookstores, where I found Coroana română - la 140 de ani, which was published in 2008 by Curtea Veche.  The text of this book was written  by Crown Princess Margarita and Prince Radu.   The book celebrated the 140th anniversary of the Romanian monarchy, beginning with the succession of Carol I, who was born a prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.

The majority of photographs in this book come from the Royal Family's private collection, and includes all members of the Royal Family, including King Michael and his family.   An excellent compilation of historical and modern images,  Romanian text.

http://www.curteaveche.ro/index.php?module=Pagesetter&func=viewpub&tid=3&pid=818&Nume=Coroana_romana_la_140_de_ani&newvaluta=ron

The price of this book is 85 Ron  (about $27.00.)