Wednesday 27 July 2005

Europe's Monarchs - Part II

click here for Part I

Without doubt, the prize for the miracle of a reinstatement of a European monarchy must go to King Juan Carlos of Spain.  It’s fair to say that no other monarch in the last forty years has had to work as hard to win their people’s trust and also the Spanish throne.  The man who looks at his happiest on a yacht has led an interesting life indeed and despite extraordinary personal hardships and times where even his own life was in danger     Juan Carlos won over his fellow Spaniards and secured not only the throne for his House but forged democracy in Spain. 

As far as childhoods go, Juan Carlos’s was anything but idyllic. He was used callously by his own father, Don Juan, in a real-life chess match against Spain’s then dictator, General Franco.  Don Juan offered Juan Carlos as a pawn to eventually regain the throne for himself and to replace Franco as Head of State sometime in the future when the General either died or stepped down from the right-wing Movemento.  As a result, Juan Carlos spent much of his life separated from his family, forced to be the go-between in the battle that consumed his father and the Dictator. 

Franco loathed Don Juan and the feeling was reciprocated.  Juan Carlos was stuck in the middle, acting as a spy for his father and a sort of ‘prodigy’ of Franco.  Perhaps not surprisingly, considering the amount of time he spent in Spain, Juan Carlos became fond of the Dictator, if not his politics.  More importantly, as the young prince matured, he developed his own theories of how Spain should face the future if the monarchy was reinstated. 

Unbeknownst to Don Juan, Franco never intended to name him as his successor.  Consequently, when the ailing dictator announced Juan Carlos would replace him, Don Juan’s rage was deafening.  He accused his son of betrayal and failed to see as his son did that a reinstatement of the monarchy had been largely a precarious possibility and the fact that his family’s throne itself was part of Spain again was remarkable. 

But the hard work was far from complete.  Spain’s cultural diversity rivals Belgium’s and King Juan Carlos and his wife, Princess Sofia worked literally day and night to gain their people’s trust and guide Spain through it’s journey from dictatorship to democracy. 

It’s said that there are many Juan Carlists in Spain but not so many monarchists. In Juan Carlos’s favour are his children who have remained free of the scandals that have affected other European monarchies.  His son an heir is finally married, with a child due later this year and while it’s unlikely Prince Felipe will have to face the challenges his father did, the continuation of the monarchy in Spain is not something that can be taken for granted.  Of that, Juan Carlos knows. 

King Albert of Belgium was not born to be king.  He ascended to the throne after the sudden death of his brother Baudouin, who was childless.  Married to an Italian princess, Paola, it had always assumed that their eldest son, Prince Philippe would become King of the Belgians at the end of Baudoiun’s reign.  However, Baudouin’s death caught the country unprepared and given the sometimes fragile nature of the two main peoples of the country – the Flemish and the Walloons, the government asked Albert, rather than his less experienced son to take the throne. 

In retrospect, the choice was prudent as it offered Prince Philippe the chance to marry and establish his own family without the burden of kingship.  For Albert it offered an opportunity to display his mediatory and diplomatic skills that would otherwise have remained untouched.  

Under Albert, Belgium appears to have settled down markedly as the Walloons and Flemish go about establishing respect for their cultural differences behind what appears to be national unity – something that seemed impossible a decade ago.  Not that long ago the Flemish were intent on complete independence however recent polls indicate that now only thirteen per cent of Belgians favour the break-up of the State, showing a vast increase in the number who want to see Belgium remain united. 

Whether this is solely the result of the King’s efforts to represent all Belgians equally is doubtful, however both the King and Queen have made a particular effort to support a wide range causes in the two main ethnic groups.  Through this Belgians of Flemish, Walloon and German heritage have actually begun to project and outward display of national unity and what it means to be Belgian today, whatever the language one speaks. 

Albert’s character is greatly difference to his conservative and serious brother. Baudouin was deeply religious and devoutly moral - he even abdicated for a day so that a law allowing abortion could be passed - which was something to which he was totally opposed.  Albert appears, at least on the surface, to be far more open to ideas and possibilities.  This might have something to do with the discovery and later confirmation by the palace, that he had fathered a child outside his marriage to Paola and reflect an awareness of human fallibility.  

The monarchy in Belgium is seen as a significantly important symbol of unification in the country.  In fact, up until recently, it was almost the only symbol of solidarity in Belgium.  Consequently Albert’s place on the throne seems secure for many years to come.  Perhaps the only reform he will have to consider in the future is how far down the line the apanage of Royal Highness will continue, for the King’s family is a large one and growing steadily!           

To be continued

- Gioffredo