Royal historian and author, Dr. Jeffrey Lant will be appearing LIVE on New England Cable News at 6 pm eastern today (April 21, 2011).
The recording of this program will be available at 7 pm eastern at necn.com. Please tune in and see what royal expert Dr. Lant has to say about “the wedding of the century” one week from today!
NECN: Royal Wedding Interview with historian and author, Dr. Jeffrey Lant
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
The engagement of Prince William of Wales and the comely commoner Kate Middleton has caused a long simmering question to flare up again. Will Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, stand down in favor of the lovely couple?
Those who advocate such an unprecedented event base their case on the following points:
* Charles is uninspiring, eccentric, even odd.
* Charles will be “too old” at his accession to have a meaningful, effective reign.
* By his caddish treatment of his wife, Diana, Princess of Wales, he forfeited the affection and respect of the nation… and should therefore lose the throne.
* His son William and his winsome Kate are young, popular, already national icons. As a result, it makes more sense for them to reign… than the shop-worn Charles and his frumpish Duchess Camilla.
What do the people think?
An October, 2010 poll of 2,012 adults by ComRes shows support for changing the order of succession. 25 percent of those polled say that Charles should make way for Wills and Kate. The younger the respondent, the more that person is likely to support such a change.
Let’s take a look at all the “reasons” advanced for altering the line of succession for the world’s most prestigious monarchy.
* Charles in uninspiring. True. Mention the Prince of Wales’ name and the likely response will be tepid, at best. But this is hardly reason for revoking his right to reign. In World War I, Charles great grand father King George V was pilloried by H.G. Wells as “alien and uninspiring.” George when he heard the comment was outaged: “I may be uninspiring,” he said. “But I’m
damned if I’m alien.” His reign was successful (unlike those of the principal dynasties of Europe), and he lived long enough to see himself as respected, admired, even loved. Britain will never pull the rug on Charles because he lacks charisma.
* Too old. This, too, won’t fly. Right now the queen is 84 years old. Her mother, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, lived to 101. She could live as long, or longer. Each second reduces the reign of Charles III.. But that is irrelevant.
He’s prepared his entire life to be king and if he rules for just 5 minutes or less… he’ll reign for those. There is no provision in the Constitution to remove the sovereign merely because of his age… and the righteous uproar from senior citizens would be mind boggling if a man were removed from his job because of age alone. Remember, centenarians are the fastest growing segment of the population… and they know how to make themselves heard. Charles will NEVER lose the throne because of his age alone, never.
Charles the cad doesn’t deserve to reign. Here the ghost of Diana, Princess of Wales appears, accusing Charles of every crime in the calendar. For betraying his young wife, and for a frump at that, he deserves to pay the ultimate price, losing the throne. More rubbish.
Sovereigns are not chosen because they have (or have not) remained faithful to their marriage vows. If this were the case, there would be precious few sovereigns…. or presidents of republics either. Bedroom morality has no place in the succession of kings, randy or otherwise. And it should have no place here either, whatever fanatical partizans of Diana, Princess of Wales may say. They have it in for the hapless Charles… and always will have. By his duplicitous treatment of Diana, he certainly forfeited the affection and respect of a great nation…
but he did not forfeit his long-recognized right to the throne. His right to that is secure.
Charles is not as popular as the winsome two-some. True… but, again, beside the point.. Advancing princes is not determined “American-Idol” like by the voting masses. It is a matter of established custom, rights, and the little matter of the Constitution. Charles has done nothing to forfeit his rights. Unimaginative, odd, eccentric, true… but hard-wording, dutiful, loyal… and patient.
Why abdication is unthinkable
Now hear this:
The queen will NEVER abdicate. The most conservative of all the Windsors, her majesty will fight tooth and nail for Charles to be king. She is a woman who has lived for the dynasty… and fought for its ever dwindling rights and privileges. Support for another over Charles is unthinkable, not merely because he is her first-born son… but because he is Prince of Wales, the recognized and acknowledged heir.
So, it comes down to this:
Charles will NEVER be removed from the succession; there is no reason or party sufficient to urge or persuade.
He will never willingly give up his right to the throne, even for a reign of months, or even weeks. He cannot, for such an act diminishes the monarchy to which he had dedicated his life.
What’s more can anyone, anyone at all, imagine Prince Wills and his newly minted princess broaching the topic with his father, the long-patient prince? Unthinkable. For Prince Wills to ascend the whole royal establishment would have to concur… starting with a father who never could or would agree.
Like it or not… in the fullness of time Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, that high and mighty princess, will by her passing transfer the throne to his gracious majesty King Charles III…. and he, in his time, will do the same to King William V.
Now for a radical prediction: Charles will reign. Camilla will become, in due course, queen consort. Their reign, very likely short, will be diligent, respectable, even popular. For you see, it is in the interest of all to have it so. Charles and Camilla cannot want it otherwise; they will work hard for this result.. The nation he has served responsibly owes it to him, if not to her, to deliver this result. What’s more it will be better for their royal highnesses Wills and Kate to succeed to a well-run, respected institution than one marred by controversy and in tatters.
God save the Queen! God save them all! And may they all reign happy if not glorious.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of
Worldprofit, Inc.,
www.worldprofit.com where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant’s live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! For detailson Dr. Lant’s 18 best-selling business books, go to www.jeffreylant.com His book Insubstantial Pageant: Ceremony and Confusion at Queen Victoria’s Court was the result of being the first American to gain access to the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle.
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
After 8 years of dating, canoodling, breaking up,making up, breaking up the on-again-off-again relationship of Prince William of Wales and long tressed Kate is officially on.
The airwaves of the planet dutiful report the expected congratulations. Her Majesty and Prince Philip are “absolutely delighted for them both”. Prince Charles is “thrilled”. And no doubt they are, for it’s time for the next generation of royals to get on with their important work. There is much to do.
Amongst the royals monarchy is referred to as “the firm”; they say they “live above the shop.” Exactly so. It’s time for the next proprietor and his spouse to start doing what they’re supposed to do:
bring Britain together.
help the tribe of those battening on the monarchy sell their trinkets and reap their profits.
provide us promptly with an equally photogenic man child … and then promptly, another. “The heir… and the spare.”
And above all else do what’s necessary for an endless stream of gossip, titillation and, best of all, scandal.
Yes, this handsome couple has much to do… and has already begun to do it.
Hidden Winners and Losers
The game of monarchy is a game of musical chairs, or more accurately, chair. For there is just one chair, the throne of England; one’s place in the pecking order is determined by one’s relationship to this throne.
As all perspicacious royal watchers have known for years, the fate of a thousand year old institution was planted squarely at the feet of just one person, Prince William Arthur Philip Louis of Wales. He was, almost from the moment of conception, the white hope of a family which had lost its glamour, its allure… and it’s way.
Father Prince Charles… a not so gay divorcee with the tendency for odd, awkward remarks and organic vegetables. His cynical marriage to a woman he didn’t love whilst carrying on with the woman he did set the stage for the long, painful, glaringly public fall from grace.
Uncle Prince Andrew of York, a once beguiling, handsome tease of a younger brother who married a trollop and lived to pay the price, now disillusioned and fat to boot.
Aunt Princess Ann, Princess Royal who chose the handsomest man on the block to marry… only to discover, in the divorce courts, that a marriage needs more than a shared interest in making quadrupeds jump a fence.
This supremely privileged crew despite every advantage managed to accrue between them not one notable achievement, although they have (it’s true) kept the scurrilous tabloids of England over busy with talk of their high and (abysmally) low jinks.
These shop worn royals, their sometime lovers and spouses, have all had their day. Now they will all be regally pushed off the stage by the handsomest couple on earth. That is Job 1, and that couple is at it now.
Managing the Ghost
In the best tradition of royal tales, there is a ghost at this feast, an insistent ghost, the groom’s turbulent mother, Princess Diana. Now her unsettled spirit can be well and truly laid to rest, with love and honor, her sons will see to it.
Diana alive was a nightmare for the Windsors. What would she do? What inappropriate man would gain her heart… then sell it to the tabloids in the shabbiest most cynical way? They cringed daily wondering when the other slipper would drop for this out-of-control Cinderella.
Her death, of course, too soon, was tragic. But it was also a huge relief. Now they can safety lay this ghost to honored rest. This healing process began when Wills gave and Kate displayed Diana’s engagement ring on her finger.
Royal hustlers
What do royals do? They put a regal face on the real business of Britain: selling. Britain grants these folks an anachronistic lifestyle of unparalleled munificence; the catch is they must earn it by hustling things British. In Kate, they have found the perfect corporate wife. She is stunningly attractive, bright, educated, savvy, and (above all else) agreeable to being shaped into the winning marketer the dynasty requires. The cost for maintaining her in the style to which she’ll soon be accustomed is frankly a pittance compared to the tangible financial benefits to be reaped.
Her marriage alone will pump an extra billion or two into the fragile British economy. Well might the Cabinet shout “hear, hear” upon learning the news. The combination of Wills and Kate is a fantastic money machine that no mere president can ever rival.
Intrusive questions we will soon have answered
So far the questions the newly affianced royal couple have been asked have been polite, cordial, asking for little, eliciting less. But all this is about to change. Both Wills and Kate have a price on their heads, and this price (with the showing of the haunted engagement ring) has escalated radically.
This is now the situation. This regal couple have friends, pals, classmates, acquaintances,servants and retainers, any one of whom might know the answers to questions the world is impatient to know:
when
how
how often
where
in what way.
These folks are only human. They have bills. They need money. And so, soon, the betrayals will begin, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, fueled by his persistent dynastic hatred and disdain, will see to that.
These people even now, Judas-like, are mulling over their options: should they betray and prosper? Or let the opportunity of a lifetime pass them by. It’s drama in the grand tradition. And it is sure to come.
Thus, with the brilliant ring given, the opening phase of this deeply fascinating story begins. We shall not have to wait very long for the next chapter to develop, even so we are acutely impatient to have it.
About The Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., www.worldprofit.com where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant’s live webcastTODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! For details on Dr. Lant’s 18 best-selling business books, go to www.jeffreylant.com His book Insubstantial Pageant: Ceremony and Confusion at Queen Victoria’s Court was the result of being the first American to gain access to the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle.
