TWTW: The World This Week / Episode #38
A king is crowned…and the world's remaining monarchies?… Covid, gone but not forgotten….Language east vs west….Turkey votes….upcoming: China's empire…and a cartoon on children's plight from Mate
This weekly feature for Andelman Unleashed, explores how the media of other nations are reporting and commenting on the United States, and how they are viewing the rest of the world.
Long Live the King
While much of the world was transfixed by the glory and the majesty of the crowning of a King of England, it was interesting to take a bit of a tour around the world to see just how present or past monarchies, allies or foes of Britain, have been viewing this spectacle of a peaceful, indeed magisterial, transfer of power.
Immediately across the Channel in a nation that shed its monarchy, officially, more than two centuries ago, Le Monde correspondent Cécile Ducourtieux observed quite pointedly that "if the monarchist institution ceases to be popular, it will see its end." Then the reporter cuts to the heart of the matter with a central question: "of the eight parliamentary monarchies (Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Luxembourg, Norway, the Netherlands, Great Britain, and Sweden) which exist in Europe, Britain is the only one to have kept a ceremony of coronation. Why?”
"It's a matter of tradition. This ceremony is millennial and dates back to the Anglo-Saxon kings. The first king to be crowned at Westminster Abbey was a Frenchman, William the Conqueror, on Christmas Day 1066. But the ceremony is even older. Historians report it as early as the sixth century AD. The first documented coronation dates from the year 973. It was that of King Edgar, which took place at Bath Abbey and was presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Saint Duncan."
Belgium's largest circulation newspaper, the Dutch-language Het Laatste Nieuws [HLN] focused on "an emotional moment in an otherwise rather impersonal coronation ceremony: just after the crown was placed on Charles III's head for the first time, Prince William took an oath of allegiance. He touched the crown, and also gave his father a kiss on the cheek. 'Thank you, William,' whispered Charles, who seemed touched by the moment." Still, the paper did lead its online coverage Saturday morning with a pointed observation that "while his family was on the balcony, Prince Harry was almost at the airport….” [And, pointedly, not on the balcony with the family.]
"He lingered in front of Westminster Abbey for a moment, but then Harry climbed into a BMW - remarkable, because all the other royals moved in Bentleys—and he was not seen again," HLN observed.
Up in Denmark, meanwhile, the leading national paper Politiken suggested in its front page headline that the coronation was "weird in a very British way. And yes, it seems crazy here in the 21st century. But better that than a republic. This is much more fun. Thousands of Britons braved the rain as King Charles was crowned according to all the rules of art. Seasoned Brits, obviously, because they've taken care of the leaky gray skies with different rain protection. The particularly crafty ones have brought head-mounted umbrellas, so they have their hands free to applaud the 74-year-old king as he drives past. Standing here near Trafalgar Square and looking out over the mass of people, some draped in the Union Jack, some with children on their shoulders wearing royal crowns, it's easy to think that the British are a nation of jubilant royalists. And most of those standing here with their morning prosecco in plastic mugs and selfie sticks are, of course. But they are in the minority."
In Sweden where, in full disclosure, Princess Christina was a classmate of mine at Harvard, reveling together in Giles Constables medieval history course, the leading newspaper Dagens Nyheter noted that "Charles broke with tradition in the coronation program." As Amanda Dahl reported: "Although it may be hard to believe for those who followed the roughly four-hour long program, it was a slimmed-down coronation ceremony that was held on Saturday. About 2,000 British and international royals and other dignitaries attended—just a quarter of the number invited when Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in 1953. The ceremony, which saw both King Charles and Queen Camilla crowned, lasted two hours, an hour shorter than 70 years ago. King Charles had also decided that the procession would take a more direct route back to Buckingham Palace, rather than taking detours to receive the cheers of the people.”
"As prince, Charles made himself known for his commitment to the climate, and this was reflected in the coronation ceremony," Dagens Nyheter continued. "During the coronation, the king wore a roughly 100-year-old coat and a 200-year-old mantle, but he skipped the tradition of making a new girdle and glove. Instead, his grandfather's garment from 1937 was reused. Nor was Queen Camilla's crown new, which is otherwise tradition. Her crown was made for Queen Mary's coronation in 1911."
But there are certainly monarchies beyond Europe. In Thailand, for instance, a king has presided since Si Inthrathit assembled the Sukhothai Kingdom in 1238, with his contemporary successor still holding unparalleled supreme power, though a parliamentary government will be elected next Sunday in an election that Andelman Unleashed is pledged to monitor. The nation's leading newspaper, Thai Rath, was especially taken with the fact that the attendance of King Vajiralongkorn for Charles coronation was his "first official visit to a foreign country since his ascension to the throne as King Rama 10 of the Chakri dynasty" in May 2019.
For the Thais there really is only one King and Queen
"Great honor at 8:03 a.m. on May 4 London local time United Kingdom His Majesty and Her Majesty the Queen sitting in the Royal Airplane of Thai Airways International," Thai Rath began, "arriving at London Stansted Airport, with Mr. Thani Thongphakdee, Ambassador of Thailand to London, Mr. Simon Bice, Representative of Her Majesty the Queen Charles III of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Mr. Michael John Holloway, Special Envoy to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Development United Kingdom greeting His Majesty the King. After having a conversation with the attendants, His Majesty received the royal throne and sat on the royal car, in which the Royal Thai Embassy in London also conducted Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn to The Landmark Hotel London…..For this visit to London, United Kingdom, His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen will attend the coronation ceremony of King Charles III and Queen Camilla according to invitation, who will attend a reception for heads of state and representatives of various countries at Buckingham Palace on May 5 and attended the coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey on May 6."
In Brunei, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th sultan since the sultanate was established in 1363, today holding as well the title of prime minister, has ruled as one of the world's last absolute monarchs for 55 years. Each year, he presides in a magisterial ceremony over the opening of Parliament, where we saw him in 2014. Not surprisingly, the sultanate's oldest newspaper, The Brunei Bulletin chronicled his arrival in London, hardly omitting a single of his titles.
How others see the World
Covid: gone but not forgotten?
The World Health Organization has pronounced "Covid: the end of the worldwide state of emergency," Le Monde runs as a banner across the front page of its weekend edition.
But the paper notes "it's still not the end of the pandemic….the minister of health Agnès Firmin-Le Bodo, calling on the French to 'remain vigilant…as the virus is always circulating and there are always hospitalizations.'"
Elections 2023: Turkey
Continuing our pledge at Andelman Unleashed to report and comment on every national election everywhere in the world….next Sunday, voters in Turkey will go to the polls with the greatest prospect in a generation of ousting the sharpest thorn in the side of NATO and the western democracies.
Le Monde points out that "Turkey's Erdogan has been fragmented before the presidential election….confronted with the erosion of his ultranationalist all, the MHP."
China vs the West (at least America)
"Silence, propaganda reign as the West stokes fears of ‘looming threat’ of war with China," pointed out South China Morning Post columnist John Pilger. "America’s ‘war on terror’ has cost millions of lives but the enormity of this violence and suffering seems to have no place in the Western consciousness. As China-bashing heats up in mainstream journalism, no literary critics and journalists seem prepared to question the foundations of the Western way of life."
So, for an answer, Pilger looked back in history: "In 1935, the Congress of American Writers was held in New York City, followed by another two years later. They called on 'the hundreds of poets, novelists, dramatists, critics, short story writers and journalists' to discuss the “rapid crumbling of capitalism” and the coming of another war. They were electric events. The most celebrated writers of the age, Arthur Miller, Ernest Hemingway, Lillian Hellman, Dashiell Hammett and John Steinbeck, warned that fascism was rising, often disguised… [their] words echo across the silences in the Western world today: they are silences filled with a consensus of propaganda that contaminates almost everything we read, see and hear."
Coming Next….Stay Tuned
Whence come the roots of power of today's rulers of China? The incomparable Audrey Ronning Topping takes us back … way back … and into the future in another of her riveting Unleashed Voices contributions.
This time it's into the Forbidden City, the first and the last of the emperors or empresses….the first of a two-part series begins Wednesday in Andelman Unleashed !
Finally, there’s …. Mate
The great Argentine cartoonist Mate, in a cartoon he produced for UNESCO, captures with frightening immediacy the world of the child in strife-torn lands—particularly these days in Ukraine—and especially as the world awaits the launch of Ukraine’s spring offensive against the invading Russian forces. Here, weapons and words fall inevitably on the weakest and most frightened among us. A true clarion call to action.
Matías Tejeda, the Argentine cartoonist who draws under the name of simply Mate was born in Río Cuarto, but for years has been living in Las Higueras in the central region of Argentina. He studied microbiology and mass media production, though he insists that his training as an illustrator and painter has been essentially self-taught. He dedicates his work to illustration, publishing and collaborate with a range of magazines, books and websites, generally about political opinion. Since 1986, he has also drawn for the Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang and has shown in many international exhibitions, some museums, even the Norwegian parliament. He is a member of the extraordinary collective Cartooning for Peace.
Here's how Mate sees himself:
You are SO kind, Andrew ….thanks!
Yes, I stayed away from the British press, figuring that was well-ploughed turf !
But we have some amazing surprises in store!!
Stand by …. Oh, and do spread the word if you might !!
cheers
SO well expressed, Cali & so very true in every respect … I thought it vital to point to the many other (even absolute!) monarchs as well still extant & (well) thriving!?
Thanks!! Hope many others will take notice!