February 11, 1961
Prince Charles is at Windsor for several days with his aunt, Princess Margaret. The Associated Press is reporting that the young heir to the throne is "convalescing from a recent attack of measles," which he caught at his boarding school, Cheam.
Marlene,
ReplyDeleteI'm sure by now you are convinced I'm a total idiot, but I've got another question. :-)
Just now I'm watching the documentary called "The Queen's Lost Uncle," about Prince George/deceased Duke of Kent. One of the "experts" narrating was talking about the abdication of Edward VIII. And he said, practically verbatim, "Because he abdicated and did not die, this meant that any one of his brothers could theoretically become king."
First, is that true? And second, if it IS true, why? I've always thought that the succession is the same whether the person dies or abdicates.
Also, one more question, which is related to this. When Nicholas II abdicated the Russian throne, in his abdication he said he was also abdicating for Tsarevich Alexei. Can a monarch abdicate for their heir? Or was Alexei technically Tsar at that point? Maybe he could do it because Alexei was too young, I don't know, but I've always wondered that & when I had this question it reminded me to ask you. It's an interesting point, because if a monarch could abdicate for their heir as well, then technically that would mean that if they disapprove of their son/daughter they could skip right over them, even if that person is of age & desires to inherit what is their birthright.
OH, a 3rd question (SORRY!) I was wanting to ask you about this but keep forgetting. Any confirmation on Baby Girl Phillips' name? I know there were reports her name is Savannah after a prayer at a church service, but as far as I know there has been NO official announcement even though the birth announcement said the names would be shared in due course. The baby is a month & a half old already, so I'm not sure if the leak means they won't bother, or she doesn't have all her middle names sorted yet, or what. Any idea what's up with that, and if we can be sure that Savannah really is her name? I've checked the website (royal.gov.uk) and haven't been able to find anything there either.
Thanks for explaining these things to me... I'm 100% self-taught in these things and the only information I have is what I've gotten basically from the internet, DVDs/VHS tapes of documentaries when I can find them, YouTube videos, blogs, and books. To everyone else I know, I have a firm grasp on these things, but to you I'm probably quite ignorant. :-P
Thanks for keeping us all so well informed with your blog! I was THRILLED to find out about the Danish Christening (FINALLY)
at the time of the abdication, there was some commentary about the possibility that the Duke of York and his daughters and the Duke of Gloucester would be bypassed in favor of the Duke of Kent who had a son. The people who said this were largely ignorant of the British constitution and succession. Only Parliament can change the succession. Edward VIII could not abdicate without an act of Parliament allowing for the abdication. Edward signed an act of abdication passed by Parliament allowing him to abdicate. The throne immediately passed to the next in line. In order for the Duke of Kent to have succeeded, Parliament would have passed legislation bypassing York and Gloucester and their descendants from the throne. Parliament was not going to do that.
ReplyDeleteThe British monarch is not an autocrat. There are laws that define the succession.
Nicholas II was an autocrat. The laws regarding the succesion were established by Paul, not by a Parliament. When Nicholas abdicated, he didn't have a choice. The decision was made for him, and made by people who would soon be out of power themselves. If Nicholas had not abdicated for himself and for his son, Alexis could have been taken away, and used as a prop, but Nicholas knew that his son was so ill (and the Russian people knew very little).
But in the western monarchies of today, succession is legislated, thus the legislative body (in Britain's case, Parliament) is responsible. Elizabeth II cannot leave the throne to William. Not her call. The only source for the information about Savannah's name is the use of the name in the church prayers. Princess Anne's office has not confirmed this, nor have they confirmed that Zara will be getting married in Edinburgh on July 30. We can surmise this only because of church and castle closings at that time.