• Sigismund: “I am the Emperor Sigismund and above the rules of grammar.”
• Frederick III: “The House of Austria is destined to rule the world.”
• Maximilian I: “If only we had peace we’d be sitting in a rose garden.”
• Charles V, on Martin Luther: “A single friar who goes contrary to all Christianity for a thousand years must be wrong.”
• Mary I: “When I am dead and opened, you shall find 'Calais' lying in my heart.”
• Elizabeth I, in her Golden Speech to Parliament: “Though God hath raised me high, yet this I count the glory of my crown: that I have reigned with your loves.”
• Philip II, on the defeat of his great armada: “I sent my ships against men, not against waves.”
• James I: “No bishop, no king.”
• Ferdinand I: “Let justice be done, though the world perish.”
• Charles I: “I am the martyr of the people.”
• Louis XIV, when his grandson became king of Spain: “The Pyrenees have ceased to exist.”
• Peter I “the Great”: “I hope God will forgive me my many sins because of the good I have tried to do for my people.”
• Louis XV: “After me the flood!”
• Francis I, to the child Mozart: “You are a little sorcerer!”
• Napoleon I: “There is only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous.”
• Nicholas II: “I do not wish for war; as a rule I shall do all in my power to preserve for my people the benefits of peace.”
• Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, when compared to the “democratic” king of Sweden: “I could govern like the king of Sweden if my people were like the Swedish people.”
How international has monarchy been?
So international that it has bridged geography, race, and religion. Here is an example: Henry III, King of England, married Eleanor of Provence. One of Eleanor’s sisters was married to St. Louis IX, King of France, and yet another, Beatrix, to King Charles I of Naples. Charles and Beatrix’s son, Charles II, King of Naples, married Mary, daughter of Stephen V, King of Hungary. King Charles II’s wife’s sister, Anna, married Andronicus II Paleologus, Emperor of Byzantium. Andronicus’ half sister, Maria, married Abaqa, Il-khan of Persia, whose uncle was Kublai Khan, Emperor of China. A few simple royal and imperial relationships and connections covering about 40 years connected Henry III of England with the Emperor of China, neither of whom was even aware of the other’s existence.
Which kings and queens were the only ones anointed with pure chrism?
The monarchs of England and France. Chrism is a combination of olive oil and balsam blessed on Maundy Thursday. Other monarchs were anointed with simple olive oil.
Who has a right to a bow or curtsy?
All monarchs, Imperial and Royal Highnesses, members of sovereign or former sovereign families with the titles of Serene Highness and up. Governors general and spouses as personal representatives of a monarch are also entitled to a bow or curtsy but not lieutenant-governors who represent the sovereign at a remove.
For what maxim is the sagacious Louis XVIII best known?
Arriving on the hour for a council meeting, the king’s ministers found Louis XVIII already sitting at the head of the table awaiting them. To their apologies for having kept him waiting and compliments on his being ahead of time, His Majesty replied: “Punctuality is the politeness of kings.”
How does monarchy favour multicultural societies?
In a monarchy, unity is defined through personal allegiance to the sovereign of the country or empire rather than adherence to an ideology, membership in a racial or ethnic group, or commitment to an historical revolution or event. As the Canadian historian W.L. Morton wrote, “Any one, French, Irish, Ukrainian, or Inuit, can be a subject of the Queen and a citizen of Canada without in any way changing or ceasing to be himself.” In his accession speech to the Cortés, King Juan Carlos I of Spain said: “The King wishes to be at once the King of all and the King of each one in his own culture, history and tradition.”
What are the rights of a king or queen in a constitutional monarchy?
Most monarchies, especially those in the British tradition, do not have specifically defined rights. The great constitutional writer Walter Bagehot suggested, however, that the rights could be best described as the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, and the right to warn.
Monarchs Who United Peoples
| Menes | Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt |
| Edgar “the Peaceable” | English, Danes, Welsh, and Scots |
| Kenneth I MacAlpine | Picts and Scots |
| Canute | Danes, Norwegians, Swedes, and Saxons |
| Eric IV | Swedes and Goths |
| Margaret | Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes |
| Ferdinand and Isabella | Castillians and Aragonese |
| Ferdinand I | Germans, Czechs, and Hungarians |
| Henri IV | French and Navarese |
| James I | English, Scots, and Irish |
| Leopold I | Flemish and Walloons |
| Wladislow II Jagiello | Poles and Lithuanians |
| Peter II | Serbs, Croats, Slovenians, Montenegrans |
What is the Civil List?
The Civil List is income derived from the revenue of the Crown Estates (land owned by the sovereign in right of the United Kingdom) and set aside to cover the public expenses of the Crown. The Civil List began in 1689 and originally covered the cost of the armed forces and the expenses of civil government paid by the hereditary revenue of the Crown and by some taxes. In 1760, King George III turned over the entire hereditary revenue to Parliament, which then assumed the full cost of government and paid an allowance to the monarch for specifically royal expenses. At the beginning of each reign this arrangement is renewed.
What is the Act of Settlement?
The Act of Settlement, passed in 1701, governs the succession to the
