monarchy

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Anti-Monarchists Gear Up to Derail Queen's Jubilee

Republicans find lavish celebrations fly in face of austerity elsewhere

(Newser) - Not everyone in Britain is thrilled beyond words about Queen Elizabeth's big diamond jubilee on Saturday: Somewhere between 22% and 50% of Britons are estimated to be anti-monarchist, and with a tough austerity program rocking Britain's economy, many anti-austerity protesters are teaming up with republicans to demonstrate against...

Jamaica PM Would Like Apology From UK for Slavery

Portia Simpson Miller calls history 'wicked and brutal'

(Newser) - Jamaica Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller didn't mince words when asked yesterday about her country's history with Britain—just as Prince Harry arrived in the country for a visit. "No race should have been subjected to what our ancestors were subjected to," Miller said, according to...

Japan's Emperor to Have Heart Bypass

Akihito has suffered from variety of health problems in recent years

(Newser) - Japanese Emperor Akihito will have heart bypass surgery later this month, his palace said today after the 78-year-old monarch was hospitalized for tests over the weekend. Akihito returned to the palace today after the tests and has scheduled the surgery for Feb. 18, the Imperial Household Agency said.

Austro-Hungarian Empire's Last Heir Dead at 98

Otto von Habsburg became champion of European integration

(Newser) - Archduke Otto von Habsburg outlived the empire he was supposed to inherit by 92 years. The royal—christened Franz Josef Otto Robert Maria Anton Karl Max Heinrich Sixtus Xavier Felix Renatus Ludwig Gaetan Pius Ignatius—was the eldest son of the final emperor of the Austro-Hungarian empire, reports the BBC...

Britain Hacks Queen&#39;s Budget
 Britain Hacks Queen's Budget 
Jul 1, 2011 9:08 AM CDT

Britain Hacks Queen's Budget

Bill also increases public audits to royal family's expenses

(Newser) - God might save the queen, but not from budget cuts and the government peeking at her checkbook, reports the Telegraph. The belt-tightening and increased transparency will ensure "value for money" for the royal institution, proponents say; others contend the changes will attack the dignity of monarchy. Under the Sovereign...

Prince Charles' Public Subsidy Leaps 18%

Royal accounts reveal surge in spending

(Newser) - Anti-monarchists in Britain are wondering why public spending on Prince Charles and his household shot up 18% at a time when most government departments are grappling with major cutbacks. The prince's annual accounts show that government grants to cover things like his official travel and the upkeep of his...

Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton: Why the British Monarchy Still Matters
 Why the 
 Monarchy 
 Still Matters 
OPINION
Apr 29, 2011 1:25 PM CDT

Why the Monarchy Still Matters

It ties Britain to a powerful past—and could help lead it into the future

(Newser) - On a day like today , even someone with misgivings about the British monarchy has to feel a little pride. The empire is gone; Britain’s global reach has rapidly diminished; but once again, all eyes were on London—perhaps a billion pairs, according to some counts, writes Philip Stephens in...

UK Arrests Anti-Monarchists, Seizes Guillotine

Activists planned to mark royal wedding with mock execution

(Newser) - London police have arrested three people who were planning a very different kind of royal wedding celebration. The trio of anti-monarchy activists—one of whom was dressed as an executioner—had planned to mark today's ceremony with a mock execution of a royal, reports the Guardian . Police seized a...

Why We're Fascinated by the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton: Anne Applebaum
 Why Wills and 
 Kate Fascinate Us 
OPINION
Apr 26, 2011 1:45 PM CDT

Why Wills and Kate Fascinate Us

They're victims of an inescapable fate—but they seem happy anyway

(Newser) - Even to those of us with no plans to sit through the royal wedding, Prince William and Kate Middleton are intriguing. “My friend is not a royal watcher or a tabloid reader. Neither am I,” writes Anne Applebaum in the Washington Post . Yet both were familiar with Kate’...

Brits Debate Bumping Girls Up Royal Line

Law that favors male heirs may be ditched

(Newser) - With a royal wedding on the way, the British government is considering a move to bring the monarchy into at least the 20th century. Ministers are debating changing the law on royal succession to give females the same rights as males, the Telegraph reports. As the law stands, any son...

Inside the King of Sweden's Crazy Sex Parties

King Carl Gustaf likes the ladies, according to new book

(Newser) - Sweden’s bespectacled King Carl Gustaf seemed respectable almost to the point of dullness, with such innocent hobbies as hunting and attending jamborees. A scandalous new book, however, changes all that: The Reluctant Monarch alleges the 64-year-old king, married 34 years to Queen Silvia, has attended sex parties hosted by...

New on Facebook: Queen Elizabeth

She's not going to be your friend, though

(Newser) - For an octogenarian for whom marrying a divorcee was once unthinkable, Queen Elizabeth is getting downright modern: The monarch is joining Facebook, reports the Telegraph. And while you won't be able to do anything as undignified as poking or friending, you can "like" her (and, we suppose, "unlike"...

Queen Sought Poverty Money to Heat Palaces

Palace applied for funds earmarked for low-income families

(Newser) - An elderly British woman struggling with her heating bills who sought help from a government program to aid low-income families was told that, as queen, she wasn't the kind of individual the program was meant to assist. Ministers apologetically rejected Buckingham Palace's request for funds earmarked to help housing associations...

Strapped Queen Surrendered Royal Finances to Gov't

Government gains veto power over how $60M allowance is spent

(Newser) - The British government now has the final say over how Queen Elizabeth II spends her annual $60 million allowance from the government. The monarch signed over official control of her spending in 2006, following cash-flow problems that saw her borrow another $3 million from the government, reports the Independent , which...

Royal Family Opens Flickr Photo Page

Over 600 photos of available online

(Newser) - Can't get enough of the British Royals? Now you can get photos of the English monarchy straight from the source—their very own Flickr page . The page offers more than 600 photographs, including documentation of recent activities of the queen and prince of Wales, as well as photosets going back...

DJ Axed for Dissing Queen's Speech

Guillotine quip gets British jokester the chop

(Newser) - A British radio DJ's bosses weren't amused when he cut short the Queen's traditional speech and joked about the guillotine. The owners of Birmingam station BRMB say presenter Tom Binns—who called the speech boring before putting on Wham's Last Christmas—won't be working for any of the media group's...

Blunt Burnishes Lackluster Young Victoria
 Blunt Burnishes 
 Lackluster Young Victoria 
MOVIE REVIEW
Dec 18, 2009 11:43 AM CST

Blunt Burnishes Lackluster Young Victoria

Actress carries a film that does not depart from genre conventions

(Newser) - Whether they find the film delightful costumed fluff or a dreary museum piece, most critics agree Emily Blunt is lovely as The Young Victoria. Some takes:
  • "Winningly played" by Blunt, Keith Phipps writes for the Onion AV Club , Victoria is "a bright, vivacious, willful, and sometimes rash monarch-in-the-making,
...

Critics: Prince's Policy Meddling Is a Royal Pain

Charles accused of trying to influence government policy

(Newser) - Prince Charles has been overstepping the bounds of his role—and the tradition that the monarchy stay politically neutral—by trying to influence policies made by elected politicians, his critics charge. The prince lobbied a government minister over designs for eco-towns mere hours after she was appointed, according to newly...

Thai Activist Gets 18 Years for Insulting Monarchy

Thaksin supporter vows to appeal

(Newser) - A supporter of Thailand's exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was sentenced to 18 years in prison for insulting the monarchy in what free speech campaigners describe as a severe attack on political dissent, Reuters reports. The 46-year-old woman was arrested last year after a fiery speech denouncing the 2006...

Progressive Morocco a Model for Arab World

(Newser) - Sick of all the violence in Tehran? Try taking a stroll through the capital of Morocco, suggests Anne Applebaum of the Washington Post. Not long ago, Morocco was a dictatorship, plagued by arbitrary arrests, “disappearances,” and torture. But over the last decade this distinctly Arab, distinctly religious state...

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