Great Game Previews In History: 30 December 2013

by J.R.

Today In History

December 30 has not been a good day for kings.

In 1944, Greece’s George II, faced with a Communist (and, ergo, viciously anti-monarchist) government, appointed a regent, Archbishop Damaskinos, and agreed to let a referendum decide the fate of the King of the Hellenes. Eventually, said referendum restored the monarchy, but it was all for naught. George II, by the way, was the cousin of Prince Philip, now the consort to Queen Elizabeth.

In 1947, also on December 30, King Michael I of Romania, was forced to abdicate by the Soviet-backed regime in his country. Michael, by the way, is still alive, splitting his time between Switzerland and Romania (his citizenship was restored after the fall of Communism). He does not agitate for restoration of the monarchy, believing that such a move must come from the people, though he is wildly popular in his home country and has acted for his nation, advocating for Romania’s entry into NATO, for example. He is also the last surviving commander-in-chief of an European Allied nation from World War II, the only surviving monarch from the Interbellum and one of only three heads of state still alive from World War II (King Simeon of Bulgaria and Tibet’s Dalai Lama are the other two).

Great Game Previews In History: 5 November 2013

by J.R.

Today In History

On November 5, 1605, the Gunpowder Plot — a conspiracy to blow up the House of Lords while King James I was in attendance for the State Opening of Parliament — was foiled. The conspirators wanted to kill the King (and anybody within about 300 feet of the place) to install his nine-year-old Catholic daughter, Elizabeth (not this one or this one, but this one).

Nowadays, primarily because of V for Vendetta, the imagery of Guy Fawkes is no longer rooted in derision, instead having been reappropriated by activist vacationers, dabblers in anarchy and dingbats, all of whom forget that Fawkes and his mates didn’t want to overthrow the monarchy and absolutism as an institution (indeed, to serve their purposes, they were willing to destroy not just the king, but, ya know, elected representatives), but just the monarch himself to be replaced by a monarch who recognized the authoritarian power of the Pope. Yes, a true victory for liberty and localism were they seeking!

Anywho, if you like antiquated anti-Catholic poetry, the full version of the famous poem is right up your street.

King Æthelstan, Chris Jericho and The Coming Supremacy Of Conference III

by J.R.

This is a tale of two men, connected in only the most tenuous ways.

One was a great king, a man who, largely through the force of his own ego, united peoples who thought themselves distinct into a nation which would grow to be the most powerful the world has ever known.

The other, born 1,077 years after the first — both had fathers named Edward (one known as The Elder; the other as a winger) — would similarly bring together under one title warring factions, factions whose similarities out-numbered their differences, but who nonetheless, had to be united, again, through the force of a powerful ego.

The first man was the King of the English.

The second is the Ayatollah of Rock ‘n’ Rolla.

And together they have something to teach Conference III.