Royalty in History

[Mouse]

I really like Alison Weir's popular history books. Whom should I read after Weir?

[tabby]

Mouse, you might try Antonia Fraser. I've got a bunch of both her books and Weir's, I really like both authors.

[chonies]

King Albert II of Belgium abdicates, Crown Prince Philippe to step up on 21 July.

I don't really know enough about the Belgian royals to have a feeling or opinion about this. Anyone?

[NappingAthena]

Jul 4, 2013 9:18:54 GMT -4 chonies said:

King Albert II of Belgium abdicates, Crown Prince Philippe to step up on 21 July.

I don't really know enough about the Belgian royals to have a feeling or opinion about this. Anyone?

Shockingly, shockingly, I know a bit about this. First of all, its the first adbication in Belgium, so no one quite knows what the rules are.

Albert wasn't supposed to be king. The previous king was his brother Boudoin, who was unable to have kids. Philippe was then the heir, but when Boudoin died 20 years ago Albert decided Philippe (34 at the time and unmarried) was too young and took over.

The last few years have been tough on the king-he's more involved with politics than most monarch and the big shutdown where there was no Belgian government for something like 500 days was tough on him. Also, there are issues with the Flemish minority feeling like they're second class citizens, up to the point where only a few members of royalty can speak decent Flemish because everything is done in French.

Personal life wise, it has also been difficult. Queen Paola has never seemed happy Albert decided to take over, and recently a woman who is probably his child with a mistress is pushing for DNA tests from Albert, Philippe and Princess Astrid to show she is the king's daughter.

Philippe is really shy and somewhat uncomfortable, but he's gotten better and people just love his wife Mathilde for some reason.

[chonies]

Thanks, NappingAthena! And wow.

[Fraggle Rock]

I always thought Haakon (or HOT-HOT-HOTKON as I call him) would be the first of his generation to ascend to the throne given his father's health. I'm surprised we're getting two new Kings in one year. I can't help but feel for Charlie Wales a little bit.

The consort I'm really waiting for is Queen Mary over in Denmark. She is going to be positively fab once she gets her hands on Daisy's jewels. I like her and think she's pretty harmless, but the reactions she inspires from some parts of the royal watching bleachers is equally hilarious and confusing to me.

[NappingAthena]

Mary's fab-I've grown to like her more since I stopped reading Royal Dish (I find Fred slimy, but I also find Joachim slimy so its a genetic thing for me). I hate how there is such a double standard with her. She dresses amazingly, and gets yelled at for it, while no one cares how expensive the other CP's clothing is. They complain she doesn't work as she should, but then complain that she's a bad parent also.

[Deleted]

Why is Mary considered to be a bad parent?

[NappingAthena]

Jul 7, 2013 6:29:19 GMT -4 @lena said:

Why is Mary considered to be a bad parent?

Because she's Mary, basically. I've never seen anything in her kids that would say her and Fred are terrible parents, but the anti-Mary people say that she cares more about her clothes than her kids, that Isabella (her oldest daughter) is a brat-she does seem a bit high spirited but she's like five. They also think her oldest son Christian is autistic and they're covering it up. Which really makes me see red because they basically imply that whatever is 'wrong' with him is her fault.

[Deleted]

NA, thank you so much for that info -- I had heard criticism of Mary's work ethic, but not criticism of her as a mother.