Great Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II has celebrated an astonishing 70 years as the nation’s ruling monarch during recent days, demonstrating an incomparable class, composure, and resilience, befitting her extended reign. It is, in fact, forgotten by many, that the young Elizabeth had barely settled into her reign when Tanganyika, Uganda, and Kenya, all renounced her sovereignty in the early 1960s, which foreshadowed the demise of the British Commonwealth, however, as wits such as Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) proclaimed, “such sentiments have thus far proven exaggerated and premature.”
Why do you think she has achieved this pinnacle of dignity and elegance when other global leaders have commonly faced reversals of fortune culminating in the ignominy of a reign cut short, often in dramatic circumstances? Most notably, and briefly in the matter of Michael II, Emperor of Russia, who ruled for only one day in 1917, the victim of an unclear accession. Others to have fallen by the wayside since the turn of the 19th Century include Prince William of Albania who fled his home at the outbreak of World War I, fearing himself the next target for assassination in 1914.
Emperor Hongxian of China was crowned Emperor on January 1, 1916, however his empirical role was abolished less than three months later with the restoration of the monarchy and the formation of the Republic of China. What’s in a name huh? Two years later King Frederick Charles of Finland was crowned ‘in absentia,’ but renounced the throne a mere 66 days later without having even entering his home country. How bad was that? King Mindaugus of Lithuania accepted the crown, but was, after 3 months, uncrowned when it became a republic of the USSR.
The ‘twenties’ saw chaos in the Middle East, heralded as King Faisal of Syria was forced into exile in Iraq. However, that was tame by comparison to Afghanistan, which saw Habibullah Kalakani crowned as the Emir in 1929. He was in turn challenged by Ali Ahmed Khan, who was crowned and beheaded within 15 days, only to himself be dethroned by King Amanullah Khan, who was then replaced by his brother Inayatullah Khan, only to have Kalyani return, only to be ousted again by Kalikani during the same year.
These musical chairs saw Inayatullah return to the throne and execute Kalakani, thus, he thought, ending the game. King Fuad of Egypt lasted 11 months of 1952, before the monarchy was abolished bringing a temporary halt to Middle Eastern instability.
The British sovereignty was postmarked by Edward VIII’s abdication during December 1936, while King Umberto of Italy reigned for only two weeks until his monarchy was given a short shrift. King Mohammed Al Badr of Yemen, Sultan Jamshid Abdullah of Zanzibar, and King Ntare V of Burundi, all were dethroned by monarchists, while King Dipendra of Nepal shot himself after only 3 days. To be fair, he had shot his father dead to get the throne, so he wasn’t going to last long anyway. King Saad Abdullah Al Sabah of Kuwait though was ignominiously removed from the throne due to ‘ill-health.
Finally in this century of mayhem, Pope John Paul I, although not really on a throne, died after a month as the spiritual icon of the Catholic church.
Elizabeth’s monarchy has been defined by her deliberation, and Solomon-like wisdom, and by the love of her people, almost certainly assisted by the fact that her reign is not of governance, and therefore sets itself apart from the minutiae of politics.
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