Coronation day... Spanish style

As a republican I am fond of "republication" or "republishing" previously written stuff. Sorry about that.
These days they are changing the king in Spain. And that comes with a ceremony.
It has been announced it will be a modest celebration, with no foreign dignataries invited nor religious ceremony in "Los Jerónimos" church, site of weddings and funerals or the cavernous Madrid cathedral.
Back in 2008 I published here a piece around Barack Obama Inauguration that went:

"From the back of my mind, way back, come the memories of Queen Elizabeth II coronation, in June 1953. The coronation of a monarch is the type of event you might expect to see only once or twice in a lifetime. I was just a child and obviously I could only see the event in the newsreel they usually showed before the movies in all the movie theaters in Spain: the “No-Do” for “Noticiario Documental”, a compulsory francoist propaganda instrument. Those days there was no TV in Spain yet.

At home there was much talk about it, as my mother was of British ascent and anything British was of importance for the family. More over as one of my mother’s sister, Patrito and her husband Modesto traveled to London for the celebrations. My uncle Modesto had abandoned his career as a dermatologist to become sales representative of the British pharmaceutical Booths in Spain, a much more profitable job in those obscure years of Spanish autocracy.

They brought with them a few souvenirs and trinkets to share with the family. I still remember a beautifully made toy size reproduction of the Queens chariot, with the long train of horses mounted by the all dressed up equarries. The toy sat on one of the library shelves for many years after. One of my cousins who has recently moved with us, says she still has the horses, not the coach, somewhere lost in one of her still unpacked boxes.

Around those days, my English teacher, a very peculiar spinster, used to pester us with a traditional English street song that went:

Oh! on Coronation Day, on Coronation Day
We'll have a spree, a jubilee, and shout, Hip, hip, hooray
For we'll all be merry, drinking whiskey, wine and sherry,
We'll be merry on Coronation Day
the lyrics of which escaped to our then poor language understanding.

She also tried to put into our heads, without success, a Children's Prayer for The Queen on Coronation day, that I later learned had been written by Enid Blyton of “The famous five” fame.

As Queen Elizabeth is still alive and kicking and may well outlive her mother, we may not get to see another British coronation day.

In Spain, our current king Juan Carlos coronation now just 33 years ago, was a rather gloomy affair. A few days after the death of the dictator, the country was still mired by the uncertainties of a difficult political situation. I would say there were more celebrations for Franco’s death than for the king’s inauguration. Much attention was paid to the Cardinal Tarancon speech as he encouraged the new monarch to pay heed to the Spanish people claims for democracy.

By the way, the Spanish kings are not crowned. The crown is laid there in a stool and never sets on the monarch’s head.

Actually being a republican, I do not give a hoot where the damn crown sits. I would not mind it sat on the head, as long as it was possible to separate the head from the body, French style."

_____________

Well then, little to add.

XA

On heads of state, crowned or otherwise

Once accepted there is a need for a state, obviously someone has to be at the helm. There are some experiences of multipersonal government. In ancient Rome, during the Republic, the Senate ruled and the executive power was held by different persons but just for short periods of time, and there were several periods with triumvirates managing the political affairs. But from the creation of the Empire by the Caesars of the Julia family and practically everywhere else, on top of the power there always been a one ruler: king, Pharaoh, emperor, caliph, sultan, maharajah, dictator or whatever. More recently, in modern democracies, an elected president.

The thing is that, in Spain, except for brief periods, the head of the Spanish State has always been a king. Actually, the state is called the Kingdom of Spain. And many of our historical misfortunes have been associated precisely with the figures of the successive monarchs. The kingdom of Spain arises from the union of Castille and Aragon in the XV century, the two most powerful kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula of that age and time. The so called “Catholic Kings” have been hailed as the forgers of the Spanish unity and the root of the dynasty of Spanish kings. Well, they were not able to provide the most important thing a hereditary monarchy needs, a suitable heir to the throne. Their only surviving child was incapacitated because mental illness, known in history as “Joan the mad”.

The relaying on heredity plus the inability to give birth to proper heirs have been the curse of the Spanish dynasties for 500 years. And the main reason for consecutive wars and disasters that have plagued the history of Spain. The 18th century war is known as The War of Succession. And succession difficulties generated the episodes of the Carlist Wars in the 19th century.

The recent birth of the first son of Edward of Cambridge and Kate Middleton adds a new link in the long chain of one of the longest monarchies of the world, the British Crown. In the middle of all the troubles, the British monarchy had fared through in the past years, genetics have been favorable and they were able to provide an ample supply of consecutive heirs to last for a good century.

Almost simultaneously, the king of the Belgians Albert the Second, abdicated to his son and crown prince Philippe, unexpectedly but without much of a hassle. And that in a country known for being able to continue functioning without a proper government for many months.

Meanwhile the Spanish current head of the State, being a king and from a long dynasty, was nominated heir to the throne by a dictator who had overthrown a legitimate democratic government using force just half a century ago yesterday. No genetics involved there.

Scandals involving the Spanish king’s son in law of graft and embezzlement and the king himself, hunting elephants in the company of an alleged mistress, had brought up renewed questioning of the institution of the Spanish crown.

Overall the main problem still is linking the destiny of countries and peoples to the whim of genetics and the ability of providing successive members of families to occupy the throne.

Feelings and traditions aside, seems like the current 21rst century may put an end to hereditary monarchies for good.