http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27662301
QuoteKing Juan Carlos of Spain abdicating
King Juan Carlos of Spain has decided to abdicate, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has announced.
King Juan Carlos, who is 76, has ruled since 1975. His son Prince Felipe, 45, will take over the throne.
For much of his reign, Juan Carlos was seen as one of the world's most popular monarchs.
But recently many Spaniards have lost confidence in him, mainly because of a long-running corruption investigation into his daughter and her husband.
Two European monarchs in just over a year. Prince Charles must be rubbing his hands together.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/queen-elizabeth-II/10584478/Betting-suspended-on-Queen-stepping-down.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/queen-elizabeth-II/10584478/Betting-suspended-on-Queen-stepping-down.html)
:lol:
He's had a good innings. Kudos to him for bringing Democracy to Spain after Franco hoped he'd continue his (Franco's) legacy.
The greatest king of the 20th century.
Quote from: jimmy olsen on June 02, 2014, 04:40:17 AM
The greatest king of the 20th century.
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He meant real king.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fbuffetoblog.files.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F12%2Fburger-king-king.jpg&hash=fd02387f3ea873513a7fa419f359eb798cce00d1)
Quote from: Brazen on June 02, 2014, 04:06:00 AM
Two European monarchs in just over a year. Prince Charles must be rubbing his hands together.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/queen-elizabeth-II/10584478/Betting-suspended-on-Queen-stepping-down.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/queen-elizabeth-II/10584478/Betting-suspended-on-Queen-stepping-down.html)
:lol:
3 actually:
Albert of (non-state) Belgium,
Beatrix of the (still not re-) United Kingdom of the Netherlands
and now Carlos.
Harald of Norway is 77...
though I'm sure Martinus and his ilk will squee at the present Crown Prince
Quote from: Crazy_Ivan80 on June 02, 2014, 08:05:48 AM
Albert of (non-state) Belgium,
Beatrix of the (still not re-) United Kingdom of the Netherlands
and now Carlos.
If you want to refer to useless titles, Juan Carlos can easily outdo the other two. He has titles like King of Jerusalem or Two Sicilies, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Burgundy or King of the East and West Indies...
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.nhl.com%2Fimages%2Fupload%2F2007%2F12%2Fwayne_gretzky_kings99.jpg&hash=b0d1ab59985c081b60efc570d02062a2c1991c93)
Really? Huh. I thought when he became King of Spain they dumped all the artifact titles. I mean...Duke of Milan? Is Milan aware it has a Duke?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_titles_and_honours_of_Juan_Carlos_I_of_Spain
QuoteTitles in official use
The Spanish titles of Juan Carlos I as Monarch of Spain are as follows: Note: Titles in Pretence marked with * are historical titles which are only nominal and ceremonial.
King of Spain
King of Castile, of León, of Aragon, of the Two Sicilies* (Naples and Sicily), of Jerusalem*, of Navarre, of Granada, of Toledo, of Valencia, of Galicia, of Majorca, of Seville, of Sardinia*, of Córdoba, of Corsica*, of Murcia, of Menorca, of Jaén, of the Algarves*, of Algeciras, of the Canary Islands, of the East Indies* and West Indies* and of the Islands and Mainland of the Ocean Sea*;
Archduke of Austria*;
Duke of Burgundy*, of Brabant*, of Milan*, of Athens*, of Neopatras* (New Patras) and of Limburg*;
Count of Habsburg*, of Flanders*, of Tyrol*, of Roussillon* and of Barcelona;
Lord of Biscay and of Molina
Quote from: Syt on June 02, 2014, 08:27:47 AM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_titles_and_honours_of_Juan_Carlos_I_of_Spain
QuoteTitles in official use
The Spanish titles of Juan Carlos I as Monarch of Spain are as follows: Note: Titles in Pretence marked with * are historical titles which are only nominal and ceremonial.
King of Spain
King of Castile, of León, of Aragon, of the Two Sicilies* (Naples and Sicily), of Jerusalem*, of Navarre, of Granada, of Toledo, of Valencia, of Galicia, of Majorca, of Seville, of Sardinia*, of Córdoba, of Corsica*, of Murcia, of Menorca, of Jaén, of the Algarves*, of Algeciras, of the Canary Islands, of the East Indies* and West Indies* and of the Islands and Mainland of the Ocean Sea*;
Archduke of Austria*;
Duke of Burgundy*, of Brabant*, of Milan*, of Athens*, of Neopatras* (New Patras) and of Limburg*;
Count of Habsburg*, of Flanders*, of Tyrol*, of Roussillon* and of Barcelona;
Lord of Biscay and of Molina
Man, all those unpressed claims... :(
It was bound to happen, the Spanish monarchy is at an all time low level of popularity with all the scandals surrounding it - and the general crisis in the country - plus he's in very bad health. So better pass it to somebody younger and more energetic that can rebuild the institution.
The Republican parties are already calling for a referendum before the Prince is sworn in, and there's a few demos in our cities. I'm a Republican myself, but given our monarchy is mostly ceremonial I don't give that much of a damn.
Are the Habsburg pretenders aware this Bourbon is claiming to be Archduke of Austria in pretense? There can only be one wannabe Archduke!
Quote from: celedhring on June 02, 2014, 08:33:18 AM
I'm a Republican myself, but given our monarchy is mostly ceremonial I don't give that much of a damn.
Juan Carlos did a great service to his country so in return his family gets to pretend to be King until they do something stupid enough to justify removing them.
Quote from: Valmy on June 02, 2014, 08:34:36 AM
Quote from: celedhring on June 02, 2014, 08:33:18 AM
I'm a Republican myself, but given our monarchy is mostly ceremonial I don't give that much of a damn.
Juan Carlos did a great service to his country so in return his family gets to pretend to be King until they do something stupid enough to justify removing them.
That's an accurate description of the situation.
Quote from: Brazen on June 02, 2014, 04:06:00 AM
Two European monarchs in just over a year. Prince Charles must be rubbing his hands together.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/queen-elizabeth-II/10584478/Betting-suspended-on-Queen-stepping-down.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/queen-elizabeth-II/10584478/Betting-suspended-on-Queen-stepping-down.html)
:lol:
Won't happen, the Queen is too much of a traditionalist.
Also I think, even if she were leaning towards abdication, she'd be determined to remain Queen if Scotland transitions to independence, so she could firmly restate and establish the fact she was Queen of Scots and there'd remain a united monarchy for the two countries.
Who else would be King of Scotland? The Bavarian Pretender? Unless the Scots are particularly Republican, I don't know.
Quote from: Valmy on June 02, 2014, 09:09:47 AM
Unless the Scots are particularly Republican, I don't know.
I'm guessing they are.
Quote from: Viking on June 02, 2014, 08:12:19 AM
Harald of Norway is 77...
though I'm sure Martinus and his ilk will squee at the present Crown Prince
Is squee good or bad? As in sploosh or the opposite, which I guess is just nothing.
Quote from: derspiess on June 02, 2014, 09:11:02 AM
Quote from: Valmy on June 02, 2014, 09:09:47 AM
Unless the Scots are particularly Republican, I don't know.
I'm guessing they are.
I doubt it. The fact the Royals would remain figure heads of Scotland seems to be a given assumption.
Quote from: Valmy on June 02, 2014, 09:09:47 AM
Who else would be King of Scotland? The Bavarian Pretender? Unless the Scots are particularly Republican, I don't know.
I think this is the key point:
Quote
there'd remain a united monarchy for the two countries.
possibly in stark contrast to Cameron's failure to keep the kingdom united.
Quote from: Valmy on June 02, 2014, 09:12:55 AM
Quote from: derspiess on June 02, 2014, 09:11:02 AM
Quote from: Valmy on June 02, 2014, 09:09:47 AM
Unless the Scots are particularly Republican, I don't know.
I'm guessing they are.
I doubt it. The fact the Royals would remain figure heads of Scotland seems to be a given assumption.
It works fine in canada, australia and new zealand
in fact the royals have been preparing for this for a long time
they haven't reall considered themselves to be any more english than anything else.
The Princess Royal Has been living at Holyrood palace for decades now.
Quote from: Valmy on June 02, 2014, 09:09:47 AM
Who else would be King of Scotland? The Bavarian Pretender? Unless the Scots are particularly Republican, I don't know.
We have a Stuart over here. They can have her.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cayetana_Fitz-James_Stuart,_18th_Duchess_of_Alba
Quote from: celedhring on June 02, 2014, 08:33:18 AM
It was bound to happen, the Spanish monarchy is at an all time low level of popularity with all the scandals surrounding it - and the general crisis in the country - plus he's in very bad health. So better pass it to somebody younger and more energetic that can rebuild the institution.
The Republican parties are already calling for a referendum before the Prince is sworn in, and there's a few demos in our cities. I'm a Republican myself, but given our monarchy is mostly ceremonial I don't give that much of a damn.
They've been very crafty, announcing it just before the World Cup.
Quoteof Majorca,
Why does Majorca get its own king title? :blink:
Will his son do a good job? Is he a mediocre mind with little ambition besides empty state ceremony? Is he boring enough not to embarrass the government? Is he good looking enough in a bland way to lend glamor to the office?
Quote from: Tyr on June 02, 2014, 10:04:58 AM
Quoteof Majorca,
Why does Majorca get its own king title? :blink:
Because: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Majorca
I'm curious to know when we started calling it "Majorca".
Quote from: derspiess on June 02, 2014, 10:11:22 AM
I'm curious to know when we started calling it "Majorca".
Mallorca. Whatever. Probably how during the Olympics some dudes decided Turin was crap and we all needed to start calling it Torino.
Quote from: Valmy on June 02, 2014, 10:16:06 AM
Quote from: derspiess on June 02, 2014, 10:11:22 AM
I'm curious to know when we started calling it "Majorca".
Mallorca. Whatever. Probably how during the Olympics some dudes decided Turin was crap and we all needed to start calling it Torino.
I didn't direct that at you. I just always knew it as "Mallorca" and "Majorca" looks and sounds silly to me.
Quote from: Tyr on June 02, 2014, 10:04:58 AM
Quoteof Majorca,
Why does Majorca get its own king title? :blink:
James I the Conqueror set it up for one of his sons in his will. After proving to be a royal pain in the ass for the Aragonese rulers, it was invaded and reabsorbed by the Crown.
Quote from: derspiess on June 02, 2014, 10:19:26 AM
Quote from: Valmy on June 02, 2014, 10:16:06 AM
Quote from: derspiess on June 02, 2014, 10:11:22 AM
I'm curious to know when we started calling it "Majorca".
Mallorca. Whatever. Probably how during the Olympics some dudes decided Turin was crap and we all needed to start calling it Torino.
I didn't direct that at you. I just always knew it as "Mallorca" and "Majorca" looks and sounds silly to me.
I was not being defensive about it, just commenting on the question.
Quote from: Valmy on June 02, 2014, 10:22:19 AM
I didn't direct that at you. I just always knew it as "Mallorca" and "Majorca" looks and sounds silly to me.
I was not being defensive about it, just commenting on the question.
[/quote]
Settle down guys. Enough with the acrimony already.
Spicey needs to be made aware he has just made an enemy for life.
Quote from: Valmy on June 02, 2014, 10:07:56 AM
Will his son do a good job? Is he a mediocre mind with little ambition besides empty state ceremony? Is he boring enough not to embarrass the government? Is he good looking enough in a bland way to lend glamor to the office?
He's certainly bland and uncontroversial, so I can't see him rocking the boat at all. He also lacks his father's leftover good will from 23 F and his folksy charm, so he has that against him.
Quote from: The Larch on June 02, 2014, 10:33:12 AM
He's certainly bland and uncontroversial, so I can't see him rocking the boat at all.
Seems well qualified then :hmm:
QuoteHe also lacks his father's leftover good will from 23 F and his folksy charm, so he has that against him.
Well it is hard for Aristocrats to have folksy charm and certainly no future King of Spain will have the sort of good will Juan Carlos did. I mean unless it is discovered Kings really can cure Scrofula with their touch.
Juan Carlos did have a kind of old fashioned folkie charm (campechanía), which made him palatable even for republicans. Then came the elephant hunts and the scandals and that charm didn't help him there.
What kind of bizarre scandal could possibly involve an elephant hunt?
Quote from: The Larch on June 02, 2014, 10:39:45 AM
Juan Carlos did have a kind of old fashioned folkie charm (campechanía), which made him palatable even for republicans. Then came the elephant hunts and the scandals and that charm didn't help him there.
If aristocrats can no longer hunt what would they do with their time? I guess play polo or tennis or race cars.
Quote from: The Brain on June 02, 2014, 10:42:01 AM
What kind of bizarre scandal could possibly involve an elephant hunt?
:lol:
Quote from: Viking on June 02, 2014, 09:30:40 AM
Quote from: Valmy on June 02, 2014, 09:12:55 AM
Quote from: derspiess on June 02, 2014, 09:11:02 AM
Quote from: Valmy on June 02, 2014, 09:09:47 AM
Unless the Scots are particularly Republican, I don't know.
I'm guessing they are.
I doubt it. The fact the Royals would remain figure heads of Scotland seems to be a given assumption.
It works fine in canada, australia and new zealand
in fact the royals have been preparing for this for a long time
they haven't reall considered themselves to be any more english than anything else.
The Princess Royal Has been living at Holyrood palace for decades now.
Don't tell that to Viper.
Quote from: Valmy on June 02, 2014, 10:43:53 AM
Quote from: The Larch on June 02, 2014, 10:39:45 AM
Juan Carlos did have a kind of old fashioned folkie charm (campechanía), which made him palatable even for republicans. Then came the elephant hunts and the scandals and that charm didn't help him there.
If aristocrats can no longer hunt what would they do with their time? I guess play polo or tennis or race cars.
It was well known that he hunted, and there had been previous controversies about this a few years ago (apparently he once hunted a bear in Russia that had been drugged for him so he'd be able to get his shot), but this one crossed the line for the Spanish public. For years it had ignored plenty of peccadilloes (mistresses, friendships with shady businessmen, and so on), and there was a pact of silence in Spanish media about this, but big game hunting almost straight out of XIXth century stories crossed the line. And we only found out because he slipped and broke his hip during the trip, if he hadn't we would never have heard about it.
You can ignore all that other stuff, but shoot a bear and there's hell to pay? :lol:
Sounds like CdM's kind of country.
Wasn't one of the issues with the elephant hunt that it also made his affair with some German woman half his age public?
Quote from: Zanza on June 02, 2014, 08:15:12 AM
Quote from: Crazy_Ivan80 on June 02, 2014, 08:05:48 AM
Albert of (non-state) Belgium,
Beatrix of the (still not re-) United Kingdom of the Netherlands
and now Carlos.
If you want to refer to useless titles, Juan Carlos can easily outdo the other two. He has titles like King of Jerusalem or Two Sicilies, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Burgundy or King of the East and West Indies...
at some point the spanish crown will need to go to war to prevent the claims from disappearing upon inheritance!
I am pretty sure they already lost all those cores.
Quote from: Zanza on June 02, 2014, 12:05:09 PM
I am pretty sure they already lost all those cores.
Has it been more than 50 years since 1898 already?
Seriously though this is about as absurd as Elizabeth II claiming to be Queen of France (though she is Duchess of Normandy)
The one that got me was "King of the Islands and Mainland of the Ocean Sea". That seems... broad.
Quote from: Zanza on June 02, 2014, 11:48:19 AM
Wasn't one of the issues with the elephant hunt that it also made his affair with some German woman half his age public?
Nobody cares about the mistress part. This is Spain, not America. Unfortunately for the king her business deals with the Crown seem rather murky.
Okay, the fact that she's German ensured that it got some press here, so my perspective is probably off.
Quote from: Valmy on June 02, 2014, 12:06:20 PM
Quote from: Zanza on June 02, 2014, 12:05:09 PM
I am pretty sure they already lost all those cores.
Has it been more than 50 years since 1898 already?
Seriously though this is about as absurd as Elizabeth II claiming to be Queen of France (though she is Duchess of Normandy)
The King of Spain is officially the King of Spain, period. He is allowed to use "historic titles tied to the crown" - which is where that crazed-out list comes from - but he never uses them in any capacity. But hysterical monarchists love to compile all of them.
Quote from: celedhring on June 02, 2014, 12:24:12 PM
The King of Spain is officially the King of Spain, period.
Yeah that is what I thought. That the artifact titles of the past Kings and Queens had been dropped.
QuoteHe is allowed to use "historic titles tied to the crown" - which is where that crazed-out list comes from - but he never uses them in any capacity. But hysterical monarchists love to compile all of them.
Ah ok.
Local authorities sometimes allude to the other domestic titles when he visits those areas, but he's not so crazy as to style himself Archduke of Austria or a lot of the other stuff. Although I do remember the mayor of Jerusalem jokingly calling him "his King".
A sad day for us in the duchy of brabant, we're still ruled by the saxe-coburg-Gotha usurpers
Quote from: jimmy olsen on June 02, 2014, 04:40:17 AM
The greatest king of the 20th century.
:mad:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wwe.com%2Ff%2Fstyles%2Fsuperstar_bio%2Fpublic%2Ftalent%2Fbio%2F2012%2F02%2Fjerry_lawler_bio.png&hash=84dd9e07eb6d706e97da59adcda3bcef07f8639c)
Quote from: derspiess on June 02, 2014, 09:11:02 AM
I'm guessing they are.
Not really. Not outside Glasgow anyway.
If anything I'd say the Scots get the royals better than the English. They're the type of people who enjoy going on holiday to Scotland, wearing tweed, shooting things during the day and then drinking whisky at night. Also most of the Royal family love Scotland, the Queen Mother and now Charles have a private home in Scotland (near where I grew up so met the Queen Mum a couple of times as a young cub :lol:) and Balmoral's the Queen's favourite home.
QuoteWon't happen, the Queen is too much of a traditionalist.
I could see it happening if she started to go the way of John Paul II. But aside from that I can't imagine her ever abdicating, I think she'll carry on and just do less.
Edit: Also was I the only English person who thought that we should probably try and seize Cadiz and Ceuta today? :blush:
Edit: And then I remembered we don't have a navy anymore :weep:
On the plus side, HRH Prince of Asturias Felipe graduated from the Georgetown University Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, so we know he's got a solid CFR-based internationalist education.
Quote from: Scipio on June 02, 2014, 06:01:39 PM
On the plus side, HRH Prince of Asturias Felipe graduated from the Georgetown University Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, so we know he's got a solid CFR-based internationalist education.
So...he's properly tamed by the HR beast and duly prepared to feed us all to Satan on command. Got it.
Quote from: Sheilbh on June 02, 2014, 05:55:08 PM
Edit: Also was I the only English person who thought that we should probably try and seize Cadiz and Ceuta today? :blush:
Is Málaga not enough?
Is this Prince dude the one with the super hot wife? :)
I'd still rather have Assad's wife.
When I was little, I remember being dumbfounded when I first heard that some European country had a king. Up until that point I assumed that all royalty was executed at one time or another as nations modernized.
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on June 02, 2014, 11:35:59 AM
You can ignore all that other stuff, but shoot a bear and there's hell to pay? :lol:
Sounds like CdM's kind of country.
The other stuff is not ignored, it's simply silenced. Lots of the king's activities were kept completely in the dark for the Spanish public, and the most egregious ones only came to light when they were impossible to cover up. The elephant hunt was only known because he broke his hip there, if he hadn't broken his hip we would have never know that he hunted elephants in Botswana joined by his lover who also happened to be some kind of shady deal brokerer in a trip paid by shady Saudi businessmen. And its those shady dealings the ones which raise the big red flags. The big game hunting is just an unpalatable hobby, but one that raises concerns.
So what's the verdict? Did he return the country to democracy, because he wanted to be king, but without the tedious responsibility of actually having to run the country?
Quote from: Caliga on June 03, 2014, 06:56:46 PM
Is this Prince dude the one with the super hot wife? :)
I'm astounded by how many foreigners find Princess Letizia hot.
NOW, if the Prince had married that Swedish lingerie model he was dating, then we would be talking.
Muy Caliente!
Quote from: The Larch on June 03, 2014, 07:48:53 PM
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on June 02, 2014, 11:35:59 AM
You can ignore all that other stuff, but shoot a bear and there's hell to pay? :lol:
Sounds like CdM's kind of country.
The other stuff is not ignored, it's simply silenced. Lots of the king's activities were kept completely in the dark for the Spanish public, and the most egregious ones only came to light when they were impossible to cover up. The elephant hunt was only known because he broke his hip there, if he hadn't broken his hip we would have never know that he hunted elephants in Botswana joined by his lover who also happened to be some kind of shady deal brokerer in a trip paid by shady Saudi businessmen. And its those shady dealings the ones which raise the big red flags. The big game hunting is just an unpalatable hobby, but one that raises concerns.
Por que no te callas?
I wonder how much pussy the prince scored at GU. Or King Whatshisface from Jordan.