Monthly Archives: August 2012

The Closing Ceremonies: Uncommon Olympic Events for Royal Athletes

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Albert and Charlene, Prince and Princess of Monaco are both former Olympic athletes. Albert was a member of Monaco's bobsled team while Charlene swam for South Africa.

As the 2012 London Summer Olympics come to a close today, it is worth having a look at the experiences of royal and princely athletes who competed at the Olympic level in sports considered unconventional for Princes and Princesses. As I have discussed in previous posts, the vast majority of royal participants in the Modern Olympic games have competed in equestrian and sailing events or contributed to the governance of the games as members of the International Olympic Committee. Nevertheless, there are royal athletes who have chosen in compete in a wide variety of sports, raising the profile of events from bobsledding to skeet shooting.

Prince Albert of Monaco poses with a bobsled in Salt Lake City, his most recent Olympic Games.

The most famous couple among Olympic athletes from royal or princely houses are Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco. Albert competed as a member of Monaco’s bobsled team in five successive Winter Olympic Games: Calgary in 1988, Albertville in 1992, Lillehammer in 1994, Nagano in 1998 and Salt Lake City in 2002. In contrast to the royalty who participated in equestrian and sailing events at the Summer Olympics, Albert’s participation in Olympic bobsledding attracted mixed reactions both within his native Monaco and around the world.

Albert explained to Nikki Stone, an American athlete who won gold in inverted aerial skiing in at the Nagano Games, “I think my bobsledding surprised many people – or “troubled many people” may be a more appropriate phase. I know most everyone envisioned me sitting on a royal throne rather than in the driver’s seat of an Olympic bobsled. Quite frankly, those closest to me were likely more comfortable with that “royal” picture as well (Stone, When Turtles Fly: Secrets of Successful People Who Know How To Stick Their Necks Out).”

Charlene, Princess of Monaco

During all five Winter Games, Albert insisted on staying in the Olympic village with his fellow athletes, explaining to ESPN journalist Jim Caple in Salt Lake City, “I think it’s a must. It’s part of the Olympic experience. Those who aren’t staying there are missing an important part of the experience.” Albert met his wife, Charlene Wittstock, through his involvement in the Olympics as a member of the IOC. Charlene finished in 5th-place as part of the South African 400 medley relay team in swimming at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. The couple made their first public appearance at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin and were married in 2011.

The Prince and Princess of Monaco are part of a long tradition of members of royal and princely houses and their future consorts participating in a broad range of Olympic events. During the 1900 Paris Olympics there were two participants in the golf tournaments with existing or future royal connections. Daria Pratt, who received the bronze medal for the United States in the women’s golf tournament, married her third husband, Prince Alexis Karageorgevich of Serbia in 1913. Pratt’s daughter from her first marriage, Harriet Wright, married, Count Alexander Mercati, a childhood friend of King Constantine I of Greece and participant in the 1900 men’s golf tournament. Golf was removed from the schedule of Olympic sports after 1904 but will be reinstated for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Since professional golfers will be permitted to participate in 2016, it is unlikely that modern royal recreational golfers such as Andrew, Duke of York, will compete.

Other royalty who competed in unconventional Olympic sports include two Princes who represented Lichtenstein in the downhill alpine skiing. Despite Lichtenstein’s proximity to the Alps, Prince Constantine von Lichtenstein finished 99th in the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland and Prince Max of Hohenlohe-Langenburg placed 46th in the 1958 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

The shooting events have been popular with members of the ruling family of Dubai, one of the United Arab Emirates. Sheikh Ahmad bin Mohammad bin Hasher Al Maktoum competed in the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Summer Games, winning the gold medal in men’s double trap shooting in Athens in 2004. Sheikh Saeed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum was the flag bearer for the United Arab Emirates in the 2012 Olympic Games in London, participating in the Men’s Skeet Shooting this year as he has done at three previous Summer Olympic Games.

Royal participation in the Olympic Games is not confined to equestrian and sailing events. Members of royal and princely houses and their future consorts have participated in a diverse range of sports including bobsledding, golf, shooting and skiing, raising the profile of a broad range of Olympic sports.

 

The Diamond Jubilee Book Reviews 7: God Save the Queen: The Spiritual Heart of the Monarchy by Ian Bradley

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During my Masters and Doctoral studies in history at Queen’s University at Kingston, one of the Professors on my thesis committee advised me to read the entire King James Bible from beginning to end. A full understanding of the various periods I was studying, including Early Modern Europe (1500-1800), Ireland from 1798 to the present, the expansion of the Early Modern Atlantic World, would not be possible without familiarity with this key aspect of the worldview of the period. And so I bought myself an impressive looking copy of the King James, found a comfortable chair in the reading room at the top of Douglas Library with the stained glass windows and settled in for a long and interesting read. By the time I finished reading the King James Bible, I had gained a great deal of insight into historical change, literature, Renaissance Art and the English language.

In God Save the Queen: The Spiritual Heart of the Monarchy, which has been fully updated and revised on the occasion of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, Ian Bradley similarly argues that it is impossible to understand the true significance of the monarchy without a knowledge of its religious history. Bradley, a Reader in Practical History and Theology at the University of St. Andrews, a minister in the Church of England and an author and broadcaster, provides a sweeping history of the relationship between the monarchy and the church, providing a counterpoint to recent conceptions of the royal family as mere celebrities. Bradley’s work is part of a recent revival of interest in the monarchy’s religious role, which includes the writing of John Hall, Dean of Westminster, Queen Elizabeth II and Her Church: Royal Service at Westminster Abbey.

Canterbury Cathedral, seat of the Church of England

Bradley provides the full historical context for debates concerning the religious role of the monarchy including proposed changes to the Act of Settlement to allow dynasts to marry Roman Catholics, and whether the coronation of the next monarch should include representatives from a broad range of faiths. While many books published in honour of the Diamond Jubilee focus exclusively on the current monarch and her immediate predecessors, Bradley looks at portrayals of kingship in the Old and New Testaments then analyzes the full sweep of British religious history from the Arthurian legends to the present day.

Westminster Abbey

During the course of God Save the Queen, Bradley discusses the conversion of the Saxon monarchs, the conflict between King Henry II and his “turbulent priest” Thomas Becket, King Henry VIII’s break with the Church of Rome, King James I’s comission of a new translation of the Bible, Queen Victoria’s affinity for the low church rituals of the Church of Scotland, and Queen Elizabeth II’s personal piety and devotion to her duties.

One fascinating theme that appears throughout God Save the Queen is the involvement of royal women in religious change throughout British history. Saxon Queens patronized Christian missionaries and exerted political and spiritual influence by persuading their husbands to convert. Medieval Queens and princesses founded religious houses. Queen Elizabeth I reformed the Book of Common Prayer and Queen Victoria was instrumental to the development of the philanthropic monarchy that exists today.

The changes wrought by successive monarchs and their consorts had a profound effect on the current relationship between the monarch and the Church of England. The most significant public occasions involving the royal family have emerged from this religious history including royal coronations, weddings, funerals, and the Queen’s Christmas message. Bradley makes a compelling case for maintaining the monarchy’s religious traditions, which have evolved over hundreds of years instead of dismissing them as  irrelevant in the twenty first century.

God Save the Queen is a fascinating history of the monarchy and the church. Bradley writes in an accessible and engaging style that will appeal to a broad range of readers from specialists in the field of British religious history to general readers curious to know why the Queen addresses the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth every Christmas Day.

 

The Royal Regatta: Royalty, Sailing and the Olympic Games

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The future King Constantine II of Greece sailing in 1960. He won the gold medal in sailing (Dragon class) at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.

On August 6, former King Constantine II of Greece presented the gold, silver and bronze medals to the winners of the Men’s Laser Single Hand Race in sailing in Weymouth. There have been royal spectators present throughout the sailing events of the 2012 London Olympic Games. Princess Anne and her husband, Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence as well as the Duchess of Cambridge watched the Men’s Laser Single Hand Race. On August 5, King Constantine, Princess Anne, Vice Admiral Laurence and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark attended the Men’s Finn Medal Race in Sailing. Princess Anne and King Constantine presented the medals to the winners.

King Constantine and Queen Anne Marie of Greece arrive at the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden in 2010.

King Constantine not only presented sailing medals as a longstanding member of the International Olympic Committee but as one of the most successful royal athletes at the modern Olympic Games. As Crown Prince of Greece, he received the gold medal in sailing (Dragon Class) at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome with his elder sister, Princess Sofia, the future Queen of Spain, serving as a reserve for the Greek team. When the former King returned to Greece for the 2004 Athens Olympics, he stated in an interview with Katie Couric, “Getting the gold medal, it was the greatest feeling in my life, other than getting engaged to my wife. And to hear the national anthem of your country, and you know you are not doing it for yourself, you are doing it for your country, is very important.”

When sailing, or yachting as it was termed until 1996 Games, was introduced as an event at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, Europe’s most prominent royal families were known for their personal flotillas. At the 1896 Cowes Regatta on the Isle of Wight, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany’s yacht, Meteor II defeated the future Edward VII’s yacht Britannia, prompting the Prince of Wales to withdraw from yacht racing for a few years. In this environment of intense competition at sea between Europe’s royal families, it is unsurprising that Olympic yachting events attracted titled athletes. Prior to the First World War, European aristocrats involved in Olympic yachting events included members of the Swiss Pourtales family including Helene de Pourtales, the first female Olympic medalist in 1900.

King Olav V of Norway, who received a gold medal in yachting in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics.

In 1928, Crown Prince Olav of Norway, a nephew of King George V of Great Britain received a gold medal in the six metre class yachting at the Amsterdam Olympics. As King, Olav remained an active sailor into his old age. His son Harald, the current King of Norway, also competed in Olympic yachting events as Crown Prince in 1964, 1968 and 1972. His son, Crown Prince Haakon and his wife, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, who are both sailing enthusiasts, are attending events at the 2012 Olympic Games.

In common with the Norwegian royal house, Olympic sailing is a family affair within the Spanish royal family. The future King Juan Carlos competed in the Dragon Class yachting in the 1972 Olympics, finishing in fifteenth place. Two of King Juan Carlos`s and Queen Sofia`s children have also competed in Olympic level sailing. Infanta Cristina participated in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the first Games to feature separate men’s and women’s events in the yachting competitions. Her brother, Felipe, Prince of the Asturias, is the most successful Spanish royal Olympic sailor, placing sixth in the Soling Class event at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Although Queen Sofia attended the Opening Ceremonies in 2012, her children have not been among the numerous members of Europe`s royal houses in the London audience.

Prince Birabongse of Thailand’s diverse professional athletic career included Formula One racing and Olympic sailing.

The Chakri dynasty of Thailand also boasts an Olympic level sailor. Prince Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh, a grandson of King Mongkut of Siam (best known as the King dramatized in the Rogers and Hammerstein musical The King and I) represented his country in the Olympic Sailing events of 1956, 1960, 1964 and 1972. His best result was 12th place in the Star Class at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, which were opened by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Prince Birabongse was also a Formula One race car driver, making him one of the rare athletes to compete in both the Olympics and the Formula One Championships.

The sailing competitions are the Olympic events that have attracted the greatest number of royal athletes in the past century. The presentation of the 2012 Olympic sailing medals by the former King Constantine of Greece is the latest example of longstanding royal involvement in Olympic yachting and sailing.

For further information about royal athletes at the Modern Olympic Games, see my recent article in the Kingston Whig Standard.

The Royal History of Canada’s Maritime Provinces Round 5: Following in the Footsteps of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at Dalvay-by-the-Sea

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Dalvay-by-the-Sea on the North Shore of Prince Edward Island

After traveling to Halifax, Cape Breton Island, Charlottetown and Cavendish, we came to the end of our honeymoon at Dalvay-by-the-Sea, the historic hotel in the Prince Edward Island National Park, on Dalvay Beach. This beautiful location has a long and colourful royal history, culminating in the 2011 visit by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Dalvay-by-the-Sea was built in 1895 by Alexander MacDonald, a wealthy businessman and former president of Standard Oil Company with John D. Rockefeller. Although MacDonald had made his fortune in Cincinnati, Ohio, he had spent his childhood in Scotland and named his new summer house after his boyhood home. At Dalvay-by-the-Sea, Prince Edward Island, Macdonald entertained on a grand scale, filling his majestic house with house guests.

Dalvay Beach

As well as magnificent scenery of the North Shore there were numerous amenities at the estate including a bowling alley and a billiard room. To look after his summer guests, MacDonald employed a large number of servants including cooks, housemaids, a gardener, two butlers, two laundresses, a caretaker and two men to look after the horses and stable. When he died in 1910, MacDonald left his two granddaughters, sixteen-year-old Helena and seventeen-year-old Laura a $15 million fortune, making them among the wealthiest young women of their generation. Their father, MacDonald’s son-in-law, Edmund Stallo, was entrusted with the management of the estate until Laura and Helena came of age.

View of Dalvay-by-the-Sea from across Dalvay Lake.

In circumstances familiar to fans of Downton Abbey, the American heiresses were courted by members of Europe’s titled but comparatively impoverished aristocracy. Both Laura and Helena married European aristocrats who held the title of Prince. Helena married Prince Michel Murat of France, a descendant of Napoleon Bonaparte’s sister Caroline, and her husband Joachim Marat, King of Naples. Laura married Prince Francesco Rospiglioisi of the former Holy Roman Empire, a descendant of the Earl of Newbergh who supported Charles II’s restoration to the English throne.

Unfortunately, Laura’s and Helena’s inheritance was mismanaged by the their father. Due a series of bad investments, the fortune had dwindled to almost nothing by the time they came of age and both ladies were divorced by their princely husbands. Unable to maintain the property in their reduced circumstances, Laura and Helena sold Dalvay-by-the-Sea for the sum owed in back taxes. The property changed hands a number of times before being acquired by the Canadian government in the 1950s to be leased as a hotel in the Prince Edward Island National Park.

Dalvay-by-the-Sea and Prince Edward Island’s North Shore are familiar to television audiences worldwide as the setting of the White Sands Hotel in The Road to Avonleaseries, based on Lucy Maud Montgomery’s novels, The Story Girl  and The Golden Road. In common with Montgomery herself, the characters in her novels have a strong interest in royalty, and this popular royalism is reflected in The Road to Avonlea. The residents of Avonlea often express hope that a royal visitor will come to stay at the While Sands Hotel. For example, in Season 6, Episode 8, “Fools and Kings,” which is set in late fall, 1909, Hetty King hears a rumour that the future King George V will be visiting Avonlea and naturally will be staying at the community’s finest hotel. Hetty organizes a grand reception at the White Sands by the Daughters of the Dominion only to learn to her disappointment that there will not be a royal visitor.

Here I am with the display honouring the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's 2011 visit to Dalvay-by-the-Sea

The residents of Avonlea would have approved of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s visit to Dalvay-by-the-Sea during their 2011 tour of Canada. The Duchess of Cambridge is believed to be an admirer of Montgomery’s novels and the visit to Dalvay provided her with the opportunity to meet the cast of Anne of Green Gables the musical.

During their afternoon visit, the royal couple participated in a Dragon Boat race on Dalvay Lake with Prince William winning by a narrow margin. The Duke of Cambridge also highlighted the contributions made by Canada’s military to the training of search and rescue pilots by participating in a training session for the “waterbird” emergency landing procedure in a Sea King helicopter. The 2011 visit to Dalvay-by-the-Sea provided the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with the opportunity to experience Prince Edward Island’s majestic natural environment first hand and visit a setting with its own royal history and culture.