Republic Versus Monarchy - part three, section two
An historical soap opera of British Royalty
While the ranks of British Monarchs have included fine, upstanding people, there has also been many who have been considered undesirable: rapists, murderers, homosexuals, bullies, liars, etc.
Listed below is a dozen British Monarchs, selected for their "interesting" characters (their years of reign are given in brackets):(62)
William IV (1830-1837): "The worst kind of Hanoverian princeling: arrogant, insensitive, half buffoon, half-bully".(63)
George IV (1820-1830): A "profligate" (i.e. "utterly and shamelessly immoral").(64)
George III (1760-1820): "Farmer George" was "immature and obstinate" and "insane". "For months he foamed at the mouth, talked incessantly for twenty-four hours at a time, frequently screamed sexual and other obscenities... and allegedly held a conversation with an oak tree which he imagined to be Frederick of Prussia".(65)
George II (1727-1760): An adulterer.(66)
George I (1714-1727): "Stupid" and "vindictive"; he jailed his wife for 32 years (until her death) when he suspected her of having an affair, while her lover was assassinated (quite possibly on George's orders).(67)
Charles I (1625-1649): "As a king he lied, cheated and double-cheated from start to finish".(68)
James I (1603-1625): A homosexual; "James's interest in young men... was his business - but everybody objected to the way he slobbered over them in public".(69)
Edward IV (1461-1470, 1471-1483): He was "cruel, ruthless and lusty", and "perhaps the most lascivious Monarch ever to sit on the English throne" (i.e. "inclined to lust; wanton or lewd").(70)
Henry VI (1422-1461, 1470-1471): Regarded as "a pious and weak-minded nincompoop", who was "always incompetent and frequently insane".(71)
Edward II (1307-1327): An anti-semite; and a homosexual.(72)
John (1199-1216): It has been recorded that "he was mad"; a murderer; a "notorious lecher"; and a rapist.(73)
Richard I (1189-1199): Was a homosexual.(74)
The question arises as to whether this strange collection of villains, deviants, and misfits would have ever been elected by the people to public office. It is doubtful. The concept of hereditary Monarchs as rulers (even if in name only) of any country - but especially Australia - is seriously flawed.
Republic Versus Monarchy
Australian Nationalism Information Database - www.ausnatinfo.angelfire.com/~natinfo
