Mass gathering of foreign royals reflects Queen’s mana
The late Queen’s funeral in Westminster Abbey was one of the greatest gatherings of international royals since the funeral of Queen Victoria in 1901.
There were even double helpings of monarchs from some countries. King Felipe of Spain and Queen Letizia were there with his father, the former King Juan
Carlos, and mother, the former Queen Sofia. The King and Queen of the Netherlands came with his mother, the former Queen Beatrix, who abdicated in 2013.
The European royals at the Abbey were all related to Queen Elizabeth. Queen Sofia of Spain was her third cousin and a first cousin once removed of the Duke of Edinburgh.
Most of the royals owe their link to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Albert was keen to produce a great family of descendants sitting on the thrones of Europe through their nine children, eight of whom married into royal houses.
Like our own Queen, Margrethe II of Denmark is a great-great granddaughter of Queen Victoria, making them third cousins. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is another third cousin of the Queen, thanks to the Queen Victoria connection.
The late Prince Philip was a third cousin of the Queen, too, as yet another great-great grandchild of Queen Victoria. King Harald of Norway is an even closer relation a second cousin, sharing Edward VII and Queen Alexandra as greatgrandparents.
Some monarchs at the funeral were more distant relations. Prince Albert of Monaco is seventh cousin twice removed of Queen Elizabeth. Add in the Sultan of Brunei, Emperor Naruhito of Japan, Sultan Haitham of Oman, the King of Malaysia and the King of Tonga and it made for an extremely impressive line-up.
But, if you compare Elizabeth
II’s funeral with Queen Victoria’s, what’s striking is how many former monarchs and princes were at Westminster Abbey.
In 1901, the royal houses of Europe were in their pomp. Over the next 44 years, two world wars tore through the Continent, ripping monarchs from their thrones. In 1901, Queen Victoria was placed in her coffin by her sons Edward VII and Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, and her grandson Wilhelm II, the German Emperor and King of Prussia. Also present at Queen Victoria’s funeral was one Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to the AustroHungarian throne.
His assassination in 1914 sparked the beginning of WWI, and the beginning of the end for the German Emperor, now at war with his cousin George V. In 1918, he abdicated and the German throne was no more. There were plenty of royal Germans at Elizabeth II’s funeral - including Prince Bernhard of Baden - but they are now living in a republic.
Also in 1918, Tsar Nicholas II, another cousin of George V, was murdered, a year after he was kicked out of power at the Russian Revolution.
Again and again at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, you saw descendants of deposed monarchs. There was Crown Prince Pavlos, eldest son of Constantine II, the last King of Greece from 1964 to 1973.
There was Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, 47, grandson of Umberto II, the last King of Italy, kicked out in 1946.
Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia was at the Abbey. His father was the last King of Yugoslavia when the monarchy was abolished in 1945.
There, too, was Margareta, daughter of Michael I of Romania, forced to abdicate in 1947. Tsar Simeon II of the Bulgarians, there at the funeral, did sit on the throne but was removed from it in 1946, when he was only nine.
Given all this carnage and all these empty thrones, Elizabeth II was an extraordinary survival story. As President Macron put it last week, “To you, she was your Queen. To us, she was the Queen.” Yes, there are other kings and queens. But none of them has had the extraordinary staying power of Elizabeth II, on the throne for over 70 years.
It helped that the British monarchy was on the winning side of those two world wars - and that we were the “goodies” both times. But World War II finished over 77 years ago. There’s one big reason why the British monarchy is still flourishing like no other - and we duly commemorated her at her funeral.