Royally ruined
Absolute monarchs have, unfairly, had their reputations tarnished almost beyond repair
In my upcoming novel The Fragment from The Shroud, the protagonist, Albert Poniatowski, can trace his ancestry back to the last King of Poland, Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski, or Stanislaw II August, as he was known.
King Stanislaw is a divisive figure. On the one hand, he is thought to have been a useless bystander as Poland was partitioned and wiped off the map. On the other, he is remembered as a champion of beautiful architecture, education, the arts and science, who could do nothing to hold together his kingdom, which had been threatened by its powerful and aggressive neighbours for decades.
In some ways, his reign encapsulates the entire history of mankind’s many royal families — and our general opinions of them as one homogenous group.
Kings and queens — and absolute monarchs, in particular — have developed a bad reputation in modern man’s thinking.
This is for a variety of reasons.
Firstly, it is due to comparing the concept of absolute monarchy as a form of government with democracy. A like-for-like comparison will always be flawed and there is far too much to consider to tackle this subject in one short blog post. What I will say, is that these two very different types of governance are based on very different views of the world, man’s place in it, and his ultimate destiny.
Secondly, most people’s views of absolute rulers — in other words, a traditional, old-school monarch — are to some degree skewed. The evil deeds of tyrants such as the socialist-fascist Hitler, or communists such as Stalin and Mao in the 20th century, all the way through to the Emperors of ancient Rome and the old Pharaohs of Egypt, have been imprinted on our minds during our formative years. For a great deal of us, these characters of sorry memory have been conflated with absolute rulers, in general. Think of someone on a throne and many people begin entertaining thoughts of merciless despots.
This is also partly due to the lies fed to us about famous members of royal families. These have helped to cement a strong bias against absolute monarchies. Take the well-known “advice” that the Queen of France was supposed to have given her husband’s starving subjects in 1789: “Let them eat cake”. According to the History channel, this quote is almost certainly falsely attributed to Marie-Antoinette:
“Lady Antonia Fraser, author of a biography of the French queen, believes the quote would have been highly uncharacteristic of Marie-Antoinette, an intelligent woman who donated generously to charitable causes and, despite her own undeniably lavish lifestyle, displayed sensitivity towards the poor population of France.
That aside, what’s even more convincing is the fact that the “Let them eat cake” story had been floating around for years before 1789. It was first told in a slightly different form about Marie-Thérèse, the Spanish princess who married King Louis XIV in 1660. She allegedly suggested that the French people eat “la croûte de pâté” (or the crust of the pâté). Over the next century, several other 18th-century royals were also blamed for the remark, including two aunts of Louis XVI. Most famously, the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau included the pâté story in his “Confessions” in 1766, attributing the words to “a great princess” (probably Marie-Thérèse). Whoever uttered those unforgettable words, it was almost certainly not Marie-Antoinette, who at the time Rousseau was writing was only 10 years old—three years away from marrying the French prince and eight years from becoming queen.”
As an aside, I recommend that anyone who hasn’t, to read Intellectuals, by Paul Johnson, which provides ample evidence to prove, tragically, that Rousseau led an awful life, and was a serial and blatant liar.
There have been many good kings and queens who have ruled their countries, particularly in medieval Europe:
In this Advent season, we would do well to remember the story of Good King Wenceslas (Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia), who braved the cold on the second day of Christmas to bring alms to one of his poor subjects.
St. Louis IX, the King of France from 1214 to 1270, was a pious and caring ruler. He built cathedrals, churches, libraries, hospitals, and orphanages. He was known for his honesty and fairness. He is said to have welcomed 13 special guests from among the poor to eat with him every day. During Advent and Lent, he made sure that many hungry people received free meals, and he is said to have sometimes served them in person.
St. Edward the Confessor, the King of England from 1042-1066, had a reign that was characterised by being an unusual time of peace. He is said to have had very little personal ambition, and was only concerned with the welfare of his people. He withdrew as many taxes as he could, while helping the poor by raiding his own royal coffers.
Anyway, I’ve banged on enough about this for now. I will try and infuse some of this sympathy for the ancien régime in The Fragment from The Shroud.
By the way, thank you so much to those of you who have purchased The Gaff to date. I really appreciate your interest and support.
Take it easy. And thanks for reading.