u/Ruy_Fernandez

Hello. I have given a thought about the future of the Thai monarchy after king Rama X dies, and I really don't know what to think. I understanf that the king would have liked his eldest daughter, princess Bajrakitiyabha, to be his heir, but as you know she passed away some time ago.

Of the king's two dynastic children, princess Sirivannavari is more focused on fashion but she doesn't look like she's very interested in reigning, and prince Dipangkorn honestly seems to be somewhat retarded, or at least the king hasn't tried to put him forward as other kings have done with heirs of the same age.

Then there is the problem of the king's four sons that were excluded from the succession. Two of them have popped up in Thailand since, though not without friction with the crown. They have been suggested by some as alternative heirs, but that's probably not even legal, given that they have since married foreigners, whereas Thai succession rules require to marry nationals.

The king has been reigning for 7 years now and he still hasn't named an heir. That shows he himself doesn't really know what to do. If I were him, I would probably appoint princess Sirivannavari, who is no stateswoman but at least she is of sound mind. Alternatively, appointing prince Dipangkorn might lead to a regency, if he's not capable to perform his duties.

In either case, the two should think of marrying and having children. That might actually be an important factor for the final decision: if the king sees one of the two is has started a family but not the other, he will probably go for the one with children.

These are just some thoughts, but I am really sure of nothing. What is your opinion? Do you know what Thais think of the potential future succession crisis?

Hello. I've just noticed that coats of arms have been added on Wikipédia for the latest additions to the Order of the Golden Fleece. Are these legit? Do you know where they come from? Unfortunately, on Wikipédia there is no reference to the source these arms come from. Thanks.

https://preview.redd.it/tjtxhu2cn6mh1.png?width=1017&format=png&auto=webp&s=212cbac856f13f0122d10414f9af4472fa537da6

Hello.

This post is not so much about charts but rather about a topic that has come up is several of Matt's videos, particularly his Old Testament videos: the Bronze Age Collapse and particularly the Sea People. I started to think of it yesterday, when I saw Sir Christopher Nolan's latest movie, The Odissey. I really enjoyed that the movie brought up this subject (I won't tell you how, no spoilers).

So, first of all, I would like to ask Matt what he thought about this movie, particularly about this topic but also in general (everyone else, feel free to give your opinion as well).

Secondly, and think is more for the community, I think it would be nice if someone made some chart specifically about the Bronze Age Collapse. The only thing is that I'm not sure how it should be done. Would it be a timeline, a family tree, a commented map? A bit of both?

Anyway, I really enjoyed the movie overall (though some parts felt weaker than others) and I am waiting to read your opinions, as well as your suggestions about a possible chart.

I am favorable to the end of the personal union between Commonwealth Realms and the establishment of local monarchies in realms that are not the UK. While thinking of this, I stumbled upon a member of the British royal family that left me wondering whether he could be a good candidate for the crown of Canada: George Windsor, Earl of St. Andrews, first child of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent.

The main reason is that his wife is Canadian, giving him a presonal tie to the country. However, you could say, so was the ex-wife and mother of the children of Peter Philipps, who is much higher up in the line of succession. However, unlike Peter Philipps, George Windsor has had some experience as a diplomat, which would be useful for a head of state.

That said, I don't know much about him. What do you think? Alternatively, whom would you suggest as king of Canada?

When Princess Louise of Wales, later Princess Royal, married the Earl Fife, Queen Victoria elevated the groom to Duke of Fife (a title still held by their descendents), making him closer to the royal rank of his bride. However, when Mary, Princess Royal, married the Earl of Harewood, he received no dukedom, nor any other peerage of whatever rank. Do you know why these largely symmetrical situations were handled so differently?

Lately, there have been some tensions between the governments of Crown Dependencies (Jersey, Guernsey, Mann) and the UK government due to reforms in tax laws (those things always get people mad). I don't think there will be many consequences to this but, just for fun, I started to imagine what could happen if the Crown Dependencies wanted to become totally independent from the UK and each have a prince that is distinct from the british monarch. Who could that be?

Of course, there is always the option of choosing a junior member of the british royal family, but let's think outside the box a little. Interestingly, several non-royal noble families have or have had ties with those islands.

Guernsay is the best example for me. The Bailiwick of Guernsay includes several smaller islands, including Sark, which still has a feudal monarch, the Seigneur (Lord) of Sark, currently Christopher Beaumont. So, if Guernesay became independent, who better than a local nobleman to become the new prince!

Jersey has a similar situation. There is an Earldom of Jersey in the Peerage of England, the current holder being William Child Villiers. While I understand that the early earls were not particularly tied to the island, more recent earls, including the current ones, have had their seat at Radier Manor, in the actual island of Jersey. So, if they became independent, Jerseymen could choose to promote the earl to the rank of sovereign of the island.

Finally, the Isle of Mann is more complicated. Historically, the title of Lord of Mann has long been tied to the Barony of Strange, in the Peerage of England. However, in 1765, Charlotte Murray, Duchess of Atholl and suo jure Baroness Strange and Lady of Mann, sold the sovereignty of the island to the british government, something of which the Manx were not quite happy. If Mann became independent, it could pick the current Baron Strange, Adam Drummond, as prince, but I don't think the locals would want to appoint the heir of the woman who litterally sold them, and besides I don't think the current baron has any business with the Isle. Another option that came to my mind would be a descendent of Henry Bloom Noble, a wealthy commoner who lived on the Isle of Mann and greatly contributed to its economic development, although I have no idea who and where his descendents sre today. Besides that, I could find no noble family that lives or at least has had recent ties to the Isle. Even the lieutenant-governors are all unrelated to each other.

What do you think?

I have been thinking that it could be a good thing if the King of New Zealand etc. officially recognised the position of Queen of the Maori.

In recent days, we saw Queen Nga wai honi i te po meet Prince William and King Charles in London, showing that they have very friendly relations. Furthermore, in 2023, her father, the previous King, had met King Charles prior to his coronation and, in that occasion, Charles accepted to become the first recipient of the Order of King Pootatau Te Wherowhero, thus recognising the legitimacy of this Maori honour.

Considering all this, it would make a lot of sense to me if the position and title was officially recognised by King Charles and the state of New Zealand (but still worked according to the traditions of the Kingitanga movement). The only potential problem is her title. On the one hand, it would be strange for a subject of the King of New Zealand to hold the title of Queen. A solution might be to give her the title of Princess, with the style of Highness, just like British monarchs have done and still do with the Aga Khans. The other issue is that not all the Maori see her as their leader, therefore, rather than Queen/Princess of the Maori, so it might make sense to give her a more regionally-base or iwi-based (tribal) title. By the way, in this case, other traditional Maori chiefdoms and tribal titles might be recognised as well.

What do you think?

Suppose when prince William becomes king the Commonwealth Realms are still the same as today. Suppose he and the authorities of those realms wanted to alter the line of succession in order to progressively split the personal union by appointing William's children as heirs to different realms (for the sake of simplicity, I am not considering prince Harry or more junior royals). What do you think would be the best way to do it? In my opinion, it would be North Atlantic realms (UK, Canada) to prince George, Ocenanian realms to Charlotte, and Caribbean realms to Louis. What do you think?

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