- See Monarchist League for similar organisations
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The International Monarchist League (generally known simply as the Monarchist League) is an organisation dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the monarchical system of government and the principle of monarchy worldwide, and has been particularly active, in advocating the restoration of the monarchy in countries that have become republics in the twentieth century, particularly since World War II. The League is based in the United Kingdom.
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Establishment
The Monarchist League was founded as a quasi-chivalric body in 1943 by the Rev. John Edward Bazille-Corbin. He was a colourful character, who, according to Peter Anson whilst retaining his living as Anglican rector of Runwell St Mary in Essex, also became titular Bishop of Selsey in Mar Georgius' 'Catholicate of the West'. An avid collector of titles and orders of a questionable nature, Bazille-Corbin used the titles of Duca di San Giaconio and Marquis de Beuvel.[1] After being based for 50 years in central London, the League is now based at an office in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire.
The League is governed by a Grand Council, which includes some non-UK representatives; the administrator and Treasurer since about 1993 has been the Hon. Denis Walker. In March 2002 a company limited by guarantee was formed, The Monarchist Movement Trust Limited, of which Walker is Company Secretary and a Director. The Chancellor from 1975 to 1985 was Victor Hervey, 6th Marquess of Bristol who subsidised the League and many of its events until his death. The current Chancellor is Count Nikolai Tolstoy, the historian, who became a Life member in 1975. In February 1979 The Monarchist (July 1979, no.55) reported the election of Lord Nicholas Hervey as President of the International Youth Association of the League (under 21s). In 1985 he also became a League Vice-Chancellor, and made the formal toast to the guests, The Prince and Princess of Lippe, at the League's Annual Dinner in the Cholmondeley Room, The House of Lords, on 1 April 1986, (The Monarchist, February 1987, no.67). Lord Hervey remained active in the League until 1992.
Restoration of activities
Having become virtually dormant by the mid-1980s, the IML expanded under subsequent Secretaries-General: Kenneth McLennan Hay, BEM, Gregory Lauder-Frost (Life-member, joined Jan 1979; also its Publications Editor, Feb 1987- Dec 1992), and Don Foreman (1992 - 2002), and the Treasurership of Henry von Blumenthal. Their principal reforms were restarting publications and gaining greater publicity for the League, and the establishment of a UK branch network and re-activation of the branches in the USA and Australia. Von Blumenthal began developing a system of collaboration with other monarchist organisations, and compiled The Monarchist Directory which listed them for the first time. He also attempted to develop a monarchist ideology; his article The Royalist Reasoning is the basis for the League's current manifesto. Lord Sudeley and Gregory Lauder-Frost represented the League at a fund-raising Dinner in New York City on the 16 June 1990, which had been organised by NY member David Evans, and the Reverend Dr. Kenneth Gunn-Walberg. On the 8 - 9 December that year Lauder-Frost also represented the League at the European Monarchist Conference in Warsaw, Poland, which attracted over 350 delegates from Europe, and several from North America, (refer: The Guardian, 10 December 1990; The European, 14 December 1990; The Melbourne Age (Saturday Extra), 23 February 1991).
Affiliated organizations
The Australian Monarchist League was affiliated with the Monarchist League in London from its founding in 1943, though it severed its affiliation in 1993. The International Monarchist League In Australia replaced it as an affiliate in 2006. The Monarchist League of New Zealand and the Monarchist League of Canada were founded independently of the London based Monarchist League and have no formal relationship with the organization. The Constitutional Monarchy Association is also a late 1990s formation of the Monarchist League and focusses on maintaining and strengthening the constitutional monarchy in Britain. The Association operates from the Monarchist League's offices, and publishes a journal The Crown (formerly entitled Realm of Kings)[2]. It has been called upon to respond to anti-monarchist statements.[3][4][5]
Publications
- The Monarchist, bi-annual until 1984 (incl), once in 1985, and 1987. Quality A5 journal with photos. The editors were Guy Stair Sainty, KStJT, (1975-6), Jeffrey Finestone (1979 - Feb 1987).
- The Crown and Australia by Donald J Markwell, Fellow of Merton College, Oxford University, London, 1987, (P/B booklet).
- Monarchist League Newsletter A4-sized quarterly, edited by Gregory Lauder-Frost (October 1987 - December 1992); (became simply Monarchy about 1994).
- The Betrayal of Bulgaria by Gregory Lauder-Frost, - an assessment of the Bulgarian kingdom in the 20th century, Policy Discussion Paper, Summer 1989. (This essay was translated and reprinted in the Sofia, Bulgaria, newspaper Democracy).
- Monarchy by Professor Charles Arnold-Baker, OBE, London, 1991, (P/B booklet).
- Romanian Essays and Notes edited by Gregory Lauder-Frost, London, February 1991, (P/B booklet).
- China - The Last Years of Empire by Gregory Lauder-Frost, Monarchist League Review Paper, London, June 1992.
- Monarchy, current (2006) quarterly glossy A4 journal of the Monarchist League (editor unknown).
- The Crown, current (2006) quarterly glossy A4 journal of The Constitutional Monarchy Association (editor unknown).
References
- ^ Peter F Anson Bishops at Large (London, 1964)
- ^ Monarchy.net website
- ^ Daily Telegraph Friday 8 May 1998 Issue 1078 "Elect royals, says Queen's chaplain" By Victoria Combe, Churches Correspondent
- ^ Daily Telegraph. Monday 6 January 1997. Issue 591. Palace is polite over ITV's 'frivolous' show. By Robert Hardman Quotes Don Foreman, secretary of the Constitutional Monarchy Association
- ^ We don't do cheap, say aides - as Royal costs reach £37m, The Scotsman
See also
- Monarchism
- Denis Walker - Company Secretary, Director, Treasurer and administrator
- Victor Hervey, 6th Marquess of Bristol - former Grand Chancellor
- Merlin Hanbury-Tracy, 7th Baron Sudeley - the IML's current Vice-Chancellor
- Lord Nicholas Hervey - IML's former Vice-Chancellor
- Australians for Constitutional Monarchy
- Australian Monarchist League
- Monarchist League of Canada
- Monarchist League of New Zealand
- Constantian Society, an American monarchist movement
