Books in Brief: Splendor in Exile: The Ex-Majesties of Europe

Splendor in Exile: The Ex-Majesties of Europe, by Charles Fenyvesi (New Republic Books, 281 pp., $12.95). The institution of monarchy has taken quite a beating in the years since World War I. In the past 11 years alone, monarchies have been abolished in Libya, Greece, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, and Iran. True, the monarchy has been restored in Spain, but its hold is still tenuous and it has yet to stand the test of time. I’m sorry to say that Charles Fenyvesi’s book doesn’t do much to spruce up monarchy’s image The 12 pretenders whom he has profiled in this volume are, with some exceptions, a pretty lackluster bunch. King Constantine of Greece, for example, botched a countercoup against the Colonels so badly he probably deserved to be kicked out. Ironically, though, he is considered to be the ex-king most likely to be returned to his throne. “Exile is a habit,” he says, “and a Greek royal habit, too. As is a return to the homeland.” This is not simply wishful thinking on Constantine’s part; many Western politicians privately express their confidence that he will be recalled to duty someday. At the opposite end of the spectrum is the Grand Duke Vladimir of the Russian House of Romanoff. When asked for his thoughts on the Russian Revolution, Vladimir says, “The disorders [emphasis mine] there could have been snuffed out.” Fenyvesi inexplicably allows this statement to go unchallenged, as he does quite a number of silly statements. His prose is often pretentious, e.g., “Royalty—banished or reigning—are closer to the gods of Mount Olympus than to us, ordinary mortals.” Undoubtedly the most colorful character profiled by Fenyvesi is King Leka I of Albania, who traffics in weapons and maintains a mercenary army which he plans to use in the liberation of his country. Although this book is the latest on the subject, it still can’t hold a candle to Geoffrey Bocca’s superb Kings without Thrones, which, to my mind, remains the definitive work in this area.

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John A. Barnes

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Splendor in Exile: The Ex-Majesties of Europe, by Charles Fenyvesi (New Republic Books, 281 pp., $12.95). The institution of monarchy has taken quite a beating in the years since World War I. In the past 11 years alone, monarchies have been abolished in Libya, Greece, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, and Iran. True, the monarchy has been restored in Spain, but its hold is still tenuous and it has yet to stand the test of time. I’m sorry to say that Charles Fenyvesi’s book doesn’t do much to spruce up monarchy’s image The 12 pretenders whom he has profiled in this volume are, with some exceptions, a pretty lackluster bunch. King Constantine of Greece, for example, botched a countercoup against the Colonels so badly he probably deserved to be kicked out. Ironically, though, he is considered to be the ex-king most likely to be returned to his throne. “Exile is a habit,” he says, “and a Greek royal habit, too. As is a return to the homeland.” This is not simply wishful thinking on Constantine’s part; many Western politicians privately express their confidence that he will be recalled to duty someday. At the opposite end of the spectrum is the Grand Duke Vladimir of the Russian House of Romanoff. When asked for his thoughts on the Russian Revolution, Vladimir says, “The disorders [emphasis mine] there could have been snuffed out.” Fenyvesi inexplicably allows this statement to go unchallenged, as he does quite a number of silly statements. His prose is often pretentious, e.g., “Royalty—banished or reigning—are closer to the gods of Mount Olympus than to us, ordinary mortals.” Undoubtedly the most colorful character profiled by Fenyvesi is King Leka I of Albania, who traffics in weapons and maintains a mercenary army which he plans to use in the liberation of his country. Although this book is the latest on the subject, it still can’t hold a candle to Geoffrey Bocca’s superb Kings without Thrones, which, to my mind, remains the definitive work in this area.