North Korea: All Bark and No Bite

This week Yours Truly the Jamaican Tory will  get out of his  usual comfort zone and will be taking a trip to the Far East and land right into the  heart of Pyongyang where a very interesting turn of events seem to be taking shape. North Korean Dictator Kim Jong Un seems to preparing for war, war to whom? You might ask , from the intelligence coming from North Korea (note that they keep a very tight lid on what they let escape into the news), the main target is none other than the big bad United States of America (the mainland that is), other targets include Japan, Guam, Hawaii and last but most certainly not least their arch-nemesis South Korea.

                        

                                 

The North Korean Government has been putting out a lot of anti-American propaganda lately (more than usual) depicting fictional stories of them invading the USA and destroying symbols of American sovereignty such as the Capitol and the White House, other films also show North Korean troops defeating a combined force of American and South Korean troops and taking control of the entire Korean peninsula,  other State owned agencies have been shown  the North Korean military training for battle and making ready their attack plans with Kim III  often displayed as “the man in charge”, the North is  making ready all their weapons the most deadly of which are the nuclear rockets which they proudly display in public (at least Iran was  sensible enough to deny any existence of nuclear rockets in their country), the most deadly stunt however was a reporter on North Korean state television (the only TV station allowed in North Korea) proudly announcing that the People’s “Democratic” Republic of Korea was ready to strike the United States of America.

                         

Sounds scary right? Since if that were to ever come to past it would probably be the last war ever fought as both sides would end up destroying each other and the entire world with their Weapons of Mass Destruction. But let’s take a step back for a while, haven’t we been down this road before?, North Korea seems to have very aggressive policies especially when it comes to the United States and South Korea, I cannot count the number of times I have seen sabre rattling exercises between the two Koreas only to have the matter die down and then spring back up and then die down and the endless cycle goes on and on.

                                         

Scaremongering seems to a tool of North Korean policy both foreign and domestic and from what can tell from King Jong Un so far, his bark is worse than his bite, no one even knows whether some of the statistics on North Korean military and nuclear capabilities are even true due to the lack of credible sources of information, everything is strictly controlled by the state. There is speculation by many that the military figures are over-exaggerated  and as for the photos in some of those military parades that have become iconic representations of the world’s most tyrannical communist regime, they are in fact doctored and that the North Korean forces are not as scary as they are made out to be, seems to me like they’re compensating for something, perhaps it’s the fear that if people  should find out how militarily weak they are then the US, South Korea, Japan and the rest of their allies will step in depose the regime, the last Korean War in the 1950s was quite bloody enough and I’m sure no one wants to have a Korean War II

                        

 But then again all of this is mere speculation and nobody knows the truth for sure, nor do they want to take the chance to find out  only to discovering that the North is in fact as deadly as they say it is and which case all stakeholders would find themselves in big trouble. In any case regardless of how much potential they have, I sincerely doubt that North Korea will really be as dumb as try to invade the U.S.A. sure they have nuclear weapons but so does America and they have more of it too, there has been talk that since succeeding his father Kim Jong Il in 2011, the younger Kim has not been able to command the full respect of the communist party due to his age and inexperience, maybe this is just his way to shut of his critics and show them who is boss. 

The Madness of President Kirchener

I wish to weigh in on the Falklands dispute currently on going between the United Kingdom and the Argentine Republic, this dispute has been going on for many years now due to the fact that Argentina insist on asserting that the Islands belong to them, a claim supported by rhetoric and much sentiment but not backed by the rules of international law, British claim to the island on the other hand can be fully supported by certain principles as set out in international law including those of “Terra Nullius”, “Uti Possidetis Uris”  and most important of all the Principle of self-determination.

This last principle is most applicable in the modern scenario as it states that the people living in a particular state or territory have the right to decide their destiny for themselves. This is precisely what happened on Monday March 11, 2013 when the people of the Falklands Islands after holding a referendum on the issue decided to remain a British Territory, the other option would be to become a province of Argentina (I found it kind of odd that a third option for full independence was not considered as well) but at the end of the day the people of the Falklands have decided their destiny and as such that should have been the end of the matter.

                    

But unfortunately that is not so as Argentine President Christine Kirchener has maintained that the vote is invalid by claiming that                                                                                                                                        

1.The Falklanders have no right to self-determination in the first place                                                                

2. The Falklands occupation is illegal                                                                                                                             

3. The Islands are adjacent to Argentina and as such belongs to them.                                                             

Looking at it from a sentimentalist anti-colonial point of view one might be tempted to agree with the President but let’s forget sentiment for a while and examine the claims made by Mrs. Kirchener. Argentina asserts that the British settlement in the Falkland is a violation of international law as such they have no right to self-determination, the truth  however is that it is Argentina and not the UK who are the real violators of  international law as set out in both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights that all persons have the right to self-determination and to choose their own destiny, by denying that the citizens of the Falklands have that basic right the Kirchener administration have demonstrated that they have no respect for the rule of law.

                      

Argentina’s second claim is also invalid for two reasons. First of all  British claim to the Falklands go all the way back to 1690 when the Islands were first discovered by officers of the Royal Navy, long before Argentina even existed as a state, unlike most other areas in the Americas at the time the Falklands had no indigenous population as such the Brits were the first occupiers of the islands, Argentine claims on the other hand go back to the mid-19^th century when they launched their first invasion of the islands, such claims were short lived as they were expelled from the islands in 1833, the British descended citizens have been living peacefully in the territory ever since that time until now except for the upheaval in 1982 when Argentina again tried to unsuccessful “retake” the islands that were never theirs in the first place.  The Argentine claim that the current Falklanders are descendants of British colonialist are also invalid as the Argentines themselves are descendants of Spanish colonialist who unlike the British wiped out the previous indigenous population in order to gain control that area, how then can they call the Falkland Islands a product of colonialism when Argentina itself is a product of colonialism? If that’s not hypocrisy then I don’t know what is.

President Kirchener’s last claim is just as bogus as the ones made before, anyone following that  faulty line of reasoning   may as well conclude that Alaska belongs to Canada and not to the United States  or that Aruba belongs to Venezuela and not the Netherlands, there is nowhere in international law that states that if one territory is adjacent to another when the larger territory has the right to exercise sovereignty over the smaller one, what counts in this case is not geography  but rather the will of the people.

                   

Still not satisfied with the fact that she is being ignored as many people are starting to see this smokescreen for what is truly is, President Kirchener has gone ahead and enlisted the help of the newly elected pope, who also  happens to be Argentine, quite frankly that will achieve nothing for two reasons

1. The Pope as an Argentine Citizen can hardly be described as neutral and as such is not the best figure arbitrate on such matters

 2. The Crown is under no obligation to the Pope, the Sovereign as head of the Church of England is a religious head in her own right and has no need to fear excommunication or any other action the Vatican may take.

 Most are of the view that Francis will not get involved in the dispute as he already has too much on his plate to deal with, but the very fact that La Senora Presidente would attempt such a move shows who the real colonialist is  this move reeks of 15^th century imperialism  when  the catholic rulers of Europe tried to get the Pope to recognize their claims to the Americas, I wonder if Kircherner expects the pope to draft up a modern day Treaty of Tordesillas for her to sign?. If that what she expects then she should probably brush up on her history, The rulings of the papacy had no effect on protestant nations back then who by and large ignored the papal bulls, what makes her think that time around will be any different?

                           

 Argentina claims to support the rules of democracy and international law yet they refuse the recognize the result of a plebiscite held in a free or fair manner, the President even has the nerve to refer to it as a parody announcing days before the vote was even held that she will not accept any result that is not in her favour, how then can anyone expect Argentina to be objective and unbiased when they have already made up their minds as to what the results should be. Whether Kirchener likes it or not, the people have spoken loud and clear that the Falklanders are British Territory as such The President should stop behaving like a sore loser, accept the results for what it is and move on. 

Celebrating the Commonwealth in 2013

Today Monday March 11, 2013, marks another Commonwealth Day, which is used to celebrate the unity of nations that are within the British Commonwealth celebrating both the shared nature as well as the diversity in the histories, cultures and ideals in our 54 nation strong alliance that were all once part of the British Empire (with exception of Mozambique and Rwanda). The Theme of this year’s Commonwealth Day is “Opportunity Through Enterprise” and as the Queen’s 2013 Commonwealth Day message rightly puts it “We are all born with the desire to learn, to explore, to try new things.  And each of us can think of occasions when we have been inspired to do something more efficiently, or to assist others in achieving their full potential. Yet it still takes courage to launch into the unknown, ambition and curiosity open new avenues of opportunity” A message resonating with the common man something that everyone can relate to, Her Majesty’s messages have often been a source of courage and inspiration to many and this year is no different.

Unlike previous years however Commonwealth Day 2013 also has some controversy attached to it even though I’m sure this was never the Queen’s intention, this has to do with the Commonwealth Charter of Rights agreed upon by the Commonwealth Heads of Government that some are now calling the “Magna Carta of the 21^st century”, This document originally meant to promote equal rights for all and total non-discrimination is being used as a front by gay rights groups to promote their agenda, some media houses even have the nerve to boldly proclaim in their headlines that the Queen by signing this charter is now fighting on the side of gay rights, a very presumptuous and preposterous claim as Her Majesty has never made any such statement yet it is being interpreted as such when the truth of the matter is that The Queen has no known views on the issue. Those who spread such stories present themselves as being friendly supporters of the monarchy pretending to congratulate the Queen on taking such a bold step in support of human rights and LGBT movements however their true motives are far more sinister than it appears. If interpreted the wrong way the signing of the charter will have serious consequences for Commonwealth countries that refuse to support the agenda of these deviants who are now seeking to use the monarchy as a scapegoat, those responsible for the drafting of this document certainly have no interest of preserving the monarchy or maintaining the unity of the Commonwealth. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if I were to find out later on that this whole thing was a charade, deliberately crafted and schemed from the very beginning to bring down both the monarchy and the Commonwealth.

The truth of the matter is that this document regardless of the so called “positive spin” being put on the this whole issue, serves no one’s best interest and will do more harm than it does good as many traditionalist will find themselves alienated and even be made to feel as though the Queen is deliberately sticking it to them while taking sides with their opponents in a monarchical system where the sovereign is supposed to be apolitical, this is little more than the heights of hypocrisy on the part of liberals, who have for years been very critical particularly of the Prince of Wales for his open political views, of course if the Queen had chosen not to sign the Charter you would never hear the end of it as the liberal media, the LGBT power elite and their collaborators would all go out of their way to vilify the Queen and the royal family, the long and short of it is that monarchist who uphold traditional values are likely to feel offended and betrayed should it be seen that the monarchy is siding with the LGBT community whereas republicans who  hold pro-gay views will continue to advocate for  abolishing the monarchy in other words everybody loses and the monarchical institution is the one being set up for the greatest backlash.

As a devout monarchist I will continue to remain loyal to Her Majesty as well as her heirs and successors, as a conservative however I will certainly not support an alternate lifestyle that contravenes the law of nature and any measures put in place that makes things more difficult for them to practice that lifestyle regardless of how discriminatory or draconian it may seem will certainly have my support. That being said we must do well to remember that the charter speaks to equal rights not LGBT rights and as such the media should stop misrepresenting the facts,having read the Queen’s Commonwealth Day message I've seen where it  spoke to innovation, enterprise and equality of opportunity for all nothing was ever mentioned about special rights for a special group of people  yet that is all the press keeps focusing it, it makes me sick.

                           

All that being said I really think that Commonwealth Day is not getting the attention that it deserves for many years, apart from an “Interfaith” service in Westminster Abbey (I’m still trying to figure how they manage to pull that off)  and the broadcast of the Queen’s Message there is not much else to talk about, (although I was very privileged to attend a special forum and reception at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last year put on by the ministry in conjunction with the Royal Commonwealth Society), the day is more likely celebrated in official circles but not by the general public , the least they can do is publicize it in the media so people can be more aware of the significance of the day, so by and large the day goes unnoticed and ignored by many when it should not be so.

 2013 message by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth: 

http://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsandDiary/Speechesandarticles/2013/CommonwealthDayMessage2013.aspx 

Hail to the Chief

This week the Jamaican Tory pays special tribute to a noble man who in his life embodied most of the values values that the Jamaican Tory esteems as honourable, upright and patriotic this person is none other than the Right Excellent Sir William Alexander Bustamante affectionately called “Chief”, Jamaica’s first Prime Minister and National Hero often credited as the father of modern Jamaican conservatism, Sir Alexander would have celebrated his 129^th birthday today had he been alive.

                                         
He was born as William Alexander Clarke in Hanover  on February 24, 1884,  to a mixed raced couple he spent his early years growing up in rural Jamaica before going off to explore Latin America as a young man it was there that he befriended a Cuban sea Captain who had such a great impact on him that he changed his surname by Deed Poll to Bustamante, he also began making use of his second name of Alexander rather than his first given name of William.  In 1932 he returned to Jamaica and began to take an interest in political matters by writing to the Daily Gleaner and also got involved in the Trade Union Movement by starting out as General Secretary of the Jamaica Workers Union, he later went to establish his own Bustamante Industrial Trade Union. As every schoolchild in Jamaica ought to know, modern politics in Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean developed from this alliance between unions and political parties. Bustamante was for a short while placed in prison by the then colonial government but did not stay long thanks to the efforts of his influential cousin and political rival Norman Manley who was credited as the best Jamaican lawyer of his time. Bustamante upon coming out  joined Manley’s  People’s National Party (PNP) but later withdrew his membership as he was opposed to the PNP’s radical views which were inched towards establishing  socialism in Jamaica, he founded the Jamaica Labour Party in 1943 as conservative movement to counteract the PNP’s proposed revolution. Even though both Manley and Bustamante wanted Jamaica to be free of crown colony rule, the conservative JLP wanted Jamaica to have full Dominion status within the British Commonwealth  similar to Canada and New Zealand, Bustamante though anti-colonial was fiercely loyal to the Crown and was once quoted as shouting in one of his political rallies “Long Live the King but Denham  must go” to which Governor Denham traitorously responded “There is only one king in King’s House” he was of course referring not to King George VI  but rather to himself by falsely claiming to be King of the island.

              

In 1944 Jamaica had it’s first general elections under Universal Adult suffrage which was won by the JLP but he still did not become Chief Minister until 1953 even though he was leader of the majority as the Governor still remained as head of the executive until that time, Chief was however elected chairman of the KSAC and Mayor of Kingston in 1947. In 1955 his luck changed as he lost the elections to the PNP and became leader of the opposition but felt compensated  after  being made a Knight Bachelor by Her Majesty  Queen Elizabeth II  later that same year .

 

 By the mid-1950s the new buzzword was federation, this idea proposed that all the colonies within the British West Indies should unite under a single banner and gain their independence from British rule under one flag, this idea was initially supported by both Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom as well the local political elite including the Chief, interestingly neither  Sir Alex nor Manley contested seats in the Federal Parliament instead choosing to focus more on Provincial politics even though they were both  recognized as leaders of their respective parties, Bustamante for the right and Manley for the left . Even though I’m a huge fan of the Chief I must say that choosing to withdraw his support from the federation later on was a mistake yet that was precisely what he did, with pressure mounting from all sides Premier Manley had no choice but to call a referendum on the matter, the resulting was a resounding NO for federation and YES for independence. Next came the writing of Jamaica’s constitution this was done be a team of statesmen and legal experts on both sides of the political divide, the bi partisan committee took weeks to decide on what form of government we should have and even though not everyone on the committee approved both Bustamante and Manley were fiercely adamant that Jamaica was to be a constitutional monarchy based on the rules of British styled parliamentary democracy, there was talk that some wanted Jamaica to be either a US styled Presidential republic or an Parliamentary Republic based on the Irish model, the two political giants of the time utterly rejected this idea, a very wise choice as far as I’m concerned  for that I’ll be eternally grateful , contrary to erroneous propaganda put out by republicans there is no evidence to suggest that Bustamante nor Manley wanted a republic in fact the very constitution that we have now is proof enough that they were both loyal monarchist, their struggle was against colonialism not the monarchy.
                          

Following the writing  of the constitution another general election was held to see who would form the first government of the Dominion of Jamaica, the JLP won and Bustamante was appointed  Premier which would be automatically transformed into Prime Minister on August 6, 1962, he was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire and  appointed as the first West Indian member of  Her Majesty’s Privy Council, a month later he married his former private secretary and longtime mistress Miss Gladys Longbridge.  Jamaica prospered under the Chief’s tenure as he stuck true to the principles of good old fashioned Toryism as a model for social and economic development, he has also careful not to have any dealings with the radical communist regimes of his day by proudly proclaiming that “Jamaica is with the West”, he was respected by many internationally and held audiences with great like-minded men such as Sir Winston Churchill and Emperor Haile Selassie I.
                          

The Chief received many accolades and awards over his lifetime some of them already mentioned  but none was in comparison to the Order of National Hero that was awarded to both himself and Norman Manley for their great contribution to the founding of the modern Jamaica, the Order of National Hero is the highest and most prestigious  award  that Jamaica could  give to one of its loyal subjects . Sir Alexander retired from active politics in 1967 and spent 10 long years enjoying the fruits of his labour before dying at the ripe old age of 93 on August 6, 1977 exactly fifteen years after he first became Prime Minister of our fair island dominion.

Economics for Dummies: Tax More, Spend More, Borrow More

This week I intend to write on something that has been in the news since last week, this concerns the new tax package which the government has again unleashed on the people of this country and needless to say the government has failed miserably  with a capital F. In this latest development in the saga our ever increasing downward spiral, taxes were hiked on P.A.Y.E workers , ports of entry, stamp duties  as well as a whole new set of increases to the General Consumption Tax (GCT) and Special Consumption Tax (SCT), all this against the backdrop of the Jamaican Dollar (JMD) currently standing at $96.07 to United States $1.00, inflation in this country is at the worst it has ever been, commodity prices are sky high while consumer confidence extremely low, the government could not have done this at a worst possible time.

                           

 As one would expect, the people of Jamaica are quite displeased with the government, everyone including Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition, various private sector groups as well as political pundits and  financial analyst are taking the government to task over its handling of the situation and rightly so,The President of the Private Sector Organization (PSOJ) expressed  his  horror that the government decided to proceed as it saw fit without consulting any of the relevant stakeholders, while the Opposition for their part have called the taxes illegal since in essence what the government is really doing violates the principle of “no double taxation” as the government is effectively levying taxes on retailers, consumers and also manufacturers (in some cases) for the same products.

                            

Of course I cannot talk about the latest tax package without mentioning the most stinging point which has to do with the National Housing Trust, let me start by saying that my heart really goes out to everyone who has been adversely affected by this act of cruelty and tyranny on that part of our elected leaders,  This administration has very little conscience dipping their fingers into taxpayers hard earned savings at the NHT, some persons  had spent most of their adult working lives making contributions to the NHT and still they  have not been able take out a mortgage on a house of their desire, now with the government stealing their hard earned savings the dreams of many ordinary working class Jamaicans may never become a reality all because the government wasn't prudent enough to not let the national debt reach this enormous stage in the first place.

                    

Some may argue in defence of the government by claiming that their hands are tied and that these measures are forced through by the  International Monetary Fund rather than by the government, this while true  is in itself a source of contention as it is clear that the GoJ under  duress from the IMF have seen it fit to impose these measures without even first tabling them in the House of Representatives a clear violation of the constitution which says that all money bills shall be introduced in the House, the actions of the government are clearly unconstitutional as they violate the principle of no taxation without representation,  it  also violates the principle of parliamentary supremacy which is a key ingredient in our Westminster system of 

government.

                        

 The Government has shown that fiscal prudence is certainly not it’s strong suit as all these measures put forward only serve one purpose only, borrowing money from the IMF to repay its debts, the trouble with that is that sooner or later they will have to borrow from somebody else to repay the IMF and so on and so forth, the cycle will be a never ending one.  These people never learn; borrowing to pay debt is nonsense, robbing Peter to pay Paul will only work for a while but after that who are you going to rob in order to pay Peter?  The best way to get out of debt is by working to pay it off, being fiscally conservative is the best way to go, the government  is encouraging the rest of the country to exercise discipline and tighten their belts while they themselves continue to live in luxury  if that is not hypocrisy then I don't know what is,   what they really should do is take their own advice and do the same.  

The Real Enemy of the state?

I  must weigh in on an issue that has been making the news whereby Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller was heard on public media referring to opposition leader Andrew Holness as the “enemy of the State” , If I didn't know before that our Prime Minister was completely daft of all reason I certainly know now, it’s not the first time that sister P has been known to place her foot in her mouth with her ridiculous politically motivated comments but my God this one definitely takes the cake, even I thought she had better sense, they’ll be talking about this one for years to come.

                            

Needless to say several members and supporters of the Jamaica Labour Party were incensed and rightly so, the Prime Minister’s comments were extremely repugnant and if interpreted the wrong way could be construed to mean an accusation of treason against the opposition leader that would have been cause for concern, as such the JLP demanded that she withdraw the comments immediately and apologize (Holness himself has already said that he doesn't even think the PM is worth replying to as the comments are pure ludicrous), but the Prime Minister is standing her ground insisting that she did nothing wrong.

                                       

The statement made by the leader of the People’s National Party and her subsequent response to mounting calls for a withdrawal/apology is  characteristic of a true autocrat, behaving as though she is infallible or that no one has the right to criticize her  and to make matters worse this incident is  not even  the first time that Mrs. Simpson Miller has shown that she is intolerant of criticism, well here's a news flash for you Madam PM we are a democracy NOT a banana republic (or any kind of republic as a matter of fact) , the opposition leader has a constitutional right and duty to speak out against the government when the need arises, how dare you seek to take that right away, are you trying to subvert the constitution of Jamaica or something?

                      

Truth be told it is the PM and not her opposition counterpart that can be seen as the real enemy of the state, enemy of both the Crown and the People, ever since her party was returned to power 13 months ago this country has been sliding down the brink of disaster, nothing is as it should be, unemployment is on the rise, the same can be said for inflation and taxes  while at the same time wages continue to dip or be frozen, the NIR is at an all time low, while there are it is highly speculated that free health care and free tuition up to the secondary level are to be cut all this is against the backdrop of the PM and her comrade co-conspirators continuing  to live in luxury, I mean seriously, spending  $60 million of  taxpayers’ money to buy SUVs in a period of  austerity?  who does that? . The PNP has demonstrated time and time again that they have no real love for the people of this country regardless of how much they give lip service to the contrary, so tell me who the real enemy of the state is.

                               

Of course nothing demonstrates more clearly the true identity of the enemy of that state than the Prime Minister’s proposal for constitutional reform, Under section 68 of the Jamaica Order in Council executive authority is vested in the Crown and as such the sovereign is the personification of the state itself it therefore stands to reason that anyone who sets them-self up against this legitimate authority by proposing the removal of the monarch is by virtue of such an enemy of the sovereign which would make him/her an enemy of the (personification of the) state.

The Prime Minister has demonstrated that she has little regard for the constitution on so many occasions quite frankly I’m shocked that the Governor-General has not pulled a John Kerr on her as yet. But to be frank she really needs to take a breather and deal with the issues that are affecting this country in a calm and tactical manner befitting of a true leader, if she’s being criticized by the opposition, she would do well to listen and take heed  and not jump to conclusions making idiotic comments which could only serve to land her in trouble and sway public opinion against her 

On the matter of abdication

Early last week  Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands announced to the citizens of her Kingdom and the entire world that she intends to abdicate on Queen’s Day in April  and hand over the crown to her son Willem Alexander, Crown Prince of the Netherlands and Prince of Orange making him the first Dutch King in 123 years, the last time the Netherlands has had a male monarch was in 1890 when King Willem III died, since then the Dutch people have had a succession of Queens, first Wilhelmina, then Juliana and finally Beatrix all of whom abdicated to facilitate the next generation after reigning for a long period.

                        

 Within the Commonwealth Realms there have been speculations as to whether or not our Queen  Elizabeth II will follow the example of her Dutch counterpart and abdicate in favour of her son Charles, Prince of Wales after all she has been on the throne for twice as long as  Queen Beatrix and the Prince of Wales has been in waiting much longer the Prince of Orange, in fact he is the longest waiting heir apparent of all time beating the record previously set by his great-great-grandfather King Edward VII who ascended the throne at 59 years old. Despite these facts the Queen shows no sign of wanting to slow down despite celebrating her Diamond Jubilee last year, in fact this week the Queen will mark 61 years on the throne inching closer yet to the record set by her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria and given the fact that longevity of life is a common trait among her female ancestors there are speculations by many that she will in fact eventually become the longest reigning sovereign of all time in the history of the Commonwealth therefore abdication is certainly not in the cards at this time.

                                      

It is no secret that Queen Elizabeth views her job as a lifetime commitment and takes her coronation oath very seriously as it was a vow solemnly made to both God and to her loyal subjects , even before her ascension she has committed her life to duty and service, who can forget those now famous words she spoke on her 21^st birthday in South Africa so long ago “my whole life whether it be long or short, shall be dedicated to your service and  to the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong”  that sentence alone should have been enough to dispel any notions whatsoever that the Queen would abdicate her responsibilities but some continue to speculate on this matter.

                          

To be frank Dutch tradition is totally different from those used in the British Commonwealth , whereas in the Netherlands the monarch is actually expected to abdicate after reigning for a long period of time though this period is totally at the Monarch’s  discretion. In the Commonwealth abdication has a very negative connotation, who could forget the Abdication crisis of 1936 involving the Queen’s uncle King Edward VIII, who gave up his birthright to marry an American divorcee we surely don't want a repeat of that incident, here in the Commonwealth we expect our monarch to reign for life, if they get too old or too ill to carry out their daily duties then a regent may be appointed as was done when King George III was declared mentally unstable in 1811, his heir (who later succeeded him as King George IV) became regent, still final authority still rest with the Sovereign as long has he or she is alive. 

                                      

One must also remember that the Dutch concept of monarchy is totally different from ours. In the Netherlands and some our European countries the monarch is now regarded as a citizen (though this was not always so) and as such the monarch goes through an investiture or enthronement ceremony rather than a coronation. In the Commonwealth Realms this is no so, our Head of State is not a citizen but she is sovereign and we are her subjects ,it would have been a very sticky situation for her to be citizen of 16 sovereign countries, inherently she could only be a citizen of one and a foreigner to the rest. This is why she is anointed and crowned as our sovereign lady in her coronation ceremony, she is the living embodiment of the state and all its authority, sovereignty does not rest with the people, it rest with her and as such she cannot afford to give up the throne whenever she likes but instead is bound to stay true to her coronation oath. King Edward VIII had a lucky escape since he abdicated before he got a chance to be anointed or to take the coronation oath (regardless he was still king), or else his position would have been a much more precarious one, had he been crowned he maybe would have felt more obliged to stay infuriating his ministers even more and could possibly lead to another king being involuntarily deposed by parliament like what happened to King James II in 1688, that would have been an even more unpleasant scenario had it happened that way.

                                      

Queen Beatrix is possibly the most well loved and loved respected figure throughout her Kingdom but now she’s calling it quits , but Queen Elizabeth II shows no sign of wanting to follow suit, she intends to reign till her last breath which really and truly is the monarchist way of doing things, I personally hope to see her stick around at least long enough to beat the previous record set by Queen Victoria and become the longest reigning Queen ever in Commonwealth history.