If we have looked ahead to the admirably compact Appendices, then the list of King-Emperors has already alerted us that Charles III will succeed his father, John II, in the year of the action of the novel, 2025. (Post-Imperial Britain might also have a King Charles III by 2025.)
Kingdoms were begun in military conflict but, unusually, Charles III of the Angrezi Raj must begin his reign in combat, with his father murdered. Fortunately, he is fully competent, delegating tactical command to Captain Athelstane King while also issuing orders about contacting search parties. Although I prefer a society without class distinctions, it is good to read of a monarch who is primarily aware not of royal rights but of duties and responsibilities, rajadharma (p. 432), and who is also capable of fulfilling them. Athelstane King is the hero of the novel but we realize that the new King is another.
6 comments:
Hi, Paul!
Well, there are some obvious differences between the Charles III of THE PESHAWAR LANCERS and the Prince Charles in our time line. One being the WIDE differences in age. the Prince of Wales was born in 1948 and the Angrezi Raj Charles III in, I think, sometime between 1990 and 1995. They are similar in both being intelligent men.
It would be amazing if Elizabeth II did live till 2025, considering how she will be 89 this year. But possible, I agree. And if Prince Charles is still alive then, he would be 77, making him the oldest crown prince to succeed in UK history.
And class distinctions of various kinds will ALWAYS exist, in any human society. Because people are DIFFERENT and because some categories of people will take the lead in governing. The trick is to avoid making such class distinctions too rigid, to avoid making it too hard for ambitious people to rise up to places of leadership.
Sean
Sean,
The Queen's mother lived to 101!
I agree people are different and some lead. It's just a matter of how that is recognized and organized. The US has always managed without nobility, thus without "class" in the British sense.
Paul.
206 page views by 3.20 pm today.
Hi, Paul!
True, the fact the late Queen Mother lived till age 101 increases the likelihood of her daughter reaching a similar age. And I think Elizabeth II will pass Queen Victoria this year in reigning longer than her ancestress.
I agree, that it matters how leading or governing elites are recognized and organized. And, more importantly, that it should not be too difficult for ambitious people to rise.
Well, the US does have classes, we simply define them in terms of financial status than title: very rich, ordinary rich, upper middle class, middle class, the poor, etc.
And I'm glad this blog is getting so many page views! It would be nice if Her Majesty herself also drops by! (Smiles)
Sean
Sean,
I know that the US has economic classes! - I was just taking the discussion one stage at a time.
238 page views at 9.30 pm.
Paul.
Hi, Paul!
Understood, what you said about "classes." I was thinking more generally, while you had a narrower definition in mind. And not all aristocrats, in the UK sense, will be rich, a fair number are either poor or have only limited means.
Sean
Post a Comment