You're right in saying that the fluidity of the map of Europe is almost impossible for us to comprehend. My father in law was born in what is now western Ukraine, then Austria-Hungary in 1903. He left in 1944. In that period he lived in 6 different countries without ever moving house
Old post but I stumbled on this piece of yours while doing some reading for my recent essay on Austria-Hungary. While I do not write on the Habsburgs exclusively, I do talk about how a generation of writers dealt with the empire's collapse and the myth of the Habsburgs coming to an end.
How tall is Prince Leka, pretender to the throne of Albania? Sci-fi novelist Jerry Pournelle told me his father, the son of King Zog, was seven feet tall. Jerry claimed he conspired with the tall crown prince in the 1960s to invade Albania and overthrow the Communists, and was working on getting the Jordanian royal family to provide air support for the counter-revolutionaries' sea crossing from Corfu. But then the Jordanian air force had an unfortunate encounter with the Israeli air force in 1967 and the whole Bay of Pigs-style adventure was called off.
Enjoyable piece but I think King Simeon is not the only former monarch to become an elected leader of his country, there was also Sihanouk of Cambodia. However, King Simeon does I believe have the distinction of being the only World War II head of state still living.
Any History is wondrous in its own dark and dusty way - but to bring it to light and stage it with the glittering critique it deserves is glorious. Thank you for bringing the pageant of History to Life!
Thank you for the tip — I will look into Cambodia!
You're right in saying that the fluidity of the map of Europe is almost impossible for us to comprehend. My father in law was born in what is now western Ukraine, then Austria-Hungary in 1903. He left in 1944. In that period he lived in 6 different countries without ever moving house
Great! Have you found any personal connections yet? (closet family historians and their motives can be spotted)
Old post but I stumbled on this piece of yours while doing some reading for my recent essay on Austria-Hungary. While I do not write on the Habsburgs exclusively, I do talk about how a generation of writers dealt with the empire's collapse and the myth of the Habsburgs coming to an end.
It might be of interest to you actually, and it took me quite a long while to write, so I thought why not pass it along! novum.substack.com/p/there-once-was-an-empire
How tall is Prince Leka, pretender to the throne of Albania? Sci-fi novelist Jerry Pournelle told me his father, the son of King Zog, was seven feet tall. Jerry claimed he conspired with the tall crown prince in the 1960s to invade Albania and overthrow the Communists, and was working on getting the Jordanian royal family to provide air support for the counter-revolutionaries' sea crossing from Corfu. But then the Jordanian air force had an unfortunate encounter with the Israeli air force in 1967 and the whole Bay of Pigs-style adventure was called off.
Enjoyable piece but I think King Simeon is not the only former monarch to become an elected leader of his country, there was also Sihanouk of Cambodia. However, King Simeon does I believe have the distinction of being the only World War II head of state still living.
Any History is wondrous in its own dark and dusty way - but to bring it to light and stage it with the glittering critique it deserves is glorious. Thank you for bringing the pageant of History to Life!