How many names do you have? No, I don't mean last names or aliases; I mean real first and middle names. Most of us have two, with a few having three (not counting names given in association with religious ritual such as the Catholic church's "Confirmation" ceremony).
Is it just me (and my Mom), or do any of you find the following outragiously funny?
With no disrespect to the following people, respect for whom has contributed throughout history to the maintenance of civility in their respective countries, the cover story of the September 2003 issue of a popular magazine in America features the "Young and Royal: Europe's Thoroughly Modern Monarchies." First up, due to his good looks, charm and popularity with pubescent girls: Prince William of Wales, born June 21, 1982. "Wills" has more than one name; in fact, he has more than three. His official title is, "His Royal Highness Prince William Arthur Philip Louis of Wales, Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland." His real last name is - or should be - Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, but this family name was changed in 1917 to Windsor. (The royal Saxe-Coburg-Gotha line has ruled the United Kingdom since 1701.) Now, I'm definitely NOT advocating the abolishment of the monarchy (this or any other), but all this seems a bit pretentious, to me. His Royal Higness Prince William Arthur Philip Louis of Wales is, in fact, shown on the cover of the magazine, looking, I must admit, rather dapper.
But what is really pretentious - and incredibly funny - is the name of a monarch without a monarchy: Prince Ernst August, born July 19, 1983, who is something like the sixth Ernst August in a row. His official title - get this - is, "His Royal Highness Ernst August Andreas Phillip Constantin Maximilian Rolf Stephan Ludwig Rudolph, Prince of Hanover, Prince of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick and Lûneberg." Gee - talk about more than three names!!!
Now, there is, of course, no Hanover - or Lûneberg, for that matter - anymore. For those interested, this royal house, named Guelph, was founded in 950 (c.e.) and ruled Hanover as Dukes of Brunswick and Lûneberg, then as Electors and Kings of Hanover, from 1235 to 1866, when the Kingdom was annexed to Prussia. (The Hanovers succeeded the Stuarts as Kings of England in 1714, and the two thrones united until 1837, when Queen Victoria, as a woman, was prohibited from inheriting the Hanoverian Crown.) Prince Ernst August's father, Prince Ernst August, born in 1954, was 54th in line to inherit the British throne, but he relinquished his right of succession after he divorced Prince Ernst August's mother, Chantal Hochuli (b. 1955), and subsequently married - of all the horrible things! - a Catholic, Princess Caroline of Monaco.
To his credit, young Prince Ernst August appears in the magazine, standing albeit in front of his castle, wearing, not royal garb, but ordinary blue jeans, making him just one of "us." But can you imagine the young Prince in a bar being approached by another young interested party? "Excuse me, but aren't you His Royal Highness Ernst August Andreas Phillip Constantin Maximilian Rolf Stephan Ludwig Rudolph?" Or, perhaps, the young Prince calling on the tele to order a pizza: "Hi, this is His Royal Highness Ernst August Andreas Phillip Constantin Maximilian Rolf Stephan Ludwig Rudolph calling...." I wonder if he just calls himself Ernie?
Yup! Pretty pretentious - and funny!
Yeah, this figures! The article appears on page 399 of the magazine. You gotta go through 398 pages of mostly fancy advertising (great scam - get the magazine buyer to fork over money to be advertised to) before you even get to the cover article! The $4.50, inch thick magazine, weighing a mere 52 pounds (OK, maybe not quite that much) is, of course, Vanity Fair.
11:59:59 PM  Google It!
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