Letter: In mourning for dead monarchies

AS A staunch monarchist and Catholic I grieve at the wanton betrayal by the Allies after World War I when, at their command, all monarchies in Central Europe were swept away (Gerald Warner, Insight, 10 July).

The vacuum left by the absence of monarchy in Europe ushered in the rise of Adolf Hitler in Germany, Benito Mussolini in Italy and the enslavement of the Christian peoples of Eastern Europe to Communism.

From the crowning of Charlemagne by Pope St Leo III on Christmas Day AD800, Charlemagne established himself as the foremost Christian monarch and the principal force in defence of Christian civilisation in Europe.

The Habsburg Empire commanded the loyalty and respect of the majority of its subjects, be they Bohemian, German, Hungarian, Austrian, Italian or Romanian, because of the constant threat from pagan barbarians in the Italian Peninsula and in Eastern Europe, and from the Moors in Africa and Spain, who were determined to enslave and impose Islam on the lands they wished to conquer. During the 200 years of war with the Ottoman Empire the peoples who dwelt in these regions ruled by the Habsburgs gave their assent to this political entity and also their allegiance to the Habsburg dynasty.

The Emperor Charles did everything in his power to stop the carnage as a result of World War I and was prepared to give up vast tracts of Habsburg lands to Germany, France and Italy in order to stop this senseless slaughter. The fact that the Allies were not prepared to negotiate with the Emperor Charles resulted in the senseless deaths of millions of Europeans on both sides.

The Emperor Charles and his wife the Empress Zita were exiled to the Island of Madeira with no provisions made for their welfare. A local landlord offered them a house free of charge at Quinta do Monte which was not suitable to live in during the winter months. The emperor caught a chill and after a short illness died. Prior to his death he was given the sacrament of the dying. The last conversation that the dying Emperor had with his son must have been in the mind of the Emperor Otto as he lay dying… "I called him to show the example. He had to know how one conducts oneself at times like this - as a Catholic and as an emperor."

I say with pride like thousands of monarchists devoted to the memory of what we owe to the Imperial Royal House of Habsburg, I prayed for the repose of the soul of the de jure Emperor of Austro-Hungary, Otto von Habsburg. Requiescat in pace.

Evelyn Pelosi (Mrs), Edinburgh