Henry IX and I, King and Cardinal: the Royal Stuart Bicentenary Requiem

Setting the standard for all future Requiems and Solemn Masses!

This was the Solemn Pontifical Requiem for Prince Henry Benedict Stuart, the Cardinal Duke of York and, by right, King Henry IX of England and I of Scotland and Ireland.

The pontificating bishop was Bishop Bernard Longley, titular Bishop of Zarna, Auxiliary Bishop in Westminster supported by an all-star cast of clergy familiar with the traditional Roman rite, including the preacher and Subdeacon, Fr Nicholas Schofield, Honorary Chaplain to the Royal Stuart Society which sponsored the whole event.

On the right of the picture is Fr Bede Rowe who is such a superlative amateur milliner (hat-maker) that he made the Cardinal's galero that sits on top of the catafalque in the middle of the sanctuary. What an outstanding feat of hat-making!

Here is a close up of Fr Bede with his superb galero:

The galero was worn by cardinals in the Middle Ages and gradually added more and more tassels and then was no longer worn. It was worn at the creation of a cardinal by the Pope and, after the death of the recipient, it was hung over his tomb until it disintegrated to remind the people of the transitory nature of fame in this life.

The Requiem took place in the Conventual church of the Sovereign Military and Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta (founded in 1099 and later known as the Knights Hospitaller). This is not - as some wrongly call it - a "hospital chapel". This is the Conventual church of an ancient religious order, older than the Franciscans and Dominicans and most other religious orders in the Church - only the Benedictines and Augustinians are older.

Here, below, is the church prepared for the Requiem.

The catafalque is in the middle of the Sanctuary, standing on a black carpet. Black hangings are attached to a coronet suspended from the cupola windows to match the black altar frontal and black vestments used in the old rite for Requiems and funerals. Six candlesticks stand guard by the catafalque. The arms of the Cardinal-King are displayed attached to the altar pillars. In the Order flag-stand are seen the papal flag, the flag of the Order and the Union flag.

This latter has been, since 1801 and the union with Ireland, the flag of the United Kingdom and Great Britain. The Stuart monarchy did not use it but only the pre-1801 Union flag which did not have the red Saltire of St Patrick and looked like this:

Here below is the catafalque closer up. At the front of it, placed on a red cushion, are representations of the Order of the Garter regalia but of the type used by the Stuarts. The Stuart Garter star was diamond-encrusted which the Hanoverian Protestants replaced with cut metal only. The Stuart Garter sash was a lighter blue, the Hanoverians changing to a darker colour to distinguish themselves from the Catholic Stuarts. The Garter collar with the pendant image of St George killing the dragon, and the Garter itself with its famous motto, Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense, are also represented.

The motto means "evil be to him who thinks evil of it" and refers to the chivalrous incident by which the Order of Knights of the Garter was initiated. King Edward III about 1348, whilst dancing at Eltham Palace, picked up the garter of the Countess of Salisbury which caused some sniggering as if there were some impropriety. The King, seeing this, said the words that are now the Order's motto, as if to mean "if you think ill of this lady's reputation assuming she lost her garter through improper behaviour, then evil be to you". So the Order was founded upon the chivalrous defence of a lady's honour by the King himself, a Catholic king.

Since St George had become the Protector of the English Realm, through his having inspired King Richard the Lionheart in the Crusades, King Edward dedicated his new order of Knighthood to that warrior saint.

Even today the Order of the Garter is still given by the Monarch in the way it has always been given, in the name of "God, our Lady and St George".

Draped on the catafalque is a representation of the Royal parliamentary mantle which is burgundy-coloured with an ermine cape. At the altar end is the galero sitting on top of the cappa magna of a cardinal, the long scarlet train that is worn on solemn occasions.

In the middle of the catafalque on a white cushion sits a mitra pretiosa or precious mitre. At a Requiem the pontificating bishop wears a simple white mitre, not a precious mitre.

Below, Fr Nicholas Schofield preaches the sermon about the Cardinal-King. The text of the sermon is on his website at http://romanmiscellany.blogspot.com/.

Below, in their stalls sit the Knights of Malta, praying and singing the Dies Irae alternately with the schola of some 23 singers. The schola sang from behind the altar which produced a wonderful effect as of hidden angels pouring forth chant and polyphony for the soul of the Cardinal-King and the deceased members of his family.

Here below the Bishop performs the Absolutions. As the schola sings the Libera Me the Bishop blesses the catafalque with lustral water and then incense.

The Bishop then processes out, preceded by the clergy and servers with his mitre-bearer and other servers behind, imparting his blessing as he goes.

Below is a representation of the funeral of Prince Henry's mother, Queen Maria Clementina, the daughter of King Jan III Sobieksi of Poland-Lithuania.
Finally, here is the portrait of the Cardinal-King hanging in the Scots College in Rome, where Scottish seminarians are trained for the priesthood.

Thus was appropriately celebrated the memory of the Head of the Royal House of Stuart and rightful King over the Dowry of Mary, England, the Crown of Mary, Scotland, and the blessed isle of St Patrick, Ireland, the last of the Royal name of Stuart that had ruled in Scotland for so long and which later came to be the ruling dynasty of the British isles, the last Catholic dynasty of these islands.

The Stuart line, happily, continues and, having passed down through various generations, now rests with HRH Prince Francis, Duke of Bavaria.

His brother, Duke Max Emmanuel in Bavaria, will succeed and thereafter the daughter of Duke Max, Princess Sophie of Bavaria, now Her Serene Highness, Princess of Liechtenstein after her marriage to HSH Prince Alois, the heir of the very Catholic princely line of Liechtenstein. Appropriately, Prince Alois was educated at the Royal Miltiary Academy Sandhurst, Britain's military academy, and his eldest child was, again appropriately, born in London.

Here is a portrait of the Princess with her husband at the 200th anniversary of the Principality of Liechtenstein which was acquired by the Liechtenstein family when they were a substantial land-owning noble family in Austria, Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. They held Liechtenstein directly (unmittelbar) from the Holy Roman Emperor and so thereby qualified to sit independently in the Reichstag (Imperial Diet), the Parliament of the Holy Roman Empire (not to be confused with the later Parliament of the same name in the Protestant German Empire). They were great friends and honoured courtiers of the Habsburg Roman Emperors. However, all their lands, save Liechtenstein, were later seized by the Communists and they now head only the Principality which is still technically a fief of the Holy Roman Empire, the last such fief in Europe.

HSH Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein, lineal successor of the Royal Stuart line, and her husband, HSH Prince Alois, the heir apparent to the Principality of Liechtenstein.

St George, St Andrew, St David and St Patrick, pray for us!

...

Bicentenary Pontifical Requiem for the Cardinal Duke of York

Henry Benedict Stuart
Prince and Duke of York
Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia and Velletri
Cardinal-Bishop of Frascati
Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals
Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church
Head of the Royal House of Stuart

Solemn Pontifical Requiem
for the Bicentenary of his death

Noon

Saturday, 22nd September 2007

Conventual Church of the Sovereign Military and Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta

The Ordinary of this Requiem Mass is sung in the traditional Roman rite and is set to music by Giovanni Francesco Anerio (1657-1630), a Renaissance composer of the Roman school.

The Sequence, Dies Irae, is sung in chant and polyphony, alternately with the Choir.

Celebrant: The Rt Revd Bernard Longley, Titular Bishop of Zarna, Auxiliary Bishop in Westminster

Assistant Priest: The Revd Andrew Wadsworth, Magistral Chaplain, Sovereign Military Order of Malta

Deacon: The Revd Dr Laurence Hemming

Subdeacon: The Revd Nicholas Schofield

Preacher: The Revd Nicholas Schofield, Hon Roman Catholic Chaplain to the Royal Stuart Society

Master of Ceremonies: Mr Duncan Gallie, Vice-Chancellor, Grand Priory of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta

The Schola is directed by Mr Eoghain Murphy.

Solemn Pontifical Requiem for Henry IX and I, King and Cardinal, on Saturday 22 September 2007 at noon...

By kind permission of His Excellency Fra’ Matthew Festing TD OBE DL, the Grand Prior of England of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta,
and by the patronage of His Grace the Duke of St Albans, the Governor-General of the Royal Stuart Society,
Solemn Pontifical Requiem Mass
will be sung with solemn Pontifical Absolution
in the
Conventual Church
of
the Sovereign Military and Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta,
at
the Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth, 60 Grove End Road, St John’s Wood, London NW8 9NH
to mark the bicentenary of the death and for the repose of the soul of
Henry Benedict Stuart
Cardinal Duke of York, Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals, Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church and Cardinal-bishop of Ostia and Velletri and of Frascati,
grandson of
King James II and VII
of England, Scotland, France and Ireland
and for the souls of
the deceased members of the Royal House of Stuart
at
12 noon
on
Saturday 22nd September 2007
the Feast of St Maurice of the Theban Legion.

Musical Setting: Requiem of G F Anerio

Dress: dark suit and dark tie (equivalent for ladies or for Highland/Lowland dress)
Approach from either Grove End Road, through the Hospital entrance, or Circus Road

[Nearest tube: St John’s Wood]

His Most Eminent Majesty, King Henry IX and I, Cardinal-bishop of Frascati and Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church

Arms of the Royal House of Stuart (retaining the Fleurs de Lys)

HRH Prince Henry Benedict Stuart, Cardinal Duke of York, became the rightful king, after the death of his brother, "Bonnie Prince Charlie", Prince Charles Edward, de jure King Charles III of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, on 13 January 1788.

He thus, also, became King in America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and all the other realms and territories of the nascent British Empire.

For instance, he became King in Australia since Australia was claimed for the Crown by Captain James Cook RN in 1770 and NSW became a Crown Colony on 26 January 1788, so the real first kings of Australia were Bonnie Prince Charlie and thence the King-Cardinal.

So it would be fitting to have a bicentenary Requiem in each of the realms and territories of the former British Empire. For instance, in Australia, either NSW or Tasmania (once Van Diemans Land), founded in 1788 and 1803, respectively, would be appropriate therefore both having owed allegiance to the King-Cardinal.

Interestingly, Jacobites are not Unionists in the Iain Paisley sense. They are "Personal or Crown Unionists" not "Kingdom Unionists" and so do not believe in Great Britain or the United Kingdom but rather in the personal union of the Crowns of England, Scotland, France and Ireland (and the Principality of Wales) whilst maintaining separate the kingdoms and governments of each of the nations i.e., the proper Catholic subsidiarist model based upon that of the Catholic Roman Empire and Roman Church.

In short, the Royal Stuarts endorsed the right and happy medium between the twin extremes of fissiparous nationalist separatism, on the one hand, and tyrannous Unionist centralism, on the other, both revolutionary political creeds that destroy rather than build.

The Cardinal was also King Henry I of Ireland since Henry VIII's Crown of Ireland Act of 1542 cannot be recognised because he was already then a usurper and heretic, and before him the English kings called themselves "Lord of Ireland", by rescript of the Holy See (Laudabiliter of Pope Adrian IV) with the Pope as feudal overlord, and not "King of Ireland".

However, in 1555, Pope Paul IV issued a papal bull granting the title "King of Ireland" to Philip II of Spain, following excommunication of Henry VIII, the latter having given himself the title by challenging the prior feudal right of the Papacy. The battle of Kinsale and the failed Spanish Armada put paid to Philip's rule and the red-haired, Catholic-murdering harridan and bastard queen, Elizabeth I, illegitimate daughter of Ann Boleyn by Henry VIII, took over.

King George V continued to reign, for a time, in Ireland as King of the United Kingdom but, not surprisingly, this met with problems in the Irish Free State, created after 1922 as a Dominion within the British Empire. Thus it was that, in 1927, the old Anglo-Irish title "King of Ireland" was revived to emphasize the Irish Free State's more independent status.

This, of course, was from where came the idea for the titles "Queen of Canada" and "Queen of Australia". etc.

So, a Requiem for the Cardinal-King should not offend the Irish nationalist conscience at all.

But where does the claim to France comes from? It goes back to King Edward III, being Norman-French himself and Duke of Normandy, and to the Hundred Years War. But it was a tenuous claim since it infringed the Salic law and claimed through a woman. King Henry VI of England held it de facto (and arguably de jure) until Joan of Arc (with the help of God!) pushed him out and put the Dauphin (as the heir to the French throne was called) on the throne as Charles VII in 1429.

However, the English kings hung on to the claim, despite losing all of their French territories during the Wars of the Roses, except Calais which was itself lost under King Philip I and Queen Mary I (Tudor).

Elizabeth I ceded all claim to Calais but kept the title Queen of France, despite, as did her successor King James I and VI under whom the Crowns of England and Scotland, but not the countries, were united. Hence the claim of the Royal Stuarts to the Kingdom of France continued but only nominally. Queen Anne allowed the Union of England and Scotland as Great Britain (never recognised by the Catholic Royal Stuarts) and kept the French title as did the Hanoverian usurpers, even after the Kingdom of France ceased to exist on 21 September 1792.

However, King George III finally dropped the use of the title with the Union of Great Britain and Ireland (as the United Kingdom) in the Act of Union of 1800 (also never recognised by the Catholic Royal Stuarts).

Hence the titles of the King-Cardinal.

He is therefore, I suppose, King Henry II of France but the Royal Stuarts never numbered their title for the obvious reason that, in exile, they relied upon the (de facto!) kings of France for protection.

I urge fellow Jacobites in the Commonwealth realms and former British imperial territories to celebrate Solemn Requiems for the King-Cardinal, also.

The proper form is to have a Solemn Mass (with deacon and subdeacon) and a catafalque draped in a black pall and, if you can get it, a replica of St Edward's Crown and the royal mantle, a Cardinal's scarlet galero (hat) and scarlet cappa magna (cape and train), draped at the front and back of the catafalque (the Cardinal's regalia nearest the altar) and a replica of the Garter Star and Collar on top of the catafalque, together with replicas of the Thistle Star and Collar, if you can get them.

The Requiem should end with the Absolution. Ideally it should be a Pontifical Solemn Mass (i.e. with a bishop) with Pontifical Absolution, such as we are having in England on 22 September 2007 (see above).

Prince Henry before Ordination, with Thistle (revived by his grandfather, James II and VII) and Garter in the old pre-Hanoverian style (lighter blue, diamond-encrusted star)