That's probably not true. There's the Dalai Lama and Simeon II of Bulgaria, who were minors but at least Simeon surely remembers (his father died in suspicious circumstances, he had an unconstitutional regency, and then he was dethroned, expelled and spent his life in exile).
> Now that generation that remembered the horrors of fascism has mostly passed and we find ourselves in a period that seems to have many echos of the 1930s with a new rise of authoritarianism and fascism around the world
It's honestly infuriating that with the wealth of information available at everyone's fingertips so many people are so easily making the same mistakes as a century earlier.
Monarchy is not necessary hereditary. And replacing monarch with sovereign, doesn't change the fact that it's a monarchy.
I think the grandparent comment’s author forgot to insert a “British” in front of monarch.
Edit:
> [Simeon II] is, along with the current Dalai Lama, one of only two living people who were heads of state from the time of World War II. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simeon_Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
However, Elizabeth II did not become Queen until well after WW2.
(Removed erroneous statement about the Swedish king being old enough to remember WW2; he was born in 1946.)
Alas, there is no algorithm yet for "truth".
I've thought for a long time that when the generation that fought in the war, or even grew up in it, has died out, that's when idiots like this student will be free to make something terrible rise. Fight for freedoms like speech while you can.
"she was the last British monarch to have any memory of WWII" is pretty weird too, though, since her father George VI was the only other monarch alive during WW2. I guess unless you also count her uncle Edward VIII who was alive throughout WW2 and had previously been a British monarch. If that counts then sure, she was the last of three British monarchs to remember WW2.
I agree, but for me it's more infuriating how often I see this comparison used when when the modern version is primarily head-canon catastrophizing despite the same people making the comparison advocating and practicing behaviors that are even closer to what they decry, all while pretending they're not. Nuance and introspection are sorely lacking everywhere.
I guess the only real definition of monarch is social and cultural: someone who claims to be one and is broadly recognized as such.
The Dalai Lama and Simeon II of Bulgaria were both heads of state during WW II. But China invaded Tibet in 1950, and by 1960 the Dalai Lama ruled nothing. And Simeon lost his throne in 1946 (though he did get elected prime minister many years later).
I wouldn't count them as monarchs any more.
That said, looking at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_monarchs_of_so... I find the following currently reigning monarchs who were born before WW II and probably remember something from it:
- Emir Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah of Kuwait
- King Harald V of Norway
- King Salman of Saudi Arabia
- Pope Francis of Vatican State
Ahh yes, that photo of Elizabeth changing an ambulance tire, one of the great public relations triumphs of the 20th century. So humble! She's just like one of us...
Saudi Arabia's King Salman was born in 1935
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1937_tour_of_Germany_by_the_Du...
The British monarch is one of the least powerful heads of state on earth. The president of Barbados has more discretionary power.
If you think WWII wasn't special in significance then I can only say you're entitled to your opinion.
Log out of Twitter, that's my advice.
However, I don't know many places where mainstream politics would accept political violence as anything but extreme in almost every case. I'm not sure the fringe is growing, but to come round to my initial point, I'm worried that it will after the last WWII generation dies out.
Not really. Reza Khan was just a colonel in the army before the coup that later established him as Shah of Iran. Osman of the Ottoman Empire and his descendants for a very long time had no aristocracy or nobility to speak of, only temporary (land reverted to the Sultan at death) land owners.
I know that the US has a reputation for producing idiots but believe me, they exist in other places too, hence why I didn't specify the States, but you feel free to make it all about you.