Chapter 225 East African Kingdom
May 13, 1870.
In the Palais de Vitus, under the bright lights, King Constantine performed a simple coronation ceremony. After the ceremony, he was greeted by the only two nobles, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Ferdinand, East African Army and Navy officers, and East African central government officials. Witnessed, the establishment of the East African Kingdom was officially announced.
The procedure of this ceremony is very simple. The coronation ceremony of European monarchs has a strong religious and cultural influence, which is not found in East Africa. As an African country, East Africa does not need to conduct this ceremony according to the European style. .
The absence of clergy participating in the coronation ceremony means that East Africa has been a completely secular country from the moment of its founding.
As for the church, two months later the Italian Savoy dynasty would let the Pope know the importance of several divisions.
Religion no longer works well in this era, especially in East Africa, where people of all faiths and even atheists gather together. When believers look at it, they will realize that pagans and atheists are all doing well, and they are still doing well. What do you believe? Maybe there are still believers, but their piety is a question mark.
The coronation ritual props are the crown, cane and king's robe of the original Prince of Heixingen.
King Constantine put on the crown himself, and the music of the coronation ceremony was traditional German folk music.
The crown and cane have been modified in some details, using a large amount of jewelry and gold, East African sapphires (tanzanite), diamonds and other East African specialty jewelry.
The flag of the East African Kingdom has also been designed. If it were not for the royal coat of arms of Hechingen (picture), it would look like a replica of the flag of the North German Confederation.
(Picture)
The flag of the Kingdom of East Africa does not use the original flag of the Principality of Hechingen. The eagle flag mainly conflicts with the Principality of Saxony-Meiningen. The two flags are the same. Exactly the same.
(Picture)
The flag of the East African Kingdom has no special meaning. The black, white and red stripes are derived from the family coat of arms. At the same time, the family coat of arms on the flag has been removed from the deer element to make it more readable. It looks more simple and domineering, and also symbolizes the integration of the East African Kingdom and the Hohenzollern-Hechingen family.
Finally, the ceremony ended with a review of the Royal Guards of East Africa. It's not that we don't want to make it grand, but the conditions in East Africa don't allow it. Even for celebrations, not many people can gather together. We can only give people a few days off, and various places organize activities spontaneously.
......
On May 20, the diplomatic mission of the Kingdom of East Africa was directly separated from the Hechingen Consortium and went to various countries to start working.
May 25th, this day.
In Europe, major newspapers began to publish the establishment of the East African Kingdom.
According to the previous plan, the Austro-Hungarian government was the first to announce its recognition of the Kingdom of East Africa, followed by the governments of Prussia, Sweden, Romania, and Tsarist Russia.
Following this, Bavaria and other states in the German region, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece and other countries also issued statements recognizing the legitimacy of the East African Kingdom.
Finally, Alfonso XII, who was still in France, also announced recognition of the East African Kingdom on behalf of Spain, so that the current Spanish government was embarrassed!
……
France, Elysee Palace.
The French diplomatic service delivered the credentials submitted by the East African Kingdom today to Napoleon III.
“What is this?”
“Your Majesty, this is the credentials of a new country.”
“A new country? Why didn’t I know that there was such a thing in Europe recently? Change?”
“That’s right, Your Majesty, this country is not a European country, but an African country.”
"African countries! Aren't they all indigenous? Your Ministry of Foreign Affairs has nothing to do?"
"Well, Your Majesty, this African country still has some connections with Europe."
" Did something happen to Egypt? "
Napoleon III immediately thought of the Suez Canal and the British.
“This is not your Majesty. It was the Hohenzollern family who established a new country in East Africa. They call themselves the Kingdom of East Africa.”
"The Hohenzollern family, East Africa, I remembered if it is the line of the Principality of Hechingen in southern Germany."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
" I knew the East African Kingdom was really interesting!” “Your Majesty, what should we do next?”
“Have they sent a mission?”
"At the hotel."
"Let them come and meet me!"
…
England.
The then British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone immediately called him deceived after receiving the news from Europe.
"Asshole, we have all been deceived. This so-called East African colony is not a colony created by Prussia at all, but is supported by the Austro-Hungarian Empire."
"Mr. Prime Minister, this is not a lie. After all, East Africa The colonies have never said that they are a subordinate force of Prussia. We just let the surname Hohenzollern mislead us at the beginning."
"Does this mean that the Austro-Hungarian Empire is unrealistic about its overseas colonies. fantasy?"
“That’s not the case, Mr. Prime Minister. I can only say that this so-called East African kingdom is deliberately moving closer to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Our intelligence shows that the royal families of the two countries have been married for a long time. This may be the main reason. Moreover, Archduke Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the father-in-law of Crown Prince Ernst of the Kingdom of East Africa, is in East Africa.”
“That’s fine, as long as it is not a kingdom instigated by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Accepted.”
"Mr. Prime Minister, in fact, the establishment of this East African kingdom is similar to the East India Company's occupation of India. It was also initiated by the German Hechingen Consortium. As far as we know, the owner behind it is the Hechingen royal family, so this kind of thing This is something that the Hechingen royal family has planned for a long time, and it has little to do with other countries.”
"In other words, Constantine planned this himself? Just to go to Africa and become a chief?"
"Well, Mr. Prime Minister, I think that is probably the case. Our This is what the intelligence source analyzed. After the Prince of Hechingen was annexed by Prussia, Prince Constantine has always been dissatisfied. After all, Being reduced from a sovereign country to a puppet, naturally he was unwilling to accept it, especially the fate of being annexed. Prince Karl next door had been Prime Minister in Prussia, which exacerbated the imbalance in Prince Constantine's heart. In order to get rid of the Kingdom of Prussia, Constantine He decided to leave overseas, so he planned for more than ten years. At the same time, in order to take revenge on Prussia, He chose the Austria-Hungary Empire, which was not very close, as his ally. His previous marriage with the Habsburg family was also part of his plan. At the same time, saving Maximilian I made his relationship with the Austrian royal family even closer... "
It is indeed the intelligence department of Great Britain. With the sparse intelligence, it made up a bloody plot.
"Well, I'm not..." William Ewart Gladstone was about to say something.
Suddenly an official ran over in a panic and said something to William Ewart Gladstone.
"What? Is the news confirmed?"
"Yes, Prime Minister, there have been riots in Ireland."
"Okay, I understand, I will immediately Go over and deal with this matter."
Seeing that the Prime Minister was about to leave, the Foreign Secretary hurriedly asked: "Mr. Prime Minister, what happened?"
"It's the Irish."
The Foreign Secretary understood immediately.
"Then what to do with this East African kingdom."
"It's too late to care about him now. You can make a copy of the statement from other countries and send it out!"
< br>After saying that, the Prime Minister left.
On May 25, 1870, the European powers Austria, Russia, Britain and France successively recognized the legitimacy of the establishment of the East African Kingdom, and other European countries followed suit. Overnight, most Europeans became aware of the birth of a new nation.
And Ernst chose May 25th as the day to announce the establishment of the Kingdom of East Africa in Europe. This was really a long-planned date. He established the Kingdom of East Africa before the Franco-Prussian War, so that the French government would not recognize the Kingdom of East Africa. We can also discuss the legality with the new French government later.
At the same time, on May 25, the Irish Home Rule Movement broke out in the UK, which could divert the attention of the British.
However, the result is still good. Britain and France did not embarrass the new country of the East African Kingdom. Now, except for a few small countries, most European countries recognize the existence of the East African Kingdom.
In some small countries, only the Vatican has a little influence. The Pope is very dissatisfied with Constantine's behavior. He made such a big move in Europe, but the church didn't know anything. So how did his coronation ceremony be completed? ? Southern Germany, where the Princely Kingdom of Hechingen is located, is a Catholic area.
The most hateful thing is that this East African kingdom sent envoys to many countries, including Italy, but no one came to Rome (the Papal State).
(End of this chapter)