Crowns and colonies explores the multiple connections between European monarchs and their overseas colonies, from Queen Victoria and her dynasty's deep concern about the British empire and Emperor Napoleon III's grand ambitions for the French empire, to the German Kaiser Wilhelm's relative lack of interest in his African possessions. Issues concerning the constitutional role of the crown in empire - from old-regime France, through the period of decolonization, and on to the contemporary Commonwealth - are highlighted.
The symbolism of monarchy is examined through royal tours in Australia, the regalia of the last king of Ceylon, and ceremonial letters sent by Afrikaners to the Dutch queen. Chapters on East Asian sultans, the Maori king movement, the Iraqi monarchy and a peripatetic Indian maharani look at the place of non-European royals in European empires. The uneasy relationship between the Italian monarchy and the Fascist government is the subject of another chapter. Republican and monarchism in the recent history of Australia provides insight into the post-colonial history of imperial monarchies. An introductory chapter offers an overview of the historiography and theoretical perspectives on this key link that bound many metropoles to the colonial world, though one that has hitherto received little scholarly attention.
Written by distinguished scholars drawing on the history of the British, French, Dutch, German and Italian empires, the volume will be of interest to students and scholars of colonial studies, the history of monarchism and international relations.
