The Week (December 10)
“Fresh off her first solo state visit to Laos, Princess Aiko has become the face of a Japanese royal family facing 21st-century obsolescence.” Under current succession law, however, her male cousin Prince Hisahito of Akishino will succeed to the throne. The question is when Japan will be “ready for change.” As demonstrated by Japan’s election of “conservative Sanae Takaichi as its first woman prime minister in October,” public support exists “for the notion that Aiko, or ‘any other woman in the future,’ could be made royal successor, which has led to a grassroots effort to readdress the rules.”
Tags: 21st century, Aiko, Change, Grassroots, Hisahito, Japan, Laos, Obsolescence, Prime minister, Public support, Royal family, Succession, Takaichi, Throne
The Guardian (September 9)
“Whatever your views of the monarchy, it is hard not to admire Elizabeth Windsor’s stamina. As of today, she has sat on the throne for longer than anybody in a line of predecessors…. Fast approaching her 90s, she continues to meet, speak and travel her way through an itinerary that owes a great deal more to duty than to whim.” And she maintains her demanding schedule without “putting a foot out of place.” Her “achievement has been to take the politics out of the monarchy.”
Tags: Achievement, Demanding schedule, Duty, Elizabeth II, Itinerary, Monarchy, Politics, Throne
