Kingdom of Redonda
Encyclopedia : K : KI : KIN : Kingdom of Redonda
|
| 
Seal |
| Motto: tba Musical Anthem: tba | |
| Type of entity: | Micronation |
| Location: | Redonda |
| Area claimed: | tba km² |
| Membership: | < 100 |
| Date of foundation: | 1865 |
| Leadership: | Various competing claimants |
| Purported organisational structure: | Absolute monarchy |
| Language: | English |
| Currency: | none |
The Kingdom of Redonda was a briefly independent kingdom. In 1865, Matthew Dowdy Shiell, who resided on the nearby island of Montserrat, proclaimed himself King of Redonda. The island of Redonda - an uninhabited island in the Leeward Islands, West Indies of approximately 1 square mile - is now part of Antigua and Barbuda.
History (or Story) of the Kingdom
Matthew Dowdy Shiell, a banker from Montserrat bought the island when his first son, Matthew Phipps Shiell, was born. He requested the title of King from Victoria, Queen of England and she granted it to him as long as there was no revolt against colonial power. [#endnote_Cataluna]M.P. Shiell bestowed the title, and the rights of his work, to John Gawsworth, who seems to have sold the title several times due to permanent bankruptcy. Gawsworth bestowed the title, and the rights of his and Shiell's work, to Jon Wynne-Tyson. Tired of the problems of the kingdom, Wynne-Tyson, gave up his title in 1997 when he decided to name Javier Marías as his successor (and bearer of the rights of the work of both Shiell and Gawsworth) because of the portrait of Gawsworth he made in his novel Todas las almas (published in English as All Souls). All the controversy on the list of contested kings is due to Gawsworth's sales.
Javier Marías
The Spanish writer Javier Marías, one of the current claimants of Redonda, tells the story of his coronation on Negra espalda del tiempo (pubilshed in English as Dark Back of Time). Also he operates a pet publishing house under the name of Reino de Redonda ("Kingdom of Redonda"). He has also created a literary prize with the same name. The reward is several thousand euros and a Redondan duchy.
Several Spanish and foreign artists and writers have been granted with Redondan titles, including Pedro Almodóvar (Duke of Trémula), Francis Ford Coppola (Duke of Megalópolis), Alice Munro (Duchess of Ontario), J. M. Coetzee (Duke of Deshonra), Arturo Pérez-Reverte (Duke of Corso) and Guillermo Cabrera Infante (Duke of Tigres).[#endnote_Cerone]
Kings
- Matthew Dowdy Shiell, 1865 - 1880
- Matthew Phipps Shiell1, 1880 - 1947 (styled as King Felipe)
- John Gawsworth2, 1947 - 1967 (styled as King Juan I)
Contested kings
Scenario 1 (Literary)
- Jon Wynne-Tyson, 1967 - 1997 (styled as King Juan II)
- Javier Marías, 1997 - present (styled as King Xavier I)
Scenario 2
- Arthur John Roberts, 1967 - 1989 (also styled as King Juan II)
- William Leonard Gates, 1989 - present (styled as King Leo) [followed Roberts]
Scenario 3
- Robert Williamson, 1984/5 - present (styled as King Robert the Bald)
Scenario 4
- Max Leggett, 1950 - present
Notes
- Matthew Phipps Shiell changed his surname to Shiel.
- John Gawsworth is the pseudonym of Terence Ian Fytton Armstrong.
References
- ↑ Óscar López, "Érase una vez un Reino". El Periódico de Catalunya, July 6, 2001. (Can be consulted, in Spanish, at [Javier Marías's site].)
- ↑ [Historia del Reino de Redonda], by Pablo Martín Cerone (in Spanish)
External links
- [The Redonda Foundation], operated by king Leo.
- [Kingdom of Redonda], operated by king Robert the Bald
- [Javier Marías's site], with information about the Kingdom, publishing house and prize (in Spanish).
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.