Chapter 317: Chapter 279: Questioning in Front of the Tomb

On June 15, 1910, with the joint witness of many European royal family members, the “European Royal Family Union Declaration” was officially signed in London, the capital of the British Empire, and took effect immediately.

The Joint Declaration states that European royal families should protect the safety of all European royal family members, prohibit all regicide actions, and condemn all acts of assassinating royal family members.

If regicide occurs in any European royal family member’s country after signing the declaration, other European royal families should unite to protect the royal family members of that country and restore its monarchy and social stability.

Although this is somewhat different from Arthur’s idea of ​​consolidating the monarchy and monarchist power in the world, it is still a protection for the royal families and monarchs of various countries.

Regicide is almost a taboo topic among European royal families. European royal families can watch monarchs of other countries lose their status or even their throne, but they cannot sit idly by and let European monarchs be killed by commoners and forces.

This is tantamount to a direct challenge to European monarchism and European royal families, and also threatens the safety of all royal families and European monarchs.

For example, after the French Revolution broke out, the French people sent the French King to the guillotine, resulting in a coalition of anti-French monarchies in Europe.

The revolution and ideas spread by France severely threatened the stability of other monarchist countries. Moreover, the French people sent their king directly to the guillotine, which made European royal families extremely fearful of the revolution and ideas sparked by the French, and even organized armies to extinguish the French Revolution.

What if the French did not commit regicide? Could the formation of the anti-French alliance be so smooth?

All these are unknown, but no one can deny that regicide is definitely taboo for European royal families, and those who commit regicide will definitely be hit hard by the European royal families.

It is worth mentioning that although Carlos I was very dissatisfied with Arthur, he was very active when signing this European Royal Family Union Declaration.

After all, in this European group, the behavior of Carlos I is clear to other royal family members.

Because of the Royal Security Intelligence Bureau, Arthur has some understanding of the current situation in Portugal.

The current situation in Portugal can be described as a mess. Portugal should also be one of the countries where the monarch and monarchism are most likely to be eliminated among all European monarchist countries at present.

How serious is it? This time Carlos I directly mobilized his own trusted generals to escort him, and even requested the protection of the British Empire, fearing that the reactionary forces at home would eliminate him at sea.

Unfortunately, this is all Carlos I has. Although there are still loyal armies in the country, Carlos I dare not mobilize them.

If this army is mobilized, then the situation in Portugal would really be unbearable, and what would happen, no one would dare to guarantee.

Fortunately, Carlos I did not die in the previous assassination attempt. After all, having been a king for many years, his political skills are much stronger than his younger son, Manuel.

In history, after the assassination of Carlos I, the throne fell to Prince Manuel, the second heir, because the king and the crown prince died at the same time.

Unfortunately, Manuel was never trained as a crown prince, and with a short time in power and no prestige in Portugal, Portugal became a republic in just a few years time.

The current Portugal is still under the control of Carlos I. Although the domestic situation is also very bad, it is better than the historical Manuel II scenario.

At least the Portuguese monarchy can barely maintain itself, although maintaining the monarchy itself is a strain for Carlos I.

This time, coming to attend the funeral of Edward VII, Carlos I also had the intention of seeking protection and allies.

Unfortunately, among the several European powers that can help Portugal’s monarchist rule, Tsar Nicholas II did not come for personal reasons, George V has not yet ascended the throne, and domestic affairs were busy enough that he didn’t have the mood to manage other countries’ affairs.

And the only capable and willing King William II has a much better relationship with Arthur than with Carlos I, which makes Carlos I very envious and jealous of Arthur.

Unfortunately, Carlos I’s envy and jealousy of Arthur is not known, and even if he knew, he would not care.

Facing the crisis of subverting the national regime, Carlos I’s means seem somewhat pale.

If it were Arthur, he would spare no effort to strangle all forces that could threaten his own kingship.

Even if it stirred up a storm of blood in the country for a while, it would be better than letting the royal family and the entire family head towards extinction.

It is worth noting that although Portugal and Australasia were at war, many European royal families expressed support for Carlos I when he and his heir were assassinated.

At that time, Carlos I could negotiate with Australasia, and with the support of other countries, he could catch all the restless forces in the country at once and eradicate them for assassinating the king and the crown prince.

Although it would cause a huge loss of personal reputation, it could completely change the current crisis in Portugal and even make the royal power and the position of the royal family more stable.

Unfortunately, at that time Carlos I was very angry with Australasia, even treating Australasia as the biggest enemy, rather than domestic reactionary forces.

The fact is that Australasia is only interested in the small territory of Portuguese Timor. However, reactionary forces within Portugal are constantly trying to overthrow Carlos I and the entire Portuguese Royal Family.

Having missed the best opportunity to eliminate the Republican opposition forces at the time, even with the support of European powers, Carlos I could only maintain the status quo at most now.

Unless Carlos I could control all the military power of Portugal, or persuade the European great powers to send troops for protection, any radical move could lead to the outbreak of civil war in Portugal.

Logically speaking, though the Kingdom of Portugal had declined, it still possessed a considerable number of colonies.

According to the current crisis in the Kingdom of Portugal, many European countries should be coveting Portugal’s colonies.

However, more than a decade ago in the Anglo-Portuguese War, the British had agreed to provide security guarantees for Portugal’s colonies in exchange for Portugal’s support.

This is the real reason why even now, with Portugal in a severe crisis, the smaller European countries still dare not covet Portugal’s colonies.

As for whether William II would agree to help Carlos I stabilize the situation in Portugal, Arthur did not really care.

After all, even if the situation in Portugal stabilized, it was destined not to be a rival for Australasia unless both Britain and Germany provided substantial assistance to Portugal, helping it develop to the current level of Australasia.

But is this realistic? Britain and Germany would not do so without sufficient interests.

Portugal can’t offer much in return, at most only African colonies.

However, if Carlos I dared to offer African colonies, even with the help of Britain and Germany, his reign would likely come to an end.

Like the current Kingdom of the Netherlands, Portugal’s few remaining colonies also serve as a fig leaf for the country’s pride.

If those few remaining colonies were also stripped away, Portugal would truly sink to the level of a third- or even fourth-tier European country, with the risk of being swallowed by Spain.

The European royal gathering lasted only two days, and most of the royal family members departed soon afterward.

After all, the affairs of various European countries are numerous at present, and they cannot afford to delay for too long.

There are not many European monarchs like William II and Arthur who hold real power, so few can enjoy the leisurely life like Arthur and William II in other countries.

After the gathering ended, Arthur received an invitation from King George V to visit the United Kingdom as King of Australasia and to discuss further trade and cooperation between the United Kingdom and Australasia.

This was King George V’s goodwill toward Arthur, as the British Empire and Australasia are connected by blood, and both rulers come from the British Royal Family—a reason to deepen their relationship.

Arthur gladly accepted the invitation, as there was no reason to refuse.

From June 18th, Arthur officially paid a visit to the British Empire and went to pay tribute at Queen Victoria’s tomb.

While Arthur paid tribute to Queen Victoria, a large number of British people and media gathered outside the royal tomb.

After the events at Edward VII’s funeral, Arthur became a popular figure in the British Empire and attracted the attention of many British people.

As Arthur emerged from the royal tomb escorted by numerous guards, someone in the media shouted from dozens of meters away, “Your Majesty Arthur, what are your thoughts on the British Empire?”

Arthur paused his steps toward the convoy, then walked a few steps closer to the crowd, looked in the direction of the voice, and replied sincerely and loudly, “No matter when, the British Empire is my beloved homeland. Here are my childhood, the cities I love, and my dear father and grandmother. Of course, now there is also my uncle. I am honored to be a member of the British Royal Family, and I will never forget any moments in the United Kingdom, which will be my most precious memories.”

When mentioning his father and grandmother, Arthur’s voice noticeably trembled, touching the hearts of the media and reporters present.

“Such genuine sentiment!” Someone could not help but praise from the bottom of their heart.

“Your Majesty Arthur, stay in Britain!” The crowd was silent for a while before someone dared to speak up.

Arthur shook his head and smiled, “I love the British Empire and all the people living here. But I am sorry that I am now the King of Australasia, and I must consider my subjects. Compared to the prosperous and wealthy British Empire, Australasia, which is currently backward and impoverished, clearly needs more help. Moreover, I made a promise to my grandmother to make Australasia a prosperous and strong country. I’m sure you don’t want me to break my promise to my grandmother, do you?”

Arthur emphasized the words “prosperous and wealthy British Empire” and “backward and impoverished Australasia,” impressing them deeply upon the minds of the listeners.

After a brief pause, Arthur continued, “Of course, I still look forward to every trip to the British Empire. I hope the British Empire and Australasia will always be friends, and my visits to the British Empire will never be hindered.”

“Well, gentlemen, I can only chat with you up to this point. Tomorrow I have many trade and aid negotiations with the British government. I believe you will hear the news in a few days.” Seeing that the atmosphere had been well established and the message intended for external dissemination had been basically conveyed, Arthur ended the conversation and got in the car to leave.