Christmas 2020 Letter to Members
Christmas 2020 Letter to Members
CHRISTMAS LETTER TO MEMBERS – DECEMBER 2020
In just a few days’ time we will be celebrating Christmas. In this letter which was mailed earlier this week, I had said that, due to a measure of freedom from the virulent virus, families will be now able to gather together and Christians will be able to attend church with only limited restrictions. However, Sydney now faces a growing cluster of the virus brought in by returning travellers which could spread unless great care is taken.
Whilst our thoughts and prayers are with those in Sydney's northern beaches and to those caught up in the several State lockdowns, I send to all my sincerest of wishes and those of the Australian Monarchist League for a very merry and blessed Christmas as well as a most enjoyable time over the festive season. Even with the Sydney cluster, we are so fortunate to live in Australia where the dreaded virus is not rampant as it is in so many other countries. At the same time, it is wise to always take care as it lurks like a vampire in the mist and one never knows what the morrow will bring.
And the week following Christmas will see us in the New Year of 2021. Let us all hope and pray that next year will see the end of the virus so that we can all get back to living relatively normal lives although, after the enormous changes and devastation wrought by the pandemic and the reaction to it over past months, there will obviously be a new normal to which we must all adapt.
There are those who seek to use the precedent of the arbitrary powers exercised by governments to control the virus to bring about radical change including stringent measures in regard to the environment. The World Economic Forum (WEF) has established what it calls ‘The Great Reset’ about which there is a lot of information and
misinformation being bandied about on the web, including a number of theories both factual and conspiratorial. Put simply, the WEF believes that the COVID-19 pandemic presents an opportunity to shape an economic recovery and the future direction of world relations, global economies, and priorities. They say we should also adapt to the current reality by directing the market to ensure that investments are aimed at accelerating environmentally friendly businesses. They also talk about creating a fourth industrial digital economic revolution which is the subject of a book by Professor Schwab.
The World Economic Forum is not a government or UN based entity but a private organisation founded in 1971 by Professor Schwab, a business professor at the University of Geneva, and based in Switzerland although it is recognised by many world-government bodies. It brings together some 3,000 business leaders, international political leaders, economists, celebrities and journalists who meet at an annual conference in Davos, Switzerland as well as gatherings around the world. Its objectives are ‘committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas’.
The Australian Monarchist League has become emmeshed in all this because our members have expressed grave concerns. Many are perturbed and some even angry, that the Prince of Wales had, himself, unveiled the Great Reset movement in May 2020 during which he made an impassioned speech stressing the importance of using the outcome of the pandemic to reset the global economy and prioritising sustainable development without damaging the environment.
"We have a unique but rapidly shrinking window of opportunity to learn lessons and reset ourselves on a more sustainable path," said Prince Charles according to the Guardian newspaper. "We have a golden opportunity to seize something good from this crisis. Its unprecedented shockwaves may well make people more receptive to big visions of change."
The Prince then set out a five-point plan on how to seize the opportunity presented by the pandemic to capture the imagination and will of humanity and rebalance investments to accelerate the green economy and enforce carbon pricing. "There is a golden opportunity to seize something good from this crisis...global crises know no borders and highlights how interdependent we are as one people sharing one planet." He continued to say: “Unless we take the action necessary and build in a greener and more inclusive and sustainable way, then we will have more and more pandemics.”
His Royal Highness also emphasized that he expected the private sector to be the main drivers of the plan but that it will only happen if people want it.
The membership of the Australian Monarchist League is a broad church. Some members are man-made climate change sceptics whilst others genuinely believe that we should all get together to save the planet from dire threat. Although important to so many in one way or another, this is a matter not within the mandate of the Australian Monarchist League but the involvement of the Prince of Wales in promoting the controversial objectives of the World Economic Forum, is.
The Prince is monarch in waiting and will undoubtedly assume greater responsibilities as the Queen ages. Whilst he had explained some years ago that he speaks out on matters of concern to him because he is not bound by the same constitutional requirements as the monarch, he is nevertheless monarch-to-be and has a duty not to engage in anything that may be considered to be of a political or controversial nature. After all, his future subjects, which includes us in Australia, all have differing opinions which he should respect. His involvement with the WEF together with the far-reaching comments he has made are more within the purview of elected politicians and not the monarch to be.
Possibly following censorious comments on the Prince of Wales by Sky News television, we did receive complaints from members - some resigning and others saying they will join the republican movement and I therefore immediately sent out an email to emphasise that we would all be far, far worse off with a political president. Currently we are all able to make our concerns known direct to any politician or even to any member of the Royal Family, including the Prince of Wales. It is our unalienable right, but I ask “will this be the case under a politicians’ republic?“
Accordingly, if anyone remains concerned about comments made by the Prince of Wales such as in promoting ‘The Great Reset’, then I urge you to write as an individual to him politely expressing your concerns. The address is:
HRH the Prince of Wales
Clarence House, London, SW1A 1BA
United Kingdom
Or you can find him on Twitter or Instagram as below:
https://twitter.com/clarencehouse
https://www.instagram.com/clarencehouse/
Needless to say, the partisan approach by His Royal Highness is damaging the reputation he has built up over many years as the hardest working royal for charitable and youth causes.
Of great importance to us is that for over the past 30 years we have been fighting stringent moves to make us into a republic. We won in 1999 and by good fortune have not seen a formal move to bring on a plebiscite or referendum by any government, Liberal or Labor, despite psychological pressure from the media united in a sort of drip-by-drip effect to create an atmosphere of dislike and distrust towards the monarchy. We therefore do not need the Prince of Wales lending his name to any cause of a partisan and/or controversial nature. In this regard I am not talking about his passionate championship of the environment but his support for the unspecified (Sky News implies ‘sinister’) objectives of the big-business based World Economic Forum.
This and other matters, including media fabrications and the misinformation on the TV series ‘The Crown’ has led to a huge correspondence from members and the general public wanting clarification and information. Of course, as you would all be aware, The Crown series is not a true historical record, but is fiction based loosely on selected facts and with virtually all the diction having been scripted by writers apparently of a republican bent.
I may also mention that I also receive communication from our email list responding to my comments. Many are congratulatory but others highly critical and even insulting. However, I try to answer as best I can, but I am only human and am afraid I often become overwhelmed. In this regard I apologise to anyone who has emailed and not received a reply although I can assure you that I do read and absorb almost everything that crosses my path.
Let us hope that all these stressful matters will fade away as we enter the New Year with new hope thus enabling us to concentrate on the upcoming important royal events of the next few years.
The Royal events commence with the Queen’s 95th birthday which takes place on the 21st April 2021, just over four months away. Her Majesty is our oldest monarch ever. Then, on the 10th June 2021, the Duke of Edinburgh will turn 100 years of age - the oldest consort to a reigning monarch. The following year, 2022, on February the 6th, will mark the platinum (70th) anniversary since Her Majesty ascended the throne. She is already the longest serving monarch ever.
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It is important that the Australian government mark these anniversaries. After all, the Queen is our sovereign by right of the Australian Constitution and by vote of the Australian people. It is such a great shame that our politicians have shied away time and time again from honouring our Constitution and the Queen thus ignoring the confidence the people gave to our system of constitutional monarchy at the 1999 referendum. They behave as though it was the republicans who won!
This time, we must all stand up and demand that the Queen and her long-serving consort, the Duke of Edinburgh, be duly recognised for their service to this country.
It is some 65 years since an estimated 75% of the entire Australian population came out to greet the Queen and the Duke on their first visit to this country. On each of
the succeeding 15 visits by the Queen, let alone on those by members of her family, large crowds have come out to greet her. Far, far more than ever came out to cheer any overseas visitor, even the President of the United States. This should be a lesson to all members of the government to honour the Queen if they wish to continue to have the support of those of her subjects who honour her.
I have written to the government in regard to the upcoming anniversaries and we will be calling on all members to support our call in this regard.
In closing, I would like to thank all of our financial members who have continued to support us during this harrowing year. Your loyalty is truly and gratefully appreciated. Thank you again.
I again wish you all a very merry and blessed Christmas and a joyful New Year.
Yours sincerely,
Philip Benwell
National Chair
Australian Monarchist League
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