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Chev. Somtow Sucharitkul Receives Honors in Thailand

Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana, the Elder Sister of the King of Thailand presented Thailand's Siriraj Foundation Medal to Holy Sepulchre Knight the Rt. Hon. Chev. Somtow Sucharitkul, KCHS. The occasion of presentation followed the Royal Command Performance of Chev. Sucharitkul's ballet Kaki on July 25 1997 in Bangkok, Thailand. Following the strict protocol of Thailand's Royal Court, Chev. Sucharitkul wore the Order's neck medallian and Commander's Breast Star to all activities, including the Royal Audience on July 26. H.M. Queen Indrasakdisachi, the wife of King Rama VI of Thailand, is Chev. Sucharitkul's great-aunt.

Part of the proceeds of Chev. Sucharitkul's ballet go to the Siriraj Hospital Foundation. To see a photograph of Chev. Sucharitkul receiving from Her Royal Highness the Siriraj Foundation Medal and the high honor of a flower bouquet at the reception following the Command Performance, click HERE (use your "Back" command to return to this page). To see a photograph of Chev. Sucharitkul presenting the CD recording of Kaki ballet music to Her Royal Highness at a private audience preceding the Royal Command performance, click HERE (use your "Back" command to return to this page).

Chev. Sucharitkul is a novelist, short story writer, composer, musician, and photographer and is known as one of "Thailand's most famous citizens." The Chevalier writes under the name of "S.P. Somtow." Among Chev. Sukaritkul's award-winning and acclaimed novels are Vampire Junction (listed by The Horror Writer's Association as one of the top 50 horror novels), Valentine, Vanitas, and Jasmine Nights. Recently, Chev. Sucharitkul won the International Horror Guild Award for his short story, Brimstone and Salt. Chev. Sucharitkul's works can be ordered from the famous on-line bookstore, www.amazon.com .

Tor Books editor David Hartwell has called S.P. Somtow "one of the finest lyrical writers being published today." Scholars agree that Somtow's remarkable book Vampire Junction is a book that can be read many times with new insights into human character. Vampire Junction can be ordered from Amazon.com by clicking HERE.

Somtow's The Vampire's Beautiful Daughter is a selection of the Junior Library Guild, with illustrations by Gary Lippincott. This fascinating book can be ordered from Amazon.com by clicking HERE.

Chev. Sucharitkul holds the Master of Arts from Cambridge University.

Dame Connie Willis Wins Coveted Science Fiction Achievement Award

Sepulchre Knight the Rt. Hon. Dame Connie Willis, D.O.H.S. was honored at the August 30, 1997 World Science Fiction Convention in San Antonio, Texas with the organization's Science Fiction Achievement Award for her short story, "The Soul Selects Her Own Society". The award, better known as the "Hugo," after famed science fiction editor Hugo Gernsback, is considered one of the two top awards in the field of science fiction, the other being the Nebula Award presented by the Science Fiction Writers of America. In the past, other winners of the "Hugo" include Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, and Ursula K. LeGuin.

Dame Willis' first Hugo came in 1983 for for her novel, Fire Watch, and again in 1988 for The Last of the Winnebagos. She won two Hugos in 1993, one for her internationally acclaimed novel, The Doomsday Book and one for her short story, "Even the Queen." In 1994, Dame Willis won a Hugo for her short story, "Death on the Nile." Considered by many to be a Grand Master of Science Fiction, Dame Willis is the only author to have won the Hugo Award in all four writing categories. Dame Willis has also won six Nebula Awards. Her novel Bellwether recently won the distinguished Locus Award for best novel. Willis' novel, The Doomsday Book, was a Science Fiction Book Club selection, and three of her novels are available in hardback from the SFBC. Many of her works can be found at local book stores. To learn more about Dame Connie Willis, visit her web site by clicking HERE.

To see a photograph of Dame Willis receiving the Hugo Award, click HERE (use your "Back" command to return to this page).

Bellwether by Dame Willis is a truly hilarious, laugh-out-loud book by a master of both science fiction and humor, and it pokes fun at everything you ever thought needed poking-fun-at. To order the Locus-award-winning novel, Belwether at a discount price through the M.I.S. Book Shop click HERE.

The Doomsday Book is about a history student in 2048 who is transported to an English village in the 14th century. The student arrives mistakenly on the eve of the onset of the Black Plague. Her dealings with a family of "contemps" in 1348 and with her historian cohorts lead to complications as the book unfolds into a surprisingly dark, deep, and satisfaying conclusion. The book, which won Hugo and Nebula Awards, draws upon Willis' understanding of the universalities of human nature to explore the ageless issues of evil, suffering and the indomitable will of the human spirit. To order this award-winning novel at a discount price through the M.I.S. Book Shop click HERE.

Dates for 1998 General Assembly Announced

The 1998 General Assembly of The Religious and Military Order of Knights of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem have been established as June 19 - 21, 1998 at Greeley, Colorado. According to the Assembly Committee, the 1998 General Assembly will include several new activities, including talks on the practice of chivalry in modern life, talks on heraldry and the selection of Arms, and many other related topics. The main event will be the Vigil and Investiture Ceremonies.

Promotions in Rank

The Grand Magistry of the Order has announced that two distinguished Knights will be promoted in rank:

• The Rt. Hon. Chev. Radu Florescu, Ph.D. will be promoted to Knight Commander. Chev. Florescu is director of the Slavic Studies Center at Boston College and is Honorary Consul to Romania.
• The Rt. Hon. Chev. Raymond McNally, Ph.D. will be promoted to Knight Commander. Chev. McNally is Full Professor of History at Boston College and a leading authority on Vlad I and Vlad II of Wallachia.

Recommended Reading: The Romanovs: The Final Chapter by Robert K. Massie

For royalists, one of the tragedies of the 20th century is the execution/assassination of the Imperial Family of Russia in 1917, at the direction of Vladimir Lenin. This fascinating book covers the incidents prior to and following the Czar's assassination and examines the subsequent coverup by the Soviet government. The details of the gunning down of the Imperial Family make the first third of the book difficult to read, even though the information is accurate and essential. Then, the author, Robert Massie, examines in detail the claims of Anastasia, covering especially the genetic evidence which disproves the claims of Anastasia and her disappointed followers. Massie then goes on to examine the surviving Romanovs and the claims of the two major Pretenders to the Imperial Throne of Russia. Especially interesting are the claims by Grand Ducess Maria that it is her son, Grand Duke George, who is the "real" Czar because Prince Nicholas Romanov married beneath his station. All these claims, and more, are brought forth, but Massie only presents the information without taking sides in the dispute. The book has several photographs that are very valuable.

This highly recommended book is The Romanovs: The Final Chapter by Robert K. Massie and was published in 1995 by Random House. You can order this book at a discount price through the M.I.S. Book Shop by clicking HERE.

Massie is also the author of Nicholas and Alexandra, an account of the extraordinary Imperial dynasty of Tsar Nicholas II and his empire. You can order this book at a discount price through the M.I.S. Book Shop by clicking HERE.

The M.I.S. Book Shop, in association with Amazon.com Books, offers heraldry and chivalry books at a discount. You can visit the M.I.S. Book Shop by clicking HERE.

The sudden and tragic death of Princess Diana in a high-speed automobile crash in Paris on Saturday, August 30 has been extensively covered on television, in newspapers, in magazines, and on the internet and needs no further coverage here. However, while not in the slightest wishing to reduce the important of Diana to the Royal Family of Britain, some observations should be made:

• firstly, many commentators (especially in the United States) have missed the point of the British public's cry and anguish over the actions of the Royal Family; it is not that the British are unhappy with the monarchy, but, rather, the outcry was a result of the British public's deep-seated need for the monarchy. One tabloid cried out to the Queen, "Speak to Us!"--and, of course, she did. No one should think that the monarchy will disappear in England in the near future.
• secondly, it is up to sociologists and anthropologists who study popular culture to discover why a tenderly sweet-natured lightweight young lady from an old aristocratic family has so caputured the public's attention. Despite the claim, Diana was hardly a "people's princess." She came from an astonishingly wealthy and ancient, multi-titled aristocratic family. Diana was directly related to several Kings and a multiplicity of influential and powerful nobles. Her family's estate, according to reports, has been "reduced" to a mere 6,000 acres and castle--and, like King Arthur, Diana is buried on an island in a lake. None of this is exactly the "common touch." Diana's humanitarian and charitable work was certainly admirable and needed, but her brief efforts pale in comparison to Prince Charles' charities, as well as others of the Royal Family.
• thirdly, despite the posturings of the Spencers and others, British law plainly spells out that H.M. the Queen is responsible for the education and rearing of the heirs to the throne. To have a say in the rearing of the two Princes, Lord Spencer should work to abandon his bad manners which he put on display in his beautifully written eulogy at Diana's funeral, and Lord Spencer should work to overcome his petulance, as, for example, when he recently rejected the possibility of HRH being restored to Diana because, he said, "Diana wouldn't want it." Yet, Diana had made it well known that she would have liked to have kept the title HRH.
  

  Update: Recent revelations made on television by reliable British biographers have indicated that Queen Elizabeth left it up to Princess Diana whether or not she would keep the title "H.R.H." According to these sources, the Princess originally wanted the title (as reported above), but the Duchess of York warned Diana that she would "never be rid of them" (i.e., the Windsors) if she kept the title. Therefore, Princess Diana informed Queen Elizabeth that she did not wish to keep the title after all. According to one biographer, the rank of "H.R.H." made Diana the third-highest ranking female Royal, meaning that only the Queen Mother and Queen Elizabeth did not curtsey to Diana.

• fourthly, those who have been lambasting the Queen for her "coldness" apparently have not read recent books which reveal that the Queen, in person and in private, is warm and has a fine sense of humor--and that she is a first-rate mimic.
• and, finally, those who have been lamenting the Royal reliance on "protocol and procedure" should not forget that it was those two disciplines that allowed Diana's magnificent funeral to be put together so quickly and that caused it to proceed so perfectly.