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“So from the murdered Czar you have to go back three generations to Great-Granddad, then sideways to a junior son, then down four generations to reach Semyon.”
“Exactly.”
“Seems pretty well-stretched elastic to me, Dr. Probyn.”
“It is a long way, but that’s family trees for you. Technically, Semyon is the nearest we can get to direct bloodline. However, that’s academic. There are practical difficulties.’’
“Such as?”
“For one thing he’s over seventy. So even if he were restored, he wouldn’t last long. Second, he has no children, so the line would die with him and Russia would be back to square one. Third, he has repeatedly said he has no interest and would refuse the office even if it were offered.”
“Not very helpful,” admitted Sir Nigel.
“There’s worse. He’s always been a bit of a rake, interested in fast cars, the Riviera, and taking his pleasures with young girls, usually servants. That habit has led to three broken marriages. And worst of all, I have heard it whispered, he cheats at backgammon.”
“Good God.”
Sir Nigel Irvine was genuinely shocked. Humping the staff one might overlook, but cheating at backgammon …”
“Where does he live?”
“On an apple farm in Normandy. Grows apples to make Calvados.”
Sir Nigel Irvine was pensive for a while. Dr. Probyn gazed at him sympathetically.
“If Semyon has stated publicly that he renounces any part in a restoration, would that count as a legal disclaimer?”
Dr. Probyn puffed out his cheeks.
“I should think so. Unless a restoration actually came about. Then he might change his mind. Think of all those fast cars and serving wenches.”
“But without Semyon, what’s the picture? What, as our American friends say, is the bottom line?”
“My dear chap, the bottom line is that if the Russian people want, they can choose any damn person they like to become their monarch. It’s as simple as that.”
“It’s precedented, choosing a foreigner?”
“Oh, massively. It’s been done time and again. Look, we English have done it three times. When Elizabeth the First died single, if not a virgin, we invited James the Sixth of Scotland down to become James the First of England. Four kings later, we threw out James the Second and invited the Dutchman William of Orange to take the throne. When Queen Anne died without surviving issue, we asked George of Hannover to come across as George the First. And he hardly spoke a word of English.”
“The Europeans have done the same?”
“Of course. The Greeks twice. In 1833 after winning their freedom from the Turks, they invited Otto of Bavaria to become King of Greece. He wasn’t up to much, so they deposed him in 1862 and asked Prince William of Denmark to take over. He became King George the First. Then they proclaimed a republic in 1924, restored the monarchy in 1935, and abolished it again in 1973. Can’t make up their minds.
“The Swedes a couple of hundred years ago were at a loss, so they looked round and invited the Napoleonic General Bernadotte to become their king. Worked pretty well; his descendants are still there.
“And, finally, in 1905 Prince Charles of Denmark was asked to become Haakon the Seventh of Norway, and his descendants are still there too. If you’ve got an empty throne, and you want a monarch, it’s not always a bad thing to pick a good outsider rather than a useless local boy.”
Sir Nigel was silent again, lost in thought. By now Dr. Probyn had suspected his inquiries were not entirely academic.
“May I ask something?” said the herald.
“Certainly.”
“If the question of restoration ever did occur in Russia, what would be the American reaction? I mean, they control the purse strings, the only superpower left.”
“The Americans are traditionally anti-monarchist admitted Irvine, “but they’re no fools either. In 1918, America was instrumental in exiling the German Kaiser. That led to the chaotic vacuum of the Weimar Republic, and into that vacuum stepped Adolf Hitler with results we all know. In 1945, Uncle Sam specifically did not terminate the Japanese imperial house. The result? For fifty years Japan has been the most stable democracy in Asia, anti-communist and a friend of America. I think Washington would take the view if the Russians choose to go that road, it’s their choice.”
“But it would have to be the entire Russian people, by plebiscite?”