Chapter 225 East African Kingdom

May 13, 1870.

In the bright lights of the Kiev Palace, King Constantine performed a simple coronation ceremony and then, witnessed by the only two great nobles, Admiral Ferdinand, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, East African army and navy officers, and officials of the East African central government, officially announced the establishment of the Kingdom of East Africa.

The procedure of this ceremony is very simple. The coronation ceremony of European monarchs has a strong religious and cultural influence, which is not the case in East Africa. As an African country, East Africa does not need to follow the European system to conduct this ceremony.

The absence of clergymen in the coronation ceremony meant that East Africa was a thoroughly secular country from the moment it was founded.

As for the church, in two months the Italian Savoy dynasty would let the Pope know the importance of several divisions.

Religion is no longer effective in this era, especially in East Africa, where people of all faiths and even atheists gather together. Believers look at it and wonder, "What the hell, pagans and atheists are all living well, so why should we believe in them?" There may still be believers, but their piety is questionable.

The props for the coronation ceremony are the crown, scepter and king's robe of the former Principality of Hechingen.

King Constantine personally put the crown on himself, and the music used in the coronation ceremony was traditional German folk music.

The crown and cane have undergone some modifications in detail, using a large amount of jewels and gold, East African sapphires (tanzanites), diamonds and other East African specialty jewels.

The flag of the East African Kingdom has also been designed. If it were not for the Hechingen royal coat of arms (pictured), it would look like a replica of the flag of the North German Confederation.

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The flag of the Kingdom of East Africa did not adopt the original flag of the Principality of Hechingen. The eagle flag was mainly similar to that of the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen. The two flags look exactly the same.

(picture)

The flag of the East African Kingdom has no special meaning. The black, white and red stripes are derived from the family coat of arms. At the same time, the deer element of the family coat of arms on the flag has been removed, making it look more simple and domineering. It also implies the idea of ​​the unity of the East African Kingdom and the Hohenzollern-Hechingen family.

Finally, the ceremony ended with a review of the Royal Guards of East Africa. It was not that they did not want to make it a grand event, but the conditions in East Africa did not allow it. Even if they held a celebration ceremony, they could not gather many people together. They could only give the people a few days off, and various places organized activities spontaneously.

…

On May 20, the diplomatic mission of the Kingdom of East Africa was directly separated from the Hexingen Group and went to various countries to start work.

May 25th, this day.

In Europe, major newspapers began to publish reports on the establishment of the East African Kingdom.

According to the previous plan, the Austro-Hungarian government was the first to announce its recognition of the Kingdom of East Africa, followed by Prussia, Sweden, Romania, and the Tsarist Russian government.

Soon after, the German states of Bavaria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece and other countries also issued statements recognizing the legitimacy of the East African Kingdom.

Finally, Alfonso XII, who was still in France, also announced on behalf of Spain that he recognized the Kingdom of East Africa, which made the current Spanish government very embarrassed!

…

Elysee Palace, France.

The French diplomatic department presented the credentials presented by the Kingdom of East Africa today to Napoleon III.

"What's this?"

"Your Majesty, this is a letter from a new country."

"A new country? How come I didn't know there were recent changes like this in Europe?"

"That's right, Your Majesty. This country is not in Europe, but in Africa."

"African countries! Aren't they full of indigenous people? Is your Ministry of Foreign Affairs already too idle to do anything?"

"Well, your majesty, this African country still has some connections with Europe."

"Did something happen in Egypt?"

Napoleon III first thought of the Suez Canal and the British.

"That is not the case, Your Majesty. The Hohenzollern family established a new country in East Africa. They called themselves the Kingdom of East Africa."

"Hohenzollern family, East Africa. I remember it was the branch of the Principality of Hechingen in southern Germany."

"Yes, sire."

"I knew it. The East African Kingdom is really interesting!"

"Your Majesty, what should we do next?"

"Have they sent an envoy?"

"At the hotel."

"Let them come and see me!"

…

U.K.

The then British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone cried out that he had been deceived after receiving the news from Europe.

"Asshole, we have all been deceived. This so-called East African colony was not a colony established by Prussia itself, but was supported by the Austro-Hungarian Empire behind the scenes."

"Mr. Prime Minister, this is not a deception. After all, the East African colonies have never said that they are a subordinate force of Prussia. We were just misled by the Hohenzollern family name."

“Does this mean that the Austro-Hungarian Empire had unrealistic fantasies about its overseas colonies?”

"That's not the case, Mr. Prime Minister. We can only say that this so-called East African Kingdom is deliberately trying to get closer to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Our intelligence shows that the royal families of the two countries have been married for a long time. This may be the main reason. In addition, Archduke Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the father-in-law of the Crown Prince Ernst of the East African Kingdom, is in East Africa."

"That's fine. As long as it's not a kingdom instigated by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it's acceptable."

"Mr. Prime Minister, in fact, the founding pattern of this East African Kingdom is similar to the East India Company's occupation of India. It was also initiated by the German Hechingen Consortium. As far as we know, the owner behind it is the Hechingen royal family. Therefore, this matter was planned by the Hechingen royal family for a long time and has little to do with other countries."

"So, Constantine planned this personally? Just to become a chief in Africa?"

"Well, Mr. Prime Minister, I think it is very likely. This is how our intelligence personnel analyzed it. After the Principality of Hechingen was annexed by Prussia, Prince Constantine has been dissatisfied. After all, he was reduced from a sovereign country to a puppet, which was naturally unwilling. Especially since his neighbor Prince Karl had the same fate of being annexed and had been the prime minister in Prussia, this aggravated the imbalance in Prince Constantine's heart. In order to get rid of the Kingdom of Prussia, Constantine decided to go abroad, so he planned for more than ten years. At the same time, in order to retaliate against Prussia, he chose the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was not very close, as an ally. The previous marriage with the Habsburg family was also within his calculations. At the same time, saving Maximilian I made his relationship with the Austrian royal family closer..."

As expected of the British intelligence department, they managed to make up a bloody plot based on the sparse intelligence.

"Well, I'm not..." William Ewart Gladstone was about to say something.

Suddenly an official ran over in a panic and whispered something in William Ewart Gladstone's ear.

"What? Is the news confirmed?"

"Yes, Prime Minister, there have been riots in Ireland."

"Okay, I got it. I'll go over and take care of it right away."

Seeing the Prime Minister was about to leave, the Foreign Secretary hurriedly asked: "Mr. Prime Minister, what happened?"

"Irish."

The Foreign Secretary understood immediately.

"Then what about this East African kingdom?"

"It's too late to deal with him now. Just copy the statements of other countries and send them out!"

Having said that, the Prime Minister left.

On May 25, 1870, the European powers Austria, Russia, Britain and France successively recognized the legitimacy of the establishment of the East African Kingdom, and other European countries followed suit. Overnight, most Europeans knew about the birth of a new country.

Ernst's choice of May 25 to announce the establishment of the Kingdom of East Africa in Europe was a long-planned decision. The Kingdom of East Africa was established before the Franco-Prussian War so that even if the French government did not recognize the legitimacy of the Kingdom of East Africa, it could still negotiate with the new French government later.

At the same time, on May 25, the Irish Home Rule Movement broke out in the UK, which could divert the British people's attention.

However, the result was still good. Britain and France did not make things difficult for the new country of the East African Kingdom. Now, except for a few small countries, most European countries recognize the existence of the East African Kingdom.

Among the small countries, only the Vatican had a little influence. The Pope was very dissatisfied with Constantine's behavior. He made such a big fuss in Europe, but the church knew nothing about it. So how was his coronation ceremony completed? The southern Germany where the Principality of Hechingen was located was a Catholic region.

The most hateful thing is that this East African kingdom sent envoys to many countries, including Italy, but not a single person came to Rome (the Papal States).

(End of this chapter)