Beaten Boneys, Royal Charlies

The Prince of Wales has been taking part in yet another rah-rah for British military prowess of old. This time the celebration is not for the glamour and glory of the First World War, but for the pacifying charm of Waterloo, which ended years of European conflict and led to peace in Europe for the next century. (The Crimean War, in the absence of the Eurovision Song Contest, was considered a quasi-Asiatic affair; and Bismarck's little trifecta was achieved with minimal British casualties.) Napoleon's defeat by Britain and a few lesser types led to the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy, which had contributed so much to the birth of Enlightenment values before the French Revolution and which, upon its return, governed so wisely and well that it was overthrown again after a decade and a half. Interestingly enough, the monarch deposed in 1830 was a silly old fool named Charles who had been kept waiting for his throne until he was well into his sixties.