Prince Albert Joseph Maria Franz-Xaver of Saxony, Duke of Saxony, Margrave of Meissen (30 November 1934 – 6 October 2012) was the head of the Royal House of Saxony and a German historian. The fourth child and youngest son of Friedrich Christian, Margrave of Meissen and his wife Princess Elisabeth Helene of Thurn and Taxis, he was the younger brother of Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen, who was his predecessor as head of the Royal House of Saxony. Had he been King he would have been known as Albert II

Life
Albert received his secondary education at the Federal Gymnasium in Bregenz, Austria. He passed his matura in 1954.  His parents and their children then moved to Munich, with support from his mother's relatives from the Thurn und Taxis dynasty.  In Munich, Albert studied at the Ludwig Maximilian University. He initially studied macroeconomics, and later switched to history and ethnography.  On 13 February 1961, he received his PhD for a thesis on his great-great-grandfather, King John of Saxony, and his reform of Saxon commercial law.

On 30 January 1960 the  ("Study group for Saxon history and culture") was founded by Albert together with his parents, his elder brother Maria Emanuel, some other Saxon nobles, the Chapter of the Military Order of St. Henry, the chapter of the association of people from Dresden, and the association of Heimatvertriebene in the history department of the University of Munich. This study group became one of the largest historical societies in West Germany. After completing his studies, Albert worked as a historian and referent. He studied the history of the Duchy of Saxony and the Kingdom of Saxony, in particular the relationship of Saxony to Bavaria.

At times, he was vice president of the  ("Association of Central Germans").  In 1972, he joined the  ("Central German Culture Council"), where he represented the interests of the Free State of Saxony.

In the summer of 1982, he was allowed to visit Saxony for the first time since his youth. He visited again in 1983 and 1985. He was then not allowed to enter the German Democratic Republic again, for unknown reasons, until 1989/1990. On 22 January 1990, he participated in a Monday demonstration in Dresden and was unexpectedly asked to address the crowd. He told his audience about their task to rebuild Saxony and ended with the words "Long live Saxony, Germany, Europe and the western-Christian culture."

In the subsequent elections for the Saxon parliament, he ran as a DSU candidate; he was not elected, nor did the newly elected government of Saxony employ him as an advisor. After the German reunification, he has tried to reclaim some of his family's former possessions.

Marriage

Albert morganatically wed Elmira Henke in a civil ceremony on 10 April 1980 in Munich, and in a religious ceremony on 12 April 1980, in the Theatine Church, also in Munich. Elmira assisted Albert with his scientific and historical studies; she specialized in ethnographic topics. Albert and Elmira had no children.

Succession
The headship of the Royal House of Saxony is a matter of dispute in the Saxon Royal Family. The conflict stems from the fact that the last undisputed head of the house Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen, and the other princes of his generation either had no children or, in the case of Prince Timo, had children (including Prince Rüdiger of Saxony) who were deemed not to be members of the Royal House of Saxony.

The first designated dynastic heir of Maria Emanuel was his and Albert's nephew Prince Johannes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, only son of their youngest sister Princess Mathilde of Saxony by her marriage to Prince Johannes Heinrich of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, dynast of a ducal branch of the House of Wettin senior patrilineally to the royal branch. After the early death of Prince Johannes, the heirless Maria Emanuel then considered as potential heir another nephew, Alexander Afif, the eldest son of Princess Anna of Saxony and her husband Roberto Afif, despite the Afif-Saxony marriage being contrary to the traditional laws of the House of Saxony which required equal marriages for descendants to inherit dynastic rights. On 14 May 1997 the Margrave of Meissen proposed his nephew Alexander Afif as heir and drew up a document that was signed by the other male and female members of the Royal House (including previously non-dynastic spouses of princes) setting out that Alexander would succeed on his death. The document was signed by: Anastasia, Margravine of Meissen, Prince Albert and his wife, née Elmira Henke, Prince Dedo (for himself, for his brother Prince Gero and for their stepmother née Virginia Dulon – his brother Prince Timo had died in 1982), the Princesses Maria Josepha, Anna and Mathilde, and Prince Timo's third wife, née Erina Eilts. Two years later on 1 July 1999 the Margrave adopted his nephew Alexander Afif, who had used the title Alexander, Prince of Saxe-Gessaphe since 1972, based on his patrilineal descent from the once-sovereign Lebanese "Afif" (or Gessaphe) dynasty.

The 1997 agreement proved to be controversial and in the summer of 2002 three of the signatories, Princes Albert, Dedo and Gero (the latter consented via proxy but had not personally signed the document) retracted their support for the agreement. The following year Prince Albert wrote that it is through Prince Rüdiger and his sons that the direct line of the Albertine branch of the House of Wettin will continue, and thus avoid becoming extinct. Until his death, however, the Margrave, as head of the former dynasty, continued to regard his nephew and adopted son, Prince Alexander, as the contractual heir entitled to succeed.

Immediately following the death of Maria Emanuel in July 2012, Prince Albert assumed the position of head of the Royal House of Saxony. According to the Eurohistory Journal prior to the Margrave's funeral Albert met with his nephew, Alexander, and recognised him as Margrave of Meissen. However this claim is contradicted by Albert himself in his final interview, given after the funeral, where he states that he needs recognition as Margrave of Meissen. Prince Alexander, citing the 1997 agreement, has also assumed the headship. Albert, Margrave of Meissen died at a hospital in Munich on 6 October 2012 at the age of 77.

Prior to the requiem for Margrave Maria Emanuel, Rüdiger, who had sought to be recognised by his cousin as a dynastic member of the House of Saxony but was refused, conducted a demonstration outside the cathedral with Saxon royalists in protest against the late Margrave Maria Emanuel's decision to appoint Alexander as heir.
The family website of Prince Rüdiger states that, prior to his death, Albert determined Rüdiger to be his successor and instituted a clear succession plan. On this basis following Albert's death Prince Rüdiger assumed the headship of the house.

Ancestry

Publications by Prince Albert
 Die Reform der sächsischen Gewerbegesetzgebung (1840–1861), PhD thesis, University of Munich, 1970
 Dresden, Weidlich, Frankfurt 1974,
 Leipzig und das Leipziger Land, Weidlich, Frankfurt 1976,
 Die Albertinischen Wettiner — Geschichte des Sächsischen Königshauses (1763–1932), 1st ed., St.-Otto-Verlag, Bamberg, 1989, ; 2d ed., Gräfelfing, 1992,
 Weihnacht in Sachsen, Bayerische Verlagsanstalt, Munich, 1992,
 Die Wettiner in Lebensbildern, Styria-Verlag, Vienna, Graz and Cologne, 1995,
 Die Wettiner in Sachsen und Thüringen, König-Friedrich-August-Institut, Dresden, 1996
 Das Haus Wettin und die Beziehungen zum Haus Nassau-Luxemburg, Bad Ems, 2003
 Bayern & Sachsen — gemeinsame Geschichte, Kunst, Kultur und Wirtschaft (with Elmira of Saxony and Walter Beck), Universitas, Munich, 2004,
 Königreich Sachsen: 1806–1918; Traditionen in Schwarz und Gelb, Verlagsgesellschaft Marienberg, 2007,

References

External links
Website of the House of Wettin
The Official Website of Prince Albert and Princess Elmira of Saxony
 Albert Prince of Saxony: Im Dienst der Tradition des Hauses Wettin und der angestammten Heimat Sachsen, Autobiography (PDF; 36 KB)

1934 births
2012 deaths
House of Wettin
Saxon princes
People from Bamberg
20th-century German historians
German Roman Catholics
German male non-fiction writers
Albertine branch
21st-century German historians

Albert von Sachsen (born 1934)


Richard Gable Hovannisian (; November 9, 1932 – July 10, 2023) was an American historian. He was born in Tulare, California.

He received his M.A.(1958) degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and his Ph.D.(1966) from University of California, Los Angeles. He was also Associate Professor of History at Mount St. Mary's College, Los Angeles, from 1966 to 1969. In 1987, Professor Hovannisian was appointed as the first holder of the Armenian Educational Foundation Endowed Chair in Modern Armenian History at the UCLA. His biographical entries are included in Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the World among other scholarly and literary reference works.

Hovannisian died in Los Angeles, California on July 10, 2023 at the age of 90.

Books
The Republic of Armenia, Volume 1 (1971) and Volume II (1982), Vols. III & IV (1996) U.C. Press
The Armenian Holocaust, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Armenian Heritage Press (1980)
The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times, 2 vols. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997
Remembrance and Denial: The Case of the Armenian Genocide. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1998
Armenian Sebastia/Sivas and Lesser Armenia (Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, 2004)

References

Other websites
Full bibliography

American historians
2023 deaths
1932 births

Richard G. Hovannisian


Retching (also known as dry heaving) is the reverse movement (retroperistalsis) of the stomach and esophagus without vomiting. It can be caused by bad smells or choking, or by withdrawal from certain medications, or after vomiting has completed. Retching can also occur as a result of an emotional response or from stress, which produces the same physical reaction. The function is thought to be mixing gastric contents with intestinal refluxate in order to buffer the former and give it momentum in preparation of vomiting. Treatments include medication and correction of the fluid and electrolyte balance.

Physiology
The retching phase is characterized by a series of violent spasmodic abdomino-thoracic contractions with the glottis closed. During this time, the inspiratory (inhalatory) movements of the chest wall and diaphragm are opposed by the expiratory contractions of the abdominal musculature. At the same time, movements of the stomach and its contents take place. Whereas a patient will complain of disagreeable sensations during nausea, speech is not possible during retching. The characteristic movements furnish a ready diagnostic sign of the retching phase. Schindler (1937) studied retching on two occasions during gastroscopy and noted that longitudinal folds appeared in the previously smooth antrum, thickened quickly, came together and completely closed the antrum. Retching involves a deep inspiration against a closed glottis. This, along with contraction of the abdomen, leads to a pressure difference between the abdominal and thoracic cavities. As a result, the stomach and gastric contents are displaced upwards toward the thoracic cavity.

Retching comprises a rhythmically alternating (about once per second) elevation and descension of the entire  apparatus in synchrony with the movement of the diaphragm. The function of retching may be to mix gastric contents with intestinal refluxate to buffer gastric contents before gastroesophageal reflux and to impart a momentum to the gastric contents before vomiting. Airway protection during retching is accomplished by glottal closure during retches and constriction of the upper esophageal sphincter between retches.

Versus vomiting
Vomiting (the expulsion of gastric contents) is usually preceded by retching, but retching and vomiting can occur separately and involve different sets of muscles. During a retch, thoracic pressure is decreased and abdominal pressure is increased, which may serve to position gastric contents and overcome esophageal resistance. Conversely, a vomit occurs with increased thoracic and abdominal pressure. Retches and vomits are commonly lumped together in behavioral analyses and consequently the neural controls for these processes are not well delineated.

Treatments
The treatments for significant retching include correction of fluid and electrolyte balance, nutritional support and medications like phenothiazines (such as Compazine and Phenergan), 5-HT3 antagonist (such as Zofran), dopamine receptor antagonists (such as Reglan), antihistamines (Antivert, and Dramamine, Benadryl) and anticholinergics (Scopolamine). Alternative approaches are also  available. The best-studied alternative therapy is perhaps the use of acupressure for pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting. Wristbands with acupressure buttons are commercially available. An implanted device with attached electrodes into the gastric wall can be an option for patients with refractory nausea and vomiting.

See also
 Pharyngeal reflex, the gag reflex
Regurgitation (digestion)
Vomiting

References

Reflexes
Digestive disease symptoms
Vomiting

Retching


Stane Street is the modern name of the  Roman road in southern England that linked Londinium (London) to Noviomagus Reginorum (Chichester). The exact date of construction is uncertain; however, on the basis of archaeological artefacts discovered along the route, it was in use by 70 AD and may have been built in the first decade of the Roman occupation of Britain (as early as 43–53 AD).

Stane Street shows clearly the engineering principles that the Romans used when building roads. A straight-line alignment from London Bridge to Chichester would have required steep crossings of the North Downs, Greensand Ridge and South Downs. The road was therefore designed to exploit a natural gap in the North Downs cut by the River Mole and to pass to the east of the high ground of Leith Hill, before following flatter land in the River Arun valley to Pulborough. The direct survey line was followed only for the northernmost  from London to Ewell. At no point does the road lie more than  from the direct line from London Bridge to Chichester.

Today the Roman road is easily traceable on modern maps. Much of the route is followed by the A3, A24, A29 and A285, although most of the course through the modern county of Surrey has either been completely abandoned or is followed only by bridlepaths. Earthworks associated with the road are visible in many places where the course is not overlain by modern roads. Several parts of Stane Street are listed as scheduled monuments, including the well-preserved section from Mickleham Downs to Thirty Acres Barn, Ashtead.

Etymology
Stane is simply an old spelling of "stone" () which was commonly used to differentiate paved Roman roads from muddy native trackways. The name of the road is first recorded as Stanstret in both the 1270 Feet of Fines and the 1279 Assizes Rolls of Ockley. Some historical sources refer to the road as 'Stone Street'. There is no surviving record of the road's original Roman name.

Dating evidence
A number of  first-century pottery fragments have been found along the road, including samian ware of Claudian date at Pulborough. The earliest coins found along the route are from the reigns of Claudius (41–54 AD), Nero (54–68) and Vespasian (69-79), consistent with the road being in use by 60 to 70 AD. Stane Street may in fact have been constructed during the first decade of Roman occupation, as early as 43–53 AD. Archaeological evidence from later periods includes coins from the reigns of Titus (79–81),  Domitian (81–96), Nerva (96–98), Hadrian (117–138), Commodus (180–192), Severus Alexander (222–235), Gallienus (260–268), Claudius Gothicus (268–270) and Constantine the Great (306–337).

Surveying

The direct line from London Bridge to Chichester passes over the North Downs at Ranmore ( above ordnance datum) and the Greensand Ridge at Holmbury St Mary ( above OD). The steep gradients that would have been required if the road had followed a direct line would not have been practical for wheeled traffic. The road was therefore designed to cross the North Downs by a natural breach cut by the River Mole and to pass to the east of the high ground of Leith Hill.

The geology of the region was also considered and the road leaves the direct line at Ewell to move onto the well-drained chalk of the North Downs, in preference to remaining on the London Clay. The road is able to make a more gentle ascent of the South Downs escarpment at Bignor than was possible at East Lavington and the chosen route avoids the need to cross the steep-sided River Lavant valley at East Dean.

No evidence survives as to how the course of the road was surveyed.

Design and construction

For much of its length, Stane Street consisted of a central agger (a raised embankment on which the upper road surface was laid), with parallel ditches either side. A variety of local materials was used to build the road, sometimes supplemented with stone brought from elsewhere. The agger was often constructed of alternating layers of sand and gravel paved with large flint nodules, or sandstone, surfaced with smaller flint or sand and gravel. The metalling was generally about  thick at the centre and had a pronounced camber.

Around Merton Priory, the surface consisted of sub-rounded flints and gravel embedded in sand and silt. Close to Tyrell's Wood and Mickleham Downs, Stane Street consisted of water-washed pebbles laid directly onto the chalk, which are thought to have given this section its local name, 'Pebble Lane'. Near to the Alfoldean station the metalling was constructed from iron slag in a solid  mass, topped with  a double layer of sandstone slats.

Although the actual width of the metalling varies from place to place, the average width of the paved road is , or 25 Roman pedes. This is wider than the average  or 22 pedes for Roman roads in Britain.

The distance between the outer ditches also varies and was found to be  at Merton Priory and  at Westhampnett.

Posting stations
Posting stations or mansiones were provided at regular intervals (generally every ) along Roman roads, so that official messengers could change horses and travellers could rest. Typically, they were rectangular fortified sites of about . Mansiones have in been identified on Stane Street at Alfoldean and Hardham, each of which was close to a crossing point of the River Arun.

The Alfoldean mansio, which is partly covered by the A29 road, was investigated in 2006 by the Channel 4 archaeological television programme Time Team. Excavations revealed the remains of a two-storey mansio built around a courtyard and also many other buildings. The site was enclosed by massive ramparts and ditches  wide and as deep, which were dated by pottery finds to around 90 AD. The ditches were filled in by the mid-third century. The team's view was that the site had been an administrative and taxation centre for the Wealden iron industry.

A geophysical survey of the Hardham mansio was carried out in 1997, which revealed that the station was roughly square with a total area of . Much of the western side was destroyed by the construction of the Pulborough to Midhurst railway, but evidence of the north and south gateways, as well as traces of the outer ditches, remain. Cremation burials dating from the late Iron Age and early Romano-British periods have been found both inside and just outside of the enclosure, however, their relationship to the rest of the mansio is unclear. The Hardham station is thought to have become disused by the end of the second century AD.

Given its length, Stane Street would be expected to have had two further mansiones. Stations at Merton Priory and Dorking are considered most likely, based on the distances between them, though the remains would now be hidden under modern development. Alternative sites for the posting stations have also been suggested at Ewell, the Burford Bridge (where the road  crossed the River Mole) and Pixham (where the road is thought to have crossed the Pipp Brook).

Route

London Bridge to Ewell
The northernmost section of Stane Street, from London Bridge to Ewell, is the only part of the road which lies on the direct alignment to the east gate of Chichester, (although the builders made short local deviations to avoid difficult ground conditions). From the start of the route on the south bank of the River Thames, the course is followed by the A3 as far as the northeast corner of Clapham Common and from there by the A24 as far as Ewell.

The site of the Roman London Bridge, at the northern end of Stane Street, is approximately  east of the modern bridge. From there the route heads southwestwards, but between  and Elephant & Castle tube stations, it deviates from the direct line to Chichester to run along Newington Causeway, most likely to avoid marshy ground to the east. It then continues southwestwards as Kennington Park Road and Clapham Road. The course of the road around Clapham Common is unclear and it may have remained on the direct alignment (which would have required a descent to run alongside a former tributary of the Thames) or followed a similar route to the A24 along the south side of the Common, which would have allowed it to remain on higher ground.

Stane Street crossed the River Wandle close to the site of Merton Priory. The course of the river has changed since Roman times and the original crossing point (believed to have been a ford, although there may have been a bridge for pedestrians) was close to the site of Colliers Wood tube station. Excavations carried out between 1997 and 1999 showed that the road was approximately  wide and the surface consisted primarily of pebbles compacted into silt and the natural gravel below. Two metal brooches, likely to have been worn by high-status individuals, were among the archaeological artefacts uncovered.

A rare example of a Roman barrow, a circular mound roughly  in diameter and  high, survives in Morden Park approximately  west of the road. From Morden, Stane Street passes through Sutton Common and forms the northern boundary of Sutton. The name 'Sutton' is derived from Old English sūth and tūn, meaning "the south enclosure", which may relate to its position in relation to the road. Stane Street runs along the western boundary of Nonsuch Park as it enters Surrey to the northeast of Ewell.

Ewell to the Burford Bridge

From the first to the fourth centuries AD, Ewell was a large Romano-British town. Stane Street approaches from the northeast, leaving the silty clays of the Reading Beds and moving briefly onto the better-draining Thanet Sands. Close to the present Church Street, the road makes a 23° turn to the south, to allow it to reach the Upper Chalk of the North Downs more quickly. It has been suggested that the road bends somewhat more sharply than was strictly necessary, possibly to avoid the Hogsmill Spring, which may have held religious significance for the local British tribes. A second change in alignment occurs where the Epsom to Sutton railway line cuts across the road.

The section from Thirty Acres Barn, Ashtead to Mickleham Downs is well preserved and is listed as a scheduled monument. A 2020 Lidar survey revealed that Stane Street was built across an earlier field system, although it is unclear whether the area was under active cultivation at the time of construction. The considerable evidence of both Bronze Age and Iron Age activity on Mickleham Downs suggests that a pre-existing early trackway was adapted and straightened by the Romans, to create this part of Stane Street.

The confirmed route reaches the southwestern corner of Mickleham Downs close to Juniper Hall Field Centre, but from there south, the course is more uncertain. Stane Street is thought to have taken the same route as the modern B2209, the surface of which has been worn down over centuries of use to produce the sunken lane visible today. The footpath on the western side of the modern road may indicate the extent to which the original Roman road surface has been eroded.

Stane Street crossed the River Mole via a ford close to the site of the modern Burford Bridge. Excavations carried out in 1937 revealed a "flint-surfaced approach to [a] ford at low level having all the signs of Roman workmanship".

The route through Dorking

Although no conclusive evidence for the route has been found in the  'gap' between the Mole crossing and North Holmwood, Stane Street is thought to have passed through Dorking which was a Romano-British settlement. In the 1960s, the historian Ivan Margary proposed that the road headed directly for the town centre from the Burford Bridge, an alignment that would have taken it beneath the present day Ashcombe School site. However, excavations in the mid-2000s at Westhumble and Denbies Wine Estate failed to find any trace of the road along his proposed route. The current consensus is that this section of Stane Street most likely lies under the A24 dual carriageway.

Excavations in the 1970s and 1980s (in Horsham Road and Church Street respectively) uncovered sections of road in Dorking: however, they could not be conclusively identified as Stane Street. It seems likely that the A2003 follows the general route as it left the town to the south. The confirmed alignment reappears in the south of North Holmwood, close to the junction of the A24 dual carriageway and Spook Hill.

Based on the distance from Alfoldean (some  to the town centre), there would be expected to have been a mansio in the Dorking area. Numerous excavations and chance findings along the length of the High Street (from Pump Corner in the west to Pippbrook House in the east) have produced coins, pottery sherds and other items that indicate a Roman presence. There was also a Roman villa nearby at Abinger Hammer. Both Margary and the writer, Hilaire Belloc, proposed that the mansio was located at the western end of the High Street, in the 'triangle' between West Street and South Street. Excavations taking place in 2013, during the rebuilding of the Waitrose supermarket in South Street, failed to produce any significant finds of Roman origin that might support the presence of either a posting station or even Stane Street itself in this area. Alternative sites for the mansio have also been suggested at the Burford Bridge (the 'bur' part of the name is derived from the Old English burh meaning a fortified site, which may reference a guard post or larger encampment defending the ford over the River Mole) and at Pixham (where there may have been a Roman villa).

North Holmwood to Pulborough

As the route of Stane Street leaves Dorking, the underlying geology changes from Lower Greensand to impermeable Weald Clay. From North Holmwood to Ockley (a distance of ), the exact route has been confirmed by a series of excavations. Much of this section remains in good condition (albeit buried below ground level), although the upper surface appears to have been removed (presumably to supply stone to local building projects). A large quantity of flints, which do not occur in the Weald Clay, were found in the remaining core. The flint is likely to have been quarried to the north of Dorking and then transported to the site, suggesting that this part of the road was built from north to south.

The Saxon and medieval road from Dorking to the south bypasses this section, by climbing the eastern slopes of Leith Hill as far as Coldharbour, before descending to Ockley. Although the later route is longer, steeper and requires an ascent to an altitude of , it remains on the freer draining Lower Greensand. It is possible that, once the upper surface of the Roman road had been robbed, the corresponding section of Stane Street (on Weald Clay) was impassable in the wetter months.

A change of direction occurs to the west of South Holmwood, where the road takes up a line sighted from London Bridge to Pulborough. The only significant deviation is at Okewood Hill, where the road loops to the west for around  to cross a small stream at a convenient fording point. The A29, which follows the route through Ockley, also leaves the direct London Bridge-Pulborough alignment at this point, but turns instead to the east. This section of Stane Street is largely flat, with the exception of the hill at Rowhook,  above OD, which the A29 avoids.

Just to the south of the steep descent from Rowhook through Roman Woods, the road crossed the River Arun. Some of the timber piles on which the bridge was built are still present in the river bed. Scattered Roman tiles and squared stone in the river bed show that stone bridge piers were built above the piling. The Alfoldean mansio is some  south of the bridge site. A small, linear settlement grew up alongside the  stretch of road immediately to the south of the posting station.

The  section of the route south from Alfoldean to Pulborough is overlain by the A29. The general alignment is a straight line sighted from Brockham Warren (on Box Hill) to Borough Hill (near North Heath), although the modern road deviates from the original route of Stane Street for short distances, especially around Slinfold. The modern roads also curve away from the straight alignment through Billingshurst, however in this instance, the Roman road is thought to have done the same to accommodate the local topography and ground conditions.

Pulborough to Chichester
Stane Street crossed the River Arun for a second time at Pulborough Bridge. Although the original crossing is lost, a medieval-style bridge was built in 1777 on the same site. The road was laid on top of a  causeway to cross marshy ground on the south side of the river, over which the modern A29 runs as far as Winters Farm.

The Greensand Way Roman road to Lewes joined the road at the Hardham mansio, to the south west of Pulborough. From here Stane Street turns to run straight towards the east gate of Chichester, passing the notable Roman villa at Bignor. It makes a slight detour from the direct line to ascend the escarpment of the South Downs via a spur of chalk at Bignortail Wood. The road is visible as a terrace, cut into the steep hillside, as it climbs towards Bignor Hill.

As the road crosses Gumber Down, the agger narrows to a width of , although its height often exceeds . The distinctive shape is thought to result from a series of post-Roman reconstructions, which converted Stane Street to a prominent boundary bank. An excavation carried out in 1913, showed that the roadway had previously been much wider and the distance between the outer ditches was measured as .

Through Eartham Woods where the Monarch's Way long-distance path follows the route, the flint surface of the well-preserved road is exposed and the trees are mostly cut back to the boundary ditches. The A285 joins the route at the western side of Eartham Woods, although it leaves the alignment almost immediately to avoid the ascent of Halnaker Hill, before rejoining again for the final  stretch into Chichester.

It has been suggested that the section of road between Chichester and Hardham was the first part of Stane Street to be constructed and that (based on archaeological finds) the Romans straightened and improved an existing Iron Age trackway.

Branch roads

At least five Roman roads are known to have had junctions with Stane Street. The London to Brighton Way road diverged at Kennington Park, before passing through Croydon, Godstone, Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill to cross the South Downs at Clayton. From Rowhook a road went northwest to Farley Heath at the foot of the North Downs where it passes through a Roman temple site. To the north of Pulborough another road branched off in a southeasterly direction to meet the Greensand Way at Wiggonholt. It is unclear whether it continued beyond this towards Storrington.

The Sussex Greensand Way diverges from Stane Street at the Hardham mansio, following a well-drained sandstone ridge east to Lewes. At Westhampnett, near the Rolls-Royce works, the Roman coastal road, which became the older A27 road, branches at the mini-roundabout.  The Roman road continues via Broadwater, Sompting, Lancing (along a road still named The Street) and part of the Old Shoreham Road (the A270) through to Novus Portus (around modern Portslade).

Decline and partial abandonment

The military importance of Stane Street appears to have declined through the second half of the Roman occupation of Britain. The mansio at Hardham is thought to have become disused by the end of the second century AD and the road is absent from the third-century Antonine Itinerary, which indicates that the preferred route from Chichester to London was via Winchester.  Nevertheless, Stane Street continued to be an important trade route until at least the early fourth century, and goods transported along the road included pottery from Rowlands Castle.

The extent to which the Anglo-Saxons used and maintained the route reflects the changes in government and economic activity which took place after the end of Roman rule in Britain. Although Londinium had been abandoned as a city by the fifth century, the sphere of influence of its successor, Lundenwick, was sufficiently large to ensure the retention of the stretch of road between Ewell and Southwark. The emergence of Sussex as a political entity, decreased the importance of the north-south roads leading across the Weald to the former Roman capital and so much of the rest of Stane Street was abandoned. The route between Alfoldean and Pulborough, which connects Billingshurst with two crossing points of the River Arun (and is followed by the A29 today), was probably maintained as a local link. Similarly, the  stretch of road to the east of Chichester was a useful route to ascend onto the South Downs (and is followed by the A285 today).

Elsewhere the road was lightly used and was most likely quarried in the decades following the end of Roman rule, to provide stone to for local construction. Particularly where the route ran across Weald Clay, removal of the upper surface probably rendered the road unusable in the wetter months and subsequently all traces were eliminated by ploughing or urban development.

Daniel Defoe (the author of Robinson Crusoe) described the disappearance of Stane Street in his travelogue, A tour thro' the whole island of Great Britain (1724–1727), which describes the country shortly before the start of the Industrial Revolution:
Likewise the roads in Sussex, and that in particular which was formerly a Roman work, call'd Stony-street or Stone-street: Mr Cambden mentions it as going from Leatherhead to Darking and thro' Darking church-yard, then across a terrible deep country, call'd the Homeward, and so to Petworth and Arundel: But we see nothing of it now; and the country remains in the utmost distress for want of good roads: So also all over the Wild of Kent and Sussex is the same, where corn is cheap at the barn because it cannot be brought in.

Historiography

Although knowledge of Stane Street appears to have continued from Anglo-Saxon times into the early modern period and beyond (as evidenced by a reference in Britannia by William Camden, first published in 1586), no systematic studies of the route were carried out until the early 20th century. The writer Hilaire Belloc published The Stane Street: A monograph in 1913, in which he attempted to reconstruct the entirety of the route. Since Belloc was not a trained surveyor, his work on the route to the north of Dorking contained significant inaccuracies, which W. A. Grant (a former captain in the Royal Engineers) attempted to address in his critical review, published in 1922. Excavations carried out by the amateur archaeologist S. E. Winbolt, detailed in his book With a spade on Stane Street, first published in 1936, made a significant contribution to our current understanding and formed the basis of the relevant chapter in Ivan Margary's book Roman Ways in the Weald, published in 1948. Margary number 15 is assigned to the road.

Preservation

Several sections of Stane Street, including the mansiones at Alfoldean and Hardham, are listed as scheduled monuments.

A  length of Stane Street at Redlands Wood near South Holmwood was restored by the archaeologist S. E. Winbolt in 1935. The section was turfed over to protect it for future generations.

Notes

References

Bibliography

See also

 Roman Britain
 Roman roads in Britain
 Chichester to Sidlesham Way

External links

Roman roads in England
Archaeological sites in London
Archaeological sites in Surrey
Archaeological sites in West Sussex
1st-century establishments in Roman Britain
History of the City of London
Roman London

Stane Street (Chichester)


Concurrent powers are powers of a federal state that are shared by both the federal government and each constituent political unit, such as a state or province. These powers may be exercised simultaneously within the same territory, in relation to the same body of citizens, and regarding the same subject-matter. Concurrent powers are contrasted with reserved powers (not possessed by the federal government) and with exclusive federal powers (forbidden to be possessed by the states, or requiring federal permission).

Enumerated federal powers are supreme and so, they may pre-empt a state or provincial law in case of conflict.  Concurrent powers can therefore be divided into two kinds: those not generally subject to federal pre-emption, such as the power to tax private citizens, and other concurrent powers.

In the United States, examples of the concurrent powers shared by both the federal and the state governments include the powers to tax, to spend, and to create lower courts.

References

Federalism
Constitutional law

Concurrent powers


Sportscene is the name of a range of Scottish sports television programmes produced by BBC Scotland.

History
Sportscenes predecessors were Sports Special from Scotland and  Sportsreel, which was broadcast every Saturday at around 5pm (results and reports) and 10pm (highlights) in the 1950s, 1960s and the early 1970s. By the mid-1970s, a Sportscene format of a 5pm programme called Scoreboard presented by Gordon Hewitt (as a regional opt-out from Grandstand), plus a 10pm show with highlights from one English and one Scottish league or cup match, was established. Sportscene also covered European and international matches, which usually involved highlights but occasionally live coverage. The show was presented by Archie Macpherson with commentary by Macpherson, Alastair Alexander or Peter Thomson.

Shows

]
There are a number of shows that come under the Sportscene brand.

 Sportscene is broadcast on Saturday and Sunday evenings on BBC Scotland with a late night repeat on BBC One Scotland and is presented by Jonathan Sutherland on Saturdays and Steven Thompson on Sundays. The show produces highlights of all the week's matches from the Scottish Premiership. Sutherland is joined by two studio guests who discuss the results. Guests have included Pat Nevin and Packie Bonner. Commentators include Rob Maclean, Liam McLeod, Paul Mitchell, John Barnes and Alasdair Lamont.
 Sportscene Results is broadcast on Saturday afternoons on BBC One Scotland and occasionally BBC Scotland (formerly BBC Two Scotland). The show rounds up all of the day's main football scores, whilst debating the major Scottish football stories of the week. It sends reporters to every game in the Scottish Premiership, certain games in the Scottish Championship, as well as Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup games. BBC Scotland had historically produced a Saturday teatime results round-up programme as an opt-out from Grandstand initially known as Scoreboard which launched on 16 August 1975, but in 1989 a new programme called Afternoon Sportscene was launched. It ran for the entire duration of the time allocated for the day's results, starting at some point between 1 and 5 minutes before the network aired English counterpart Final Score. At the start of the 2001/02 season the programme was renamed Sportscene Results to co-inside with the programme and Final Score, becoming programmes in their own right. Sportscene Results is presented by David Currie previous presenters have included Peter Thomson, Sandy McLeish, Murdoch McPherson, Brian Marjoribanks, Alastair Alexander, Gordon Hewitt, Bill McFarlan, Rob Maclean, Jim Craig, Dougie Donnelly, Hazel Irvine, Alison Walker, Dougie Vipond, Stuart Cosgrove and Eilidh Barbour. The show gives football experts like Pat Nevin and Tony Higgins an opportunity to give their views on the days results and the past week of football.
 Sportscene Live is the name used for all live football matches broadcast by BBC Scotland. It is mostly presented by Steven Thompson and Leanne Crichton on the BBC Scotland channel and some live matches are presented by Rob Maclean on BBC One Scotland. Coverage includes the Scottish Championship, both Scottish cup competitions (the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup) and Scotland matches.
 All other football related programming is simply branded as Sportscene. This includes highlights packages and other one-off specials.

Previous shows

 Sportscene Rugby Special was the title of BBC Scotland's domestic rugby union programming when it held the rights to the Scottish leagues with the live matches & highlights broadcasting on BBC Two Scotland on Sunday teatimes starting on 30 October 1994 until the end of the 1996–97 season also on Sunday lunchtimes for the 1997–98 season for the 1998–99 season it was broadcast on Monday teatimes and for the 1999–2000 season on Sunday nights moving to BBC One Scotland before the 2000–01 season on Saturday nights after Sportscene: Match of the Day although this didn't last long as BBC Scotland lost the broadcasting rights of the Scottish rugby at the end of 2000 to rival Scottish Television which launched Scotsport Rugby Round-Up on 14 January 2001, The last Sportscene Rugby Special programme was on 4 November 2000 (highlights) and 18 November 2000 (live)
 Friday Sportscene was the name of the football preview programme that went out on BBC One Scotland on Friday nights from 11 August 1989 – 25 May 2001 The programme's format was later moved to Saturday lunchtimes in place of Football Focus from 28 July 2001 but has been absent from the schedules since BBC Scotland lost the live rights to the Scottish Premier League in 2004.
 Grandstand from Scotland / Sunday Grandstand from Scotland''' (sometimes branded Scottish Grandstand or Grandstand Scotland) was the name of BBC Scotland's sports programme broadcast as an occasional opt-out from the network version of Grandstand on BBC One Scotland from 1961 - 2006 and BBC Two Scotland from 1989 - 2006. it was initially broadcast as an opt-out from the FA Cup Final throughout the 1960s and 1970s but in subsequent years from 1981 the programme was occasionally broadcast to incorporate local and network sporting events if there was live or highlights coverage of Scottish football, rugby, golf, snooker etc. Presenters have included Peter Thomson, Sandy McLeish, Murdoch McPherson, Brian Marjoribanks, Gordon Hewitt, Dougie Donnelly, Bill McFarlan, Hazel Irvine, Rob Maclean, Jill Douglas, Alison Walker and Dougie Vipond.

Presenters, commentators and reporters
Sportscene's main anchors are David Currie and Jonathan Sutherland. Previous Sportscene presenters include Peter Thomson, Sandy McLeish, Bill Malcolm, Archie Henry, Murdoch McPherson, Glen Gibson, Brian Marjoribanks, Alastair Alexander, Charles Munro, Archie Macpherson, Gordon Hewitt, Andrew Alexander, Dougie Donnelly, Bill McFarlan, Jim Craig, Derek Johnstone, Laura McGhie, Hazel Irvine, Jock Brown, Mark Souster, Alison Walker, Mike Abbott, Richard Gordon, Jill Douglas, Amy Irons, John Beattie, Dougie Vipond, and Stuart Cosgrove.

The programme's main commentary and reporting team consists of; lead commentator Liam McLeod, Paul Mitchell, John Barnes, Kheredine Idessane, Al Lamont, Jane Lewis and Chris McLaughlin.

Previous lead commentators have been Archie MacPherson (1969–1990), Jock Brown (1990–1997), Rob MacLean (1997–2004) and
Paul Mitchell (2004–2010).

Reporters on Sportscene Results have included Jonathan Sutherland, Chris McLaughlin, Brian McLauchlin, Tam McManus, Kenny Crawford, Scott Davie, Martin Dowden, Jim Spence, Charlie Mann and Sandra Brown.

OnlineSportscene has begun simulcasting certain live matches via both the BBC Sport website and the BBC Sport Mobile app. The UEFA Cup tie between Molde and Rangers was one of the first to feature online. Most programmes now feature on the BBC iPlayer service, depending on rights restrictions.

In popular culture
The programme is regularly parodied in the Scottish football impressionist show Only an Excuse?. Munchtime Sportscene is a name often used by the programme's makers, presumably a play on the currently rested Lunchtime Sportscene programme.

See alsoSportsoundScotsport BBC Scotland BBC Sport''

References

External links

1975 Scottish television series debuts
1970s Scottish television series
BBC Scotland television shows
BBC Sport
British sports television series
Football mass media in Scotland
Sports television in Scotland
Scottish Premiership on television
1980s Scottish television series
1990s Scottish television series
2000s Scottish television series
2010s Scottish television series
2020s Scottish television series

Sportscene


Witham's Cemetery is a cemetery in Gibraltar.

Description

The cemetery takes its name from Captain Witham, a British officer of the 18th century involved in the sieges of Gibraltar,  said to be "a rather spirited gentleman, who enjoyed himself by digging up a garden over the night." The Gibraltar Naval Memorial notes that the U.S. Navy, in cooperation with the British, once moved graves from the Witham's Road Cemetery to the North Front Cemetery.

References

External links

Cemeteries in Gibraltar

Witham's Cemetery


On 6 February 1952, George VI, King of the United Kingdom, died at the age of 56, at Sandringham House, after battling with a prolonged cancer. His state funeral took place on 15 February 1952. A period of national mourning commenced and his eldest daughter and successor, Queen Elizabeth II was proclaimed the new monarch by the Accession Council. George VI's coffin lay in St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham until 11 February when it was carried, in procession, to the nearby Wolferton railway station. The coffin was carried by train to London King's Cross railway station where another formal procession carried it to Westminster Hall where the king lay in state for three days. Some 304,000 people passed through Westminster Hall with queues up to  forming.

George VI's funeral was held on 15 February and began with another formal procession to Paddington Station, the coffin being carried on a gun carriage hauled by Royal Navy seamen, as is traditional at the funerals of British sovereigns. The procession was accompanied by Elizabeth II, George VI's widow Queen Elizabeth (now the Queen Mother), Princess Margaret and four royal dukes: Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor, and Prince Edward, Duke of Kent. Numerous foreign monarchs and other representatives also attended. On arrival at Paddington the coffin was loaded onto a train for the journey to Windsor. Another procession carried the coffin through the town to St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle where a service was held and the king interred in the royal vault.

The procession was the first of a British monarch to be broadcast on television and may have led to the start of a mass purchase of television sets. The king's body was relocated to the newly built King George VI Memorial Chapel at St George's in 1969 and was joined there by the body of his wife Queen Elizabeth, and the ashes of his daughter Princess Margaret, who died in March 2002 and February 2002 respectively. In September 2022, after the death of his daughter, Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, who had died in April 2021, were interred alongside them in the Chapel. A change in the ledger stone following Elizabeth and Philip's interment was also made.

Death

George VI had undergone a lung operation in September 1951 from which he never fully recovered. In the evening of 5 February 1952, he had a meal with his family at Sandringham House, Norfolk, and retired to bed at 10:30 pm. He died in his sleep on 6 February 1952 at the age of 56. He was discovered by his valet at 7:30 am and the news was conveyed to Buckingham Palace by telephone, using the code "Hyde Park Corner" to avoid alerting switchboard operators to the news. The news was not broken to the wider world until 11:15 am when BBC newsreader John Snagge read the words "It is with the greatest sorrow that we make the following announcement..." on the radio. The news was repeated every fifteen minutes for seven occasions, before the broadcast went silent for five hours. As a mark of respect the Great Tom bell at St Paul's Cathedral was tolled every minute for two hours, as well as the bells at Westminster Abbey. The Sebastopol bell, a Crimean War trophy at Windsor Castle that is rung only upon a royal death, was tolled 56 times, once for each year of George VI's life, between 1:27 and 2:22 pm.

Royal funerals are overseen by the Earl Marshal, a hereditary post held at the time by Bernard Fitzalan-Howard, 16th Duke of Norfolk. The Earl Marshal has a suite of offices set aside for their use at St James's Palace in London. At the time of George VI's death these were being renovated and had to be hurriedly reopened. Scaffolding was dismantled, furniture moved in and phones, lighting and heating installed; the offices were ready by 5:00 pm.

The House of Commons met at 11:58 am to express its grief before adjourning to await the decision of the Accession Council as to the next monarch. The council met at 5:00 pm in the Entrée Room of St James's Palace and confirmed Elizabeth II as George VI's successor. An official proclamation of the accession was made by the Garter King of Arms on the Proclamation Gallery on the palace's eastern front, preceded by trumpet blasts from musicians from the Life Guards, the event being filmed by four television cameras. From then High Sheriffs repeated the proclamation at town and city halls across the country. Some 5,000 attended the proclamation in Manchester, 10,000 in Birmingham and 15,000 in Edinburgh.

A period of national mourning followed George VI's death. Rugby and hockey games were postponed, though football matches continued with the singing of the national anthem and the hymn "Abide With Me" before each game. Memorial services were held in churches of all denominations across the country and around the world, even in communist states. There was some opposition to the mourning, social researchers from Mass-Observation recorded one 60-year-old woman who asked: "Don't they think of old folk, sick people, invalids? It's been terrible for them, all this gloom". On another occasion the organisation recorded that a fight broke out in a Notting Hill bar after one man said of the King, "He's only shit and soil now like anyone else".

Journey to London

The body of George VI was dressed in a British Royal Navy uniform and placed in a coffin made from oak grown on the Sandringham estate. The coffin was laid in St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham where the king had worshipped while on the estate. On 11 February the coffin, draped in the Royal Standard on top of which his wife Queen Elizabeth had laid a wreath of flowers, was carried from the church. The coffin was placed onto a gun carriage of the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery for its journey to the nearby Wolferton railway station. The coffin was followed by George VI's brother Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and son-in-law Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, on foot. The new queen, Elizabeth II, her sister Princess Margaret and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother followed by car. The Sandringham estate staff and their families followed in procession part of the way and the public lined much of the route.

Upon arrival at the station the coffin was removed from the gun carriage by eight soldiers of the Grenadier Guards and placed into a railway carriage, the same carriage that had carried the coffin of George V (the deceased king's father) for the same journey to London. The carriage was pulled by the LNER Thompson Class B2 locomotive 61617 Ford Castle, the usual Royal Train locomotive, class-mate 61671 Royal Sovereign being unavailable. The line required a reversal at King's Lynn so the locomotive was changed for BR Standard Class 7 70000 Britannia. The cab roofs of the locomotives were painted white for the occasion, as this is traditional for locomotives of the British Royal Train. Britannia arrived at London King's Cross railway station on time at 2:45 pm.

Procession and lying in state

Before arrival in London the Imperial State Crown was placed, on a cushion, on top of the coffin. The coffin was carried from the train by eight Grenadier Guards and placed onto a green-painted gun carriage, the same as had been used for the funeral procession of George V. Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and Princess Margaret followed the coffin on foot to the outside of the station and then boarded a car to travel to meet Queen Mary at Buckingham Palace. The King's coffin was drawn in procession to Westminster Hall where it was to lie in state. The coffin was drawn on a gun carriage by the Kings' Troop, escorted by an officer and ten men of the Grenadier Guards, preceded by mounted police. The Dukes of Gloucester and Edinburgh followed the coffin on foot, followed by members of George VI's royal household. The procession route was via Kingsway, Aldwych, Trafalgar Square and along Whitehall (where military officers in the procession saluted The Cenotaph) to Westminster Hall, part of the Palace of Westminster.

Crowds lined the route and to create space for them to stand the rhododendrons in Parliament Square were pulled up. The procession was broadcast on television, the first time that part of a royal funeral had this treatment, and also by radio. The BBC radio commentary by Richard Dimbleby has since received comment for its poignancy. Historian D. R. Thorpe considered that the funeral helped spark the mass purchase of television sets, usually ascribed to both the Eisenhower inauguration in Washington and Elizabeth II's coronation the following year.

At Westminster Hall members of both houses of parliament were present to witness the guardsmen carry the coffin into the hall. The procession into the hall was led by the officers of arms, the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod (Brian Horrocks), the minister of works (David Eccles), the Earl Marshal, the Lord Great Chamberlain (James Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 3rd Earl of Ancaster) and, immediately in front of the coffin, the Dean of Westminster (Alan Don) and the Archbishop of York (Cyril Garbett). The coffin was followed by Elizabeth II, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and Princess Margaret (who had all travelled by car from Buckingham Palace) and the Duke of Edinburgh, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duchess of Kent and the Princess Royal. The Archbishop conducted a brief service which included the hymn "Abide with Me" at the request of the Queen. During the service, the coffin was guarded by the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms and the Yeoman of the Guard.

George VI's coffin was afterwards placed on a dais in Westminster Hall, under a vigil guard. The public were permitted to view the coffin and, at times, queued for  to do so. Over the next three days some 304,000 people passed through Westminster Hall. The numbers were lower than they had been for George V, which was ascribed to the effects of the widespread television coverage. After the final day of lying in state it took a team of three jewellers two hours to clean the dust off the crown jewels which lay on the coffin, in preparation for the funeral.

Funeral

The funeral of George VI took place on 15 February. Mourners, including representatives of foreign governments, were assembled outside Westminster Hall by 8:15 am. The representatives of foreign governments included French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman, US Secretary of State Dean Acheson, West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer.

At 9:30 am George VI's coffin was carried from Westminster Hall by eight soldiers of the Grenadier Guards and placed on a gun carriage. The coffin was draped in the royal standard atop which were placed a crown, orb and sceptre as well as his wife's wreath of orchids and lilies of the valley. The coffin was placed on a gun carriage that, as per royal tradition, would be hauled by a party of sailors the  from New Palace Yard to Paddington Station from where it would travel to Windsor by train. The procession was led by the Central Band of the Royal Air Force and the Band of the Welsh Guards. Thereafter was a detachment of the RAF and representatives from Commonwealth forces including Northern and Southern Rhodesia, East and West Africa (King's African Rifles and Royal West African Frontier Force), Ceylon, Pakistan, India, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Canada. There followed detachments from the units that George VI held the position of colonel-in-chief or honorary colonel, other British Army units, including the bands of the Coldstream Guards, the Irish Guards and the Royal Artillery. There was also a detachment of the Royal Marines (including their band). These were followed by senior foreign and British military officers, including George VI's aides-de-camp. A detachment of the Household Cavalry was followed by the Band of the Scots Guards and the massed pipes of five Scottish and Irish Regiments. Further senior military officials and members of the Royal Household preceded and escorted the coffin, flanked by the Gentleman at Arms and Yeoman of the Guard. Behind the coffin the Royal Standard was carried by the Household Cavalry in front of the Queen's carriage, which carried Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Princess Margaret and the Princess Royal. They were followed on foot by the four royal dukes: Edinburgh, Gloucester, Windsor (George VI's brother, the former King Edward VIII) and Kent (Prince Edward, grandson of George V) and senior military and royal household figures.

Behind them walked the kings of Denmark (Frederick IX), Greece (Paul) and Sweden (Gustaf VI Adolf) and the President of France (Vincent Auriol), at the head of a group of 20 foreign heads of state. They were followed by the High Commissioners of Commonwealth states and the representatives of foreign delegations. Six carriages carried British and foreign female dignitaries after which were more members of the Royal Household, a detachment of the King's Flight, further foreign dignitaries and representatives of their armed forces. There followed the Band of the Corps of Royal Engineers and a police band, ahead of detachments from every police force in the country and representatives of the colonial police forces. The rear of the procession was made up of representatives from the fire services and the Civil Defence Corps. During the parade a 56-gun salute was fired, one round for each year of the king's life. Likewise, Big Ben was rung 56 times, one for each year of the king's life.

Acheson, in a report to the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs complained about the waiting around at the start of the day and the slow pace of the procession, which took 3 hours and ten minutes to reach the station. He commented on the silence and stillness shown by the crowd, who he called "solid, courageous, but tired people."

The route was lined with soldiers, sailors and airmen of the British forces, standing with arms reversed. The procession passed along Whitehall, where the Cenotaph was saluted, and later passed through Hyde Park to Marble Arch and along Edgware Road. The party including coffin and carriage processed onto platform 8 at Paddington. The Queen's party dismounted to watch the coffin carried onto the royal train by eight guardsmen. The royal family boarded the same train and other guests followed in a separate one. The train was pulled by GWR 4073 Class locomotive 7013 Bristol Castle, though it carried the nameplates of classmate 4082 Windsor Castle. The latter was considered a more appropriate choice as it was named for the royal residence and had once been driven by George V but was unavailable on the day of the funeral. As a mark of respect the Royal Air Force was grounded during the time of the funeral. On one transatlantic flight from London to New York, in air during the time of the funeral, all of the passengers rose from their seats and bowed their heads in acknowledgement.

At Windsor the coffin was taken from the train and hauled by sailors, on a gun carriage through the town to St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. This procession was similar to the one in London, though smaller. The coffin's arrival at the Royal Chapel was marked by naval petty officers piping the admiral over the side. Following the coffin, carried again by eight guardsmen, up the chapel steps, Elizabeth II gave way to usual precedence in allowing her mother to proceed ahead of her. Television cameras were excluded from the funeral itself, which was presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher, and the Archbishop of York, Cyril Garbett. Also present were the Bishop of Winchester (Alwyn Williams), who read the lesson, and the Dean of Windsor (Eric Hamilton).

The music for the service included the last funeral sentence from the Book of Common Prayer, "I heard a Voice from Heaven", in a new setting by William Henry Harris, the organist and director of music at the chapel. Other music included the hymn "The Strife is O'er, the Battle Done" and the anthem, "God be in my head and in my understanding" in a setting by Walford Davies, which was sung after the Garter Principal King of Arms had proclaimed the late king's style and titles. Elizabeth II placed the king's colour of the Grenadier Guards on the coffin at the end of the service. The recessional voluntary was Hubert Parry's prelude to "Ye boundless realms of joy", which had been specifically requested by Elizabeth II to end the service on a hopeful rather than mournful note.

Floral tributes were left outside the chapel; Churchill laid one on behalf of the British government, on the card of which he wrote "for valour", the phrase engraved on the Victoria Cross, Britain's highest military award for gallantry. George VI was buried within the Royal Vault of St George's Chapel. During the burial, the Lord Chamberlain had carried out the tradition of symbolically breaking his staff of office, actually by unscrewing a joint in the middle, and placing half on the coffin. Finally, Elizabeth II dropped in a handful of earth from Windsor.

Guests
As per report in London Gazette.

British royal family

The House of Windsor
 Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, the late King's widow
 The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, the late King's daughter and son-in-law
 The Princess Margaret, the late King's daughter
 Queen Mary, the late King's mother
 The Duke of Windsor, the late King's brother and predecessor
 The Princess Royal, the late King's sister
 The Earl and Countess of Harewood, the late King's nephew and niece-in-law
 The Hon. Gerald Lascelles, the late King's nephew
 The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the late King's brother and sister-in law
 The Duchess of Kent, the late King's sister-in law (also second cousin)
 The Duke of Kent, the late King's nephew
 The Earl of Southesk, widower of the late King's first cousin
 Lord Carnegie, the late King's first cousin once removed
 Princess Marie Louise, the late King's first cousin once removed
 Lady Patricia and The Hon. Sir Alexander Ramsay, the late King's first cousin once removed and her husband
 Alexander Ramsay, the late King's second cousin

Mountbatten family
 The Marquess and Marchioness of Carisbrooke, the late King's first cousin once removed and his wife
 Nada, Marchioness of Milford Haven, widow of the late King's second cousin
 The Marquess of Milford Haven, the late King's second cousin once removed
 The Earl and Countess Mountbatten of Burma, the late King's second cousin and his wife

Teck-Cambridge family
 The Marquess and Marchioness of Cambridge, the late King's first cousin and his wife
 The Duchess and Duke of Beaufort, the late King's first cousin and her husband
 Lady Helena Gibbs, the late King's first cousin

Foreign royalty
 The King of Norway, the late King's uncle by marriage (also first cousin once removed)
 The Crown Prince of Norway, the late King's first cousin
 Princess Astrid of Norway, the late King's first cousin once removed
 The King and Queen of Denmark, the late King's second cousins
 The King of the Hellenes, the late King's double second cousin
 The King of Sweden, husband of the late King's second cousin (also widower of the late King's first cousin once removed)
 Prince Axel of Denmark, the late King's first cousin once removed
 Prince Georg of Denmark, the late King's second cousin (also husband of the late King's niece by marriage)
 Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover, the late King's second cousin
 The Prince of Liège, the late King's second cousin once removed (representing the King of the Belgians)
 The Grand Duchess and Prince of Luxembourg, the late King's third cousin and her husband
 The Queen and Prince of the Netherlands
 The King of Iraq
 The Crown Prince of Jordan (representing the King of Jordan)
 The Crown Prince of Ethiopia (representing the Emperor of Ethiopia)
 Prince Ali Reza (representing the Shah of Iran)
 Prince Zeid bin Hussein
 Marshall Sardar Shah Wali Khan (representing the King of Afghanistan)
 Prince Bửu Lộc (representing the Chief of State of Vietnam)
 Prince Wan Waithayakon (representing the King of Thailand)
 Prince Muhammad Abdel Moneim (representing the King of Egypt)
 Princess Pingpeang Yukanthor (representing the King of Cambodia)

Nobility
 The Duke of Norfolk
 The Duke of Buccleuch
 The Duke of Hamilton and Brandon
 The Dowager Duchess of Northumberland
 The Earl of Ancaster
 The Earl of Cork and Orrery
 The Earl Fortescue
 The Earl of Onslow
 The Earl of Leicester
 The Earl of Eldon
 The Earl of Birkenhead
 The Earl of Selkirk
 The Earl of Airlie
 The Viscount Portal of Hungerford
 The Viscount Alanbrooke
 The Viscount Montgomery of Alamein
 The Viscount Allendale
 The Lord Douglas of Kirtleside
 The Lord Newall
 The Lord Tedder
 The Lord Ironside
 The Lord Hardinge of Penshurst
 The Lord Tovey
 The Lord Chatfield
 The Lord Plunket
 The Lord Lloyd
 The Lord Tryon
 Viscount Althorp
 The Master of Sinclair
 The Hon. Michael Fitzalan-Howard
 The Hon. Neville Wigram
 The Hon. Martin Charteris

Other guests
 The Hon. Mrs. Andrew Elphinstone, wife of the late king's nephew by marriage
 Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
 Clement Attlee, Leader of the Opposition and former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
 Sir Thomas White, Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
 Alfons Gorbach, Third President of the National Council of Austria
 Adolfo Costa du Rels, Bolivian Ambassador to France
 José Joaquim Moniz de Aragão, Ambassador of Brazil
 L. Dana Wilgress, Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
 Aureliano Sánchez Arango, Foreign Minister of Cuba
 Hafiz Wahba, Ambassador of Egypt
 José Castellanos Contreras, former Consul General of El Salvador
 General Abiye Abebe of Ethiopia
 Sakari Tuomioja, Foreign Minister of Finland
 Vincent Auriol, President of France
 Alphonse Juin, Chief of the Defence Staff of France
 Robert Schuman, Foreign Minister of France
 Franck Lavaud, former President of Haiti
 V. K. Krishna Menon, Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
 Subandrio, Ambassador of Indonesia
 Frank Aiken, Minister for External Affairs of Ireland
 Frederick Boland, Ambassador of Ireland
 Moshe Sharett, Foreign Minister of Israel
 Giovanni Gronchi, President of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy
 Leonardo Severi, President of the Italian Council of State
 Ourot R. Souvannavong, representing the King of Laos
 Gabriel Lafayette Dennis, Foreign Minister of Liberia
 Wahbi al-Bouri of Libya
 Joseph Bech, Minister for Defence of Luxembourg
 Baber Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana, former Minister of Defense of Nepal
 Paolo Giobbe, Apostolic Nuncio to the Netherlands
 Sir Philip Nichols, Ambassador to the Netherlands
 Dirk Stikker, Foreign Minister of the Netherlands
 William George Stevens, Secretary to the New Zealand High Commissioner
 Ricardo Rivera Schreiber, Ambassador of Peru
 Georgy Zarubin, Ambassador of the Soviet Union
 Alberto Martín-Artajo, Foreign Minister of Spain
 Celâl Bayar, President of Turkey
 Konrad Adenauer, Chancellor of West Germany
 Dean Acheson, United States Secretary of State
 Ivan Ribar, President of the Presidium of the Yugoslav Republic

Prominent absences
The Belgian King Baudouin refused to attend, believed to be on the advice of his father, Leopold III, who held a grudge against the British prime minister Winston Churchill. Churchill had criticised Leopold for remaining in Nazi-occupied Belgium during the Second World War, rather than escaping to lead a government in exile. Baudouin went on to attend the funeral of Queen Mary in 1953.

US President Harry S. Truman did not attend the funeral upon agreement with Secretary of State Dean Acheson, who had planned his trip to London for meetings on issues pertaining to Germany one week before the king died. London wanted to see Truman, but British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden asked Acheson, Robert Schuman, and Konrad Adenauer come to London to work out a Western Big Three agreement to bring Germany into the European defence organisation ahead of a NATO conference in Lisbon. In addition, Acheson also met with key American officials on the issues.

Later events

Three days after the funeral, George VI's widow, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother issued a statement thanking the nation and commending to them "our dear Daughter", Queen Elizabeth II.

A 47-page report was written after the funeral to recommend improvements for the next royal funeral. Suggestions included attaching metal rollers to the catafalque to make a smoother landing of the coffin, which being lead lined weighed around a quarter of a ton. The coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953; unlike at the funeral she permitted BBC cameras to film the event, which became a landmark in British television history.

The body of George VI was moved from the Royal Vault on 26 March 1969 and reinterred in the newly-built King George VI Memorial Chapel. His daughter, Princess Margaret, died on 9 February 2002 and, in accordance with her wishes, a private funeral was held at St George's Chapel. This took place on 15 February 2002, the 50th anniversary of her father's funeral and Margaret was afterwards cremated and her ashes placed in the Royal Vault. Queen Elizabeth, who became known as the Queen Mother to distinguish her from her daughter, died on 30 March 2002. Like her husband she lay in state at Westminster Hall. After a funeral at Westminster Abbey she was buried next to her husband in the King George VI Memorial Chapel on 9 April 2002. At the same time the ashes of Princess Margaret were also transferred to the chapel. On 19 September 2022, Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip were interred alongside them in the Chapel.

See also
 Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria
 Death and state funeral of Edward VII
 Death and state funeral of George V
 Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II
 State funerals in the United Kingdom

Notes

References

Bibliography

George VI
1952 in the United Kingdom
1950s in the City of Westminster
George VI
George VI
George VI
February 1952 events in the United Kingdom
George VI
Windsor Castle

Death and state funeral of George VI


A Wordless Book is a Christian evangelistic device. Most believe that it was created by the famous London Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon. It is called a "book", as it is usually has pages, but it can also be shown on a single page or banner.

Color themes
Spurgeon's concept only contained three colors: "first was black, the second was red, and the third was pure white"
 Black: representing the "sinful state" of humanity "by nature". Usually meaning the dark page.
 Red: representing the blood of Jesus.
 White: representing the "perfect righteousness which God has given to believers through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ His Son".

1866 books
Christian texts
Religious symbols
Charles Spurgeon

Wordless Book


Reuben Jeffery III (born August 21, 1953) is the former United States Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs, having been appointed to that position by United States President George W. Bush in June 2007. Presently, Reuben Jeffery III is the President, Chief Executive Officer and member of the board of Rockefeller & Co. and Rockefeller Financial Services, Inc. He is a member of the International Advisory Committee of J. Rothschild Capital Management Limited.

Early life
Reuben Jeffery III was born on August 21, 1953.

Jeffery attended Yale University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 1975. Upon graduation, he joined the management program at Morgan Guaranty Trust Company in New York City. He then moved to Stanford University, where he received both an Master of Business Administration and a Juris Doctor in 1981 (as part of the joint program between the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Stanford Law School).

Career
Jeffery initially accepted an offer from Davis Polk & Wardwell, before moving on to Goldman Sachs in 1983. He became Managing Partner of Goldman Sachs's European Financial Institutions Group in London in 1992, and then Managing Partner of the Goldman Sachs Paris office in 1997.

Jeffery supported the candidacy of George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential election. In the wake of 9/11, President Bush appointed Jeffery as his Special Advisor on Lower Manhattan Development, and in 2002, Jeffery left Goldman Sachs to take on this responsibility. In 2003, Jeffery became a Special Advisor to L. Paul Bremer, head of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq and then became the Representative and Executive Director of the Coalition Provisional Authority Office in The Pentagon.

He served as a member of the United States National Security Council until 2005, as a Senior Director responsible for International Economic Affairs. Currently he sits in the Board of Directors of Barclays.

In 2005, Jeffery was named the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

President Bush nominated Jeffery as Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs on April 16, 2007 and he was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 21, 2007. He was sworn in by United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on June 27, 2007.

Currently Reuben Jeffery III serves as senior advisor at CSIS (Center for Strategic and International Studies). On July 27, 2010, Jeffery was hired to be CEO of Rockefeller & Co., a NYC-based asset manager with $43 billion under management.

On May 8, 2012, Jeffery was reported donating $32,000 to Romney Victory Inc.

In 2013, Jeffery was a signatory to an amicus curiae brief submitted to the Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage during the Hollingsworth v. Perry case.

Personal life
He is married to Robin Jeffery. They have three children.

References

External links
Biography at the State Department Website
Website of the Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs

1953 births
Living people
Yale University alumni
Stanford Graduate School of Business alumni
Stanford Law School alumni
Goldman Sachs people
American people of the Iraq War
Coalition Provisional Authority
Commodity Futures Trading Commission personnel
United States Department of State officials
United States National Security Council staffers
Davis Polk & Wardwell lawyers
George W. Bush administration personnel

Reuben Jeffery III


The Hindu Marriage Act is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted in 1955 which was passed on 18th of May. Three other important acts were also enacted as part of the Hindu Code Bills during this time: the Hindu Succession Act (1956), the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act (1956), the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act (1956).

Purpose
The main purpose of the act was to amend and codify the law relating to marriage among Hindus and others. Besides amending and codifying Sastrik Law, it also included separation and divorce, which also exist in Sastrik Law. This enactment brought uniformity of law for all sections of Hindus. In India there are religion-specific civil codes that separately govern adherents of certain other religions.

Applicability
Section 2  of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 says:

 This Act applies -
to any person who is a Hindu by religion in any of its forms or developments, including a Virashaiva, a Lingayat or a follower of the Brahmo, Prarthana or Arya Samaj;
to any person who is a Buddhist, Jain or Sikh by religion; and
to any other person domiciled in the territories to which this Act extends who is not a Muslim, Christian, Parsi or Jew by religion, unless it is proved that any such person would not have been governed by the Hindu law or by any custom or usage as part of that law in respect of any of the matters dealt with herein if this Act had not been passed.

The Act applies to Hindus outside the territory of India only if such a Hindu is domiciled in the territory of India.

The Act was viewed as conservative because it applied to any person who is Hindu by religion in any of its forms, yet groups other religions into the act (Jains, Buddhists, or Sikhs) as specified in Article 44 of the Indian Constitution. However, with the passage of Anand Marriage (Amendment) Bill in 2012, Sikhs now also have their own personal law related to marriage.

A marriage is directly registered by the Registrar of Marriage under section 8 of Hindu Marriage Act-1955 on the same working day. Verification of all the documents is carried out on the date of application and thereafter Marriage is registered on the same working day by the registrar of marriage appointed by the Govt. of India and marriage certificate is issued.

Hindu view of marriage
According to Hinduism, marriage is a sacred relationship. In some Hindu systems of marriage, there is no role for the state as marriage remained a private affair within the social realm. Within this traditional framework reference, marriage is undoubtedly the most important transitional point in a Hindu's life and the most important of all the Hindu "sanskaras" (life-cycle rituals).
The Congress Government diluted the Hindu Marriage in 1955 by enactment of HMA and then in 1983 by introduction of 498A. Special Marriage Act in 2000.
Therefore there was fierce religious opposition to enacting such laws for marriage, succession and adoption. The greatest opposition was to the provision of divorce, something which is anathema to the Hindu religion. Also resisted was the principle of equal inheritance by sons and daughters regardless of whether the daughter was married or unwed. This was contrary to the Hindu view of family, where married daughters were regarded as belonging to the family of their husband, not to the family of their father.

Some have argued that Hindu marriage cannot be subjected to legislative intervention. Derrett predicted in his later writings that despite some evidence of modernisation, the dominant view in Hindu society for the foreseeable future would remain that marriage is a form of social obligation.

Conditions
Section 5 of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 states:-

"Section 5. A marriage may be solemnised between any two Hindus, if the following conditions are fulfilled, namely-
neither party has a spouse living at the time of the marriage
at the time of the marriage, neither party-
is incapable of giving a valid consent to it in consequence of unsoundness of mind; or
<li>though capable of giving a valid consent, has been suffering from mental disorder of such a kind or to such an extent as to be unfit for marriage and the procreation of children;
the bridegroom has completed the age of twenty-one years at the time of the marriage;
the parties are not within the degrees of prohibited relationship unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage between the two;
the parties are not sapindas of each other, unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage between the two."

Guardianship
Section 6 of the Hindu Marriage Act specifies the guardianship for marriage. Wherever the consent of a guardian in marriage is necessary for a bride under this Act, the persons entitled to give such consent are the following: the father; the mother; the paternal grandfather; the paternal grandmother; the brother by full blood; the brother by half blood; etc. The Guardianship For Marriage was repealed in 1978 after the Child Marriage Restraint Amendment was passed. This was an amendment that increased the minimum age requirement for marriage in order to prevent child marriages.

Section
Section 7 of the Hindu Marriage Act recognises the ceremonies and customs of marriage.  Hindu marriage may be solemnised in accordance with the customary rites and ceremonies of either party.  Such rites and rituals include the Saptapadi—the taking of seven steps by the bridegroom and the bride jointly before the sacred fire.  The marriage becomes complete and binding when the seventh step is taken.

Registration
As stated in Section 8 of the Act, the state government may make rules for the registration of Hindu marriages that the parties to any of such marriages may have particulars relating to their marriages entered in such a manner and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed in the Hindu Marriage Register. This registration is for the purpose of facilitating the proof of Hindu marriages. All rules made in this section may be laid before the state legislature. The Hindu Marriage Register should be open for inspection at all reasonable times and should be admissible as evidence of the statements contained therein.

Restitution of Conjugal Rights
As stated in section 9 of the act, in cases where either the husband or the wife has withdrawn from the society of the other without reasonable excuse, the aggrieved party may apply to the district court for restitution of conjugal rights. If the court is satisfied with the truth of the statements and finds no legal ground to deny the application, it may decree restitution of conjugal rights.

Judicial Separation
Section 10 of the Act also provides for judicial separation, where either party to a marriage can present a petition for a decree of judicial separation. The court has the power to rescind the decree if it deems it just and reasonable to do so.

Nullity of marriage and divorce
Any marriage can be voidable and may be annulled on the following grounds: the marriage has not been consummated due to impotency, may be complete or partial impotency (for example conditions such as impotence quoad hoc), contravention of the valid consent mental illness condition specified in Section 5, or that the respondent at the time of the marriage was pregnant by someone other than the petitioner. Divorce can be sought by husband or wife on certain grounds, including:  continuous period of desertion for two or more years, conversion to a religion other than Hindu, mental abnormality, venereal disease, and leprosy. A wife can also present a petition for the dissolution of marriage on the ground of  if the husband marries again after the commencement of his first marriage or if the husband has been guilty of rape, sodomy, or bestiality. Newly married couples cannot file a petition for divorce within one year of marriage.

Mutual Divorce
Under section 13 B of the Act, mutual divorce is a provision that allows both the husband and wife to dissolve their marriage by mutual consent. It is a legal procedure that offers an amicable and less adversarial approach to ending a marital relationship. Mutual divorce provides an opportunity for couples to part ways on agreed terms, minimizing conflict and emotional distress.

No petition for divorce to be presented within one year of marriage
Under section 14 of the Act, the courts cannot accept a divorce request within one year of marriage. However, there's an exception where the court might consider a request before one year if a spouse can can demonstrate exceptional hardship or exceptional depravity from the other spouse.

Alimony and Maintenance
Section 25 of the Act allows either spouse, after the finalization of divorce or judicial separation, to approach the court for an order of permanent alimony or maintenance. It aims to provide long-term financial support to the financially weaker spouse who may have limited earning capacity or resources to sustain themselves. The court considers various factors such as the income, assets, and liabilities of both parties, as well as their individual needs and circumstances, while determining the amount of alimony or maintenance to be awarded. Section 24 of the Act empowers either spouse to seek financial support from the other party during the ongoing legal proceedings. The objective is to ensure that the dependent spouse can maintain a reasonable standard of living and have the necessary resources to meet their day-to-day expenses. It aims to provide temporary relief to the financially weaker spouse until a final settlement is reached.

Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010
Based on recommendations of the Law Commission, a legislation was proposed. The Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010 to amend the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and the Special Marriage Act, 1954 to making divorce easier on ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage was introduced in the parliament in 2012. The Bill replaces the words "not earlier than six months" in Section 13-B with the words "Upon receipt of a petition."

It also provides a better safeguard to wives by inserting section 13D by which the wife may oppose the grant of a decree on the ground that the dissolution of the marriage will result in grave financial hardship to her and that it would in all the circumstances be wrong to dissolve the marriage.

New section 13E provides restriction on decree for divorce affecting children born out of wedlock and states that a court shall not pass a decree of divorce under section 13C unless the court is satisfied that adequate provision for the maintenance of children born out of the marriage has been made consistently with the financial capacity of the parties to the marriage.

Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010 makes similar amendments to the Special Marriage Act, 1954 by replacing the words "not earlier than six months" in Section 28 with the words "Upon receipt of a petition" and provides restriction on decree for divorce affecting children born out of wedlock.

However, there was opposition to this bill due to the objection that it will create hardships for women and that the bill strongly supports one party while both parties should be treated equal in divorce. Therefore, the bill was amended to provide for the wife's consent for waiver of six-month notice with the words "Upon receipt of petitions by the husband and the wife."

The Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha in 2013, though it was not passed in the Lok Sabha.

Protest against the bill came from Men's rights movement groups. Hridaya, a Kolkata-based NGO, demonstrated against the bill. Amartya Talukdar (a Men's Right Activist) raised concern that the bill introduces no-fault divorce for Hindus only. According to him, "If the Government really wants to bring about empowerment of women, let them make it open for all sections of the society. Let them bring a uniform civil code. Why is it only for the Hindus?"

Judicial review
Shilpa Sailesh Vs Varun Sreenivasan: Hon'ble Supreme Court of India held that it can exercise power under Article 142(1) to grant a decree of divorce by mutual consent and can bypass the provisions of section 13B of The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. Hon'ble Supreme Court of India also recognized its discretionary power to dissolve a marriage on the grounds of irretrievable breakdown, which is otherwise not provided under section 13 of The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

P.Sivakumar vs S.Beula
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/53788682/

Devinder Singh Narula vs Meenakshi Nangia
The Supreme Court of India exercised its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India and ruled in August 2012 that marriages can be ended by mutual consent before expiry of the cooling period of six months stipulated in the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. Section 13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act provides for the couple seeking divorce through mutual consent to wait for a period of six months after making first joint application for divorce. It is only after the expiry of the six months that the couple can move second application for the dissolution of their marriage.

Pronouncing the judgment, Justice Altamas Kabir said: "It is no doubt true that the legislature had in its wisdom stipulated a cooling period of six months from the date of filing of a petition for mutual divorce till such divorce is actually granted, with the intention that it would save the institution of marriage. But there may be occasions when in order to do complete justice to the parties it becomes necessary for this court to invoke its powers under Article 142 in an irreconcilable situation (between the couple). When it has not been possible for the parties to live together and to discharge their marital obligations towards each other for more than one year, we see no reason to continue the agony of the parties for another two months."

Arun Kumar v. Inspector General of Registration

A case before the Madras High Court opinioned same-sex marriage within historical Hinduism, that homosexual acts are not forbidden under the Act, and that marriage is a fundamental constitutional right. If literally interpreted, the terms "groom" and "bride" may be viewed as referring to narrow definitions based on genders ("male" and "female"). However, the Hindu Marriage Act was a codification of the ancient Sastrik law by the colonial government for the purpose of regulating issues such as divorce. Application of the "mischief rule" in this situation allows homosexual marriage to be allowed under the current reading of the Hindu Marriage Act, as what "the statute aims at relieving is the regulation of marriage, and not that two same-sex individuals could marry each other. The Act is a codifying statute, and not a penal or disabling statute" and that it was improperly codified.

Supriyo v. Union of India

While most of the petitioners in the consolidated marriage case requested recognition of marriage under secular marriage laws, some of the Hindu petitioners requested recognition under Hindu Marriage Act. These petitioners include Hindu queer rights activists, such as Abhijit Iyer Mitra, Gopi Shankar Madurai, Giti Thadani and G.Oorvasi. Nibedita Dutta and Pooja Srivastava, a Hindu lesbian couple who got married in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Sameer Samudra and Amit Gokhale, a Hindu gay couple who got married in Columbus, United States. The petition requested the Supreme Court to recognise the marriage between any two persons, regardless of gender identity and sexual orientation, by enforcing the fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 15, 19, 21 and 25 of the Indian Constitution.

The petitioners argued that they require legal recognition of their marriage because, unlike unregistered opposite-sex married couples, they often encounter officials who question the legitimacy of their relationship. The petitioners had to rely on personal connections and the goodwill of the authorities to access social and economic rights that are automatically available to married couples. To make their case, they presented evidence of the difficulty they faced in simple tasks such as opening joint bank accounts and obtaining proof of residence.

See also

 The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006
 Samskara (rite of passage)
 Dowry system in India
 Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986
 Christian personal law
 Gullipilli Sowria Raj v. Bandaru Pavani

References

External links

H.M.A (Mobile Friendly)
 PDF file of the Hindu Marriage Act
 Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010
 Marriage Laws (Amendment), Divorce
 Rajya Sabha approves bill to make divorce friendly for women

Hindu law
Marriage in Hinduism
Indian family law
Nehru administration
Acts of the Parliament of India 1955
Marriage law in India
1955 in Indian law

Hindu Marriage Act, 1955


Year 370 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar.

Events

By place

Greece
 The Spartans under King Agesilaus II invade Arcadia. After asking the Athenians for help, Arcadia turns to the Thebans. Epaminondas of Thebes comes with an army, finds the Spartan have left and follows them.
 With the support of Thebes, the Arcadian capital city of Megalopolis is completed.
 The tagus of Thessaly, Jason of Pherae, dies.

By topic

Art
 The sculptor Praxiteles begins his active career in Athens (approximate date).

Mathematics
 Eudoxus of Cnidus develops the method of exhaustion for mathematically determining the area under a curve.

Births

 Marcus Valerius Corvus, Roman hero
 Theophrastus, Greek philosopher, a native of Eressos in Lesbos, the successor of Aristotle in the Peripatetic school (d. c. 285 BC)

Deaths

 Agesipolis II, Agiad king of Sparta
 Democritus of Abdera, Greek philosopher (approximate date) (b. c. 460 BC)
 Hippocrates of Cos, Greek physician (b. c. 460 BC)
 Jason of Pherae, ruler of Thessaly

370s BC

370 BC


Arne Eidsmo (4 April 1941 – 16 October 2011) was a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party.

He hailed from Tromsø, and for 42 years he was the regional director of the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise in Northern Norway. He retired in April 2011. He also served as State Secretary in the Ministry of Fisheries from 1989 to 1990, in Syse's Cabinet. Eidsmo was also a freemason, since 1967, and the last two years of his life he was a "Provincial Master" in the organization. He died in October 2011 at the University Hospital of North Norway following short-term illness.

References

1941 births
2011 deaths
Norwegian state secretaries
Conservative Party (Norway) politicians
Politicians from Tromsø

Arne Eidsmo