Solvec

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1 Background
2 Historical Significance
3 Prince of Seville
4 The Greek Orthodox Church
5 Titles, Styles, and Current Honours
6 Quotes
7 In Popular Culture
8 External links

[edit] Background

Solvec is the only extensive agricultural land in the Philippines to remain under private Spanish control since it’s founding in 1571. The Bourbon-Seville family currently controls the property. The property itself is roughly three-fourths the size of Manhattan, and consists of three mountains, and a private beach. The most lucrative output of the land is rice production. Solvec is ideally situated as a port, and its rice is exported to most of the East Asian countries including Japan, China, and Thailand. The estimated yearly revenue from rice production alone is three million pounds.

[edit] Historical Significance

The historical value of the land makes it priceless to many countries including the Philippines, Spain, and Japan. In 1942, during World War II, the Japanese admiral occupied Solvec utilizing it both as a port, and his personal residence. Many paintings, jewels, antiques, and other significant Asian items of cultural value that were plundered during the war have been housed on this land. Consequently, Japan previously filed a lawsuit against the family to ascertain the whereabouts of these items and the status of the lawsuit is still pending. Other countries such as Thailand, and China have not filed lawsuits because the statue of limitations to claim these historical items instituted by their governments has passed within the past two years.

While the Filipino government has upheld the historical significance of Solvec, it has on numerous occasions attempted to confiscate the land for historical purposes. The government has also attempted in recent years to buy the land from the Bourbon-Seville family, but the family refused to sell. The property is estimated to be worth approximately fifty million pounds. For the first time in what is presumed to be around three hundred years, Solvec will be under the control of a single owner, Charles-Alexander II de Borbón-Sevilla, Prince de Sevilla. The Prince has given many speeches regarding the history of Solvec, most notably at his alma mater, Harvard University. In August, he is expected to deliver a speech in the Philippines that will document in detail the importance of Solvec to Spain.

Increasingly Solvec has been a fundamental apparatus for charity. To aid the victims of Katrina, a donation was given in the name of Charles, Prince of Seville for $3,000,000. The money and additional foods donated came from the revenue and agricultural output of Solvec. In 2004, the trust of the Prince made an undisclosed donation to the victims of the Indian Ocean Tsunami. It was estimated by several papers to be $6,000,000.

[edit] Prince of Seville

Charles is descended from the Royal House of Spain, as well as the former Greek and Austrian-Hungarian Royal Houses. Born May 27, 1986, in Florence, Italy he was baptised in both the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches. In the Vatican's Sistine Chapel, Pope John Paul II baptised him as, Charles Alexander Félipe Arthur Henry Constans de Borbón-Sevilla y de Habsburgo. His godparents, who presided over the ceremony was then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, and Diana, Princess of Wales. His family has experienced numerous deaths, and hence each year from 1997, a private mass in Rome given by the Pope is dedicated to his immediate and extended family.

The Branch of Bourbon-Seville has gained the reputation of being the "intellectual Bourbons." Breaking with tradition, Charles, Prince of Seville had royal tutors only till the age of nine instead of the usual eighteen. He was schooled mainly in the dialects of Attic, Homeric, and Koine Greek as well as classical Latin. At the age of ten, Charles enrolled at Eton College. At thirteen, he wrote his first twenty five page philosophical treatise in Latin entitled, "Pericula Experientiae Cogitationi Philosopha (The Dangers of Experience in Philosophical Thought). " This tract would later form the foundation of his thesis by the same name that awarded the Prince a full scholarship to Oxford University. In 2004, Charles again broke with tradition by rejecting his admission to Christ Church, Oxford University, where each male member of his family had been schooled for more than ten generations, to attend Harvard University. At Harvard, Charles studied under famed Classics professor Gregory Nagy. The Prince and Greg Nagy translated and compiled more than fifty texts including the Iliad, Odyssey, and History of the Peleponnesian War, exclusively for Harvard students taking the required Humanities class at Harvard. The reason this process was done was to provide a more faithful translation to students in order that they may grasp the nuances of each work. Now, Charles, Prince of Seville is currently studying at Columbia University.

[edit] The Greek Orthodox Church

Charles, Prince of Seville has deep connections with the Greek Orthodox Church and attends Orthodox services frequently. Each year Charles visits Orthodox monasteries in Romania because of his inability to enter Mount Athos in Greece. He is a also a patron of the "Friends of Mount Athos" organisation. Charles, Prince of Seville also participated in the 21st International Congress of Byzantine studies, which is a forum dedicated to the study of history and philosophy of the former Orthodox Roman Empire or the Eastern Roman Church. It is a well known fact that the Princess Mother is insistent that Charles be married in the Greek Orthodox Church in addition or instead of the Roman Catholic Church.

[edit] Titles, Styles, and Current Honours

Styles of Charles Alexander Philip, The Prince of Seville

Reference style	His Royal Highness
Spoken style	Your Royal Highness
Alternative style	Sir

Historically, the province of Solvec also enobles its owner, and permits the use of several titles. Legally, the owner has the rights and prerogative to use any of the historical titles, but it has been uncustomary to do so since the official recognition of Filipino independence.

Sixteenth Century: Baron of Solvec
Late Sixteenth Century: Count of Solvec
Seventeenth Century: Prince of Solvec (The use of this title was brief. For a period of time Solvec was recognized by law as an autonomous region.)

Hereditary Honours held by His Royal Highness Prince de Sevilla

Knight of The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Carlos III and Saint Fernando (Spain)
Knight of The Order of the Golden Fleece (Spain)
Knight of The Order of Santiago (Spain)

Non-Hereditary Honours held by His Royal Highness Prince de Sevilla

Grande Collana Knight of The Order of the Annuziata (Italy)
Knight of The Order of Constantino and George (Greece, *this honour is expected to be rescinded).
Commander of The Military Order of The Tower and of the Sword, of Valour, Loyalty and Merit (Portugal)
Knight of The Most Noble Order of The Garter (England)
Commandeur of Ordre national du Mérite (France)
Officer of The Order of Leopold (Belgium)

Arms

Both the motto of the province and His Royal Highness Prince de Sevilla is the same. Rendered in Latin the motto is Famam Extendere Factis (Eng:We extend our fame through our deeds).

[edit] Quotes

From Pericula Experientiae Cogitationi Philosopha: "Quis honestas est? videmus non potissium ad Platon quod honestas non videt in sole mente . Nec vero habere virtutem satis est quasi artem aliquam nisi utare scribo. esti ars quidem cum ea non utare scientia tamen ipsa teneri potest, virtus in usu sui tota posita est." Liber II, 6-7. English translation courtesy of A. Strachey: "What is virtue? Above all, we look not towards Plato because virtue does not live soley in the mind. And not, I write, is virtue a form of knowlege to be possessed without being utilised. Even if the intellectual possession can be preserved without use, the existence of virtue depends entirely upon its use" (by Charles Alexander of Bourbon-Seville, Prince of Seville. Trans. A. Strachey. Oxford University Journal XXVl: Oxford Foreign Press, 1998).

From De Modi Regum Caelum (On the Methods of the King of Heaven) written at age eleven: "It is a sad and antiquated expectation that modern society seeks to explain every event from a scientific perspective, which in turn for them refutes the idea of an Omnipotent Being. An event that is defined to be miraculous in disposition must be serendipitous and beyond the definable realm of modernity’s new faith—science. My qualm is: why must faith always be in opposition to reason? Furthermore, the explanation of any or every event from a scientific perspective fails to provide evidence on any level that God does not exist. The idea of God as understood by His faithful can be seen within the first book of Moses, Genesis. From the Vulgate, “in principio creavit Deus caelum et terram. Terra autem erat inanis et vacua et tenebrae super faciem abyssi et spiritus Dei ferebatur super aquas.” The opening lines convey a fundamental philosophy that we must understand when we contemplate the notion of God: God in all His wisdom created order from chaos. If order is a product of God, it is necessary to establish as axiomatic that God would work within that order. The parting of the sea told in the book of Exodus may have been caused by a nearby volcanic eruption, but who is to say that God’s hand was not at play? Hence, science is a tool for understanding the Mind of God, and not an apparatus that allows us to discount His existence," Liber IV, 3-6 (by Charles Alexander of Bourbon-Seville, Prince of Seville. Oxford University Journal XXVII: Oxford Foreign Press, 1997).

[edit] In Popular Culture

Charles, Prince de Sevilla was ranked number one in New York Magazine's List of Sexiest and Most Eligible Bachelors where a brief history of Solvec was mentioned.
Janine Giovanni, who interviewed the Prince on numerous occasions for the international edition of Vanity Fair magazine spoke of him, “Around the office we call him the shirtless Prince in an endearing way. Charles was incredibly down to earth, and his jokes [laughs] are prizes. He gets along with everyone here… There is this mystique about him that makes him unbelievably attractive and sexy. At the same time, his breeding is easily discernible from the way he presents himself. This is why we named him the sexiest man in Spain.”
In an interview with the Spanish magazine El Pais, an anonymous source close to the Prince revealed, “He has had a real change of heart when it comes to marriage. Before he did not even consider it a possibility. Now, he really believes in the importance of serious relationships. He assured me his next relationship with a woman would be taken very seriously.” The Philippines hopes the marriage ceremony will involve Solvec to increase tourism revenue.
In a satirical play, written by A. Strachey she used her close friend Charles, Prince of Seville as a model for her character, Don Carlo de Sevilla. She commented,"Indeed, it is based off him and I think he was a good archetype due to his wit and use of fallacious syllogisms. He is the type of character, who will openly espouse some abhorrent philosophy, but secretly believes in something good. " A classic line from Don Carlo: Why Madam! I pray you rethink your mischaracterisation at once! I am a dishonest man, and you can always trust a dishonest man to be dishonest. Honestly, the honest fellows are the ones you ought to look out for...why you ask? because you never know when they are going to doing something monumentally daft. Antonia: My Lord, you confound me! Don Carlo: exactly..."
In 2005, Charles tore his right quadriceps muscle causing it to come completely off the bone. Muscle and Fitness magazine (Germany) reported that the injury required immediate surgery, which was preformed by Dr. James Andrew in Birmingham, Alabama. The Prince’s rehabilitation process done in Solvec was expected to keep him in a wheel chair for eighteen months. In August 2006, Charles made a miraculous and surprise return after only three months of rehabilitation to the televised Eton College Alumni boat race against Oxbridge.
In a BBC documentary about the culture of entitlement amongst Independent Schools in England, Charles was caught on tape preforming lewd acts on several occasions after winning football matches against Harrow, and Canterbury. He later apologised for his actions in a statement released in German.
In an article published by Eton College, “Carolus Alexander Philippus Artorius Constans Princeps Hispalensis indeed has demonstrated his natural acumen for those subjects that are deemed essential in both the modern and classical worlds. A true polymath and genius, his scores on the Eton College exam taken at age ten testing knowledge in three dialects (Attic, Homeric, Koine) of classical Greek and literature, Mathematics, the Physical sciences, Chemistry, the biological sciences, the arts, music theory and talent, English literature, World (Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Italian) literature, the Latin language and literature allowed us to measure his Ratio Intelligence Quotient as 192 with a deviation Intelligence Quotient of 175.”
The original hand written transcripts of Charles' only three plays, which debuted to rave reviews in his birth place of Florence, were burned at Solvec in 1999 because of his dissapointment with the acting. They are, however, often still preformed in Florence during open air season.
The Oxford Student Union has issued a standing invitation to His Royal Highness Prince de Sevilla to debate imperialism. For the past four years the Prince has declined on grounds that his schedule "simply won't permit the time." However, The Oxford Student has reported His Royal Highness has visited at least eight different times within the past two years staying for at least five days. The Prince refused to comment on the article.
According to British Tabloids, a more faithful adaptation of the Iliad is currently being written. It is rumored Dreamworks will use Solvec as the main shooting location for Greece. It is still uncertain if Charles, Prince de Sevilla has agreed to or been asked to play the title role of Achilles, especially after Warner Bros. dissatisfaction with him backing out of the title role in Superman Returns. OK! magazine's gossip section reported that Charles of Bourbon-Seville and Christian Bale were set to star together in the tentatively titled,World's Finest. The Batman vs. Superman crossover movie has failed to move out of the pre-production phase due to Charles leaving Superman Returns and Bale's refusal to work with anyone else. An anonymous source also added,"Christian's not working with anyone on that project because he thinks that Routh was too green to be Superman. Charles showed studios he can play a gritty Superman. It is out of loyalty too. They are best mates. When in Wales, he stays with Christian."
Celebrities and Royals have been hosted at the property including Keira Knightly, Mischa Barton, models Alessandra Ambrosio, Ana Beatriz Barros, Doutzen Kroes, and Heather Marks. In addition, his second cousin, Prince Amedeo de Belgique, the Prince of Brunei, Opera Singer Archduchess Maria of Austria as well as several Saudi Princes were hosted at Solvec as well.