Sweden: The latest royal headache

First it was a somewhat controversial royal wedding. Then the (IMO) overblown revelation that the King had lived a rather hedonistic lifestyle when he first came to the throne as a young man in the 1970's. Now we have reports that the Queen's father (H.M.'s family comes from Germany) had ties to the Nazi Party before and during the war, and that he made a great deal of money from a factory he "acquired" from Jews in the late 1930's. At that time German Jews had been banned from owning most forms of property and businesses and many were forced to sell their homes and livelihoods at rock bottom prices to often well connected non-Jews. Later the factory was of course part of the German war effort.

In fairness it is not clear how much the Queen knew about all of this. It has never been common in Germany for parents to discuss with their children their activities in support of Hitler's regime. Think of it as Germany's version of "don't ask don't tell." Even so recent statements by the the Queen are difficult to explain. It is probably too much to ask someone to spit on the grave of their parents. But it is not too much to come clean about their involvement in this sort of thing, especially when the evidence is presented. Nor is it unreasonable to expect an unequivocal condemnation.