October 2009: The 1980s

[LadyLeana]

This month's newsletter focusses on the 1980's, a decade of economic and social change. The fall of communism shifted into higher gear, with revolutions in Poland, Hungary, China Romania and Czechoslowakia, which resulted the end of the cold war in 1989. Multinationals started relocating their manufacturing processes to Asian countries, and the economy revived after a severe oil crisis.

This was the decade of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, the uprise of the seat belt, the start of MTV, the decade which saw an explosive growth in people having a home computer, the explosion of the Challenger and the assassination of John Lennon. And amidst the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl and the overthrow of various military dictatorships in South America, some of our favourite royals of today were born, fairy tale weddings were celebrated and the deaths of monarchs were mourned.

We hope you enjoy this month's newsletter.

Zonk, LadyLeana
Newsletter Editors

 

[LadyLeana]

Changes to the team​

Earlier this year Elspeth and Mandy advised Andy (TRF's owner) and the Admin/Mod team of their intention to retire from the Forums towards the end of 2009. Inevitably, that time has now arrived and it is with regret that we announce their formal retirement from the TRF Team.

Elspeth and Mandy have been with TRF for many years and the success of the Forums can largely be attributed to their deep devotion to making this the best royal-related site on the internet. As well as their public contributions to the threads there has been a very heavy investment in time and effort behind the scenes that has gone into making TRF what it is today. Managing a site of this size with its broad range of royal and royal-related topics and an extremely diverse international membership does not come without its stresses and both have decided this is an appropriate time to depart.

Just as they will be sorely missed by their colleagues in the Admin/Mod Team, I'm sure there are many members who will miss Elspeth and Mandy just as much and will wish them all the best in their retirement from TRF.

Questions about The Royal Forums?​

We have a thread in the Support and Feedback forum that contains all sorts of information about TRF and also contains a copy of the Member FAQs for easy reference.

Picture of the Month​

Don't forget to vote for September's Picture of the Month. There are two polls this month. The official poll highlights the official side of royalty and is here. The unofficial poll features royal vacations 2009 and is here.

The Royal Forums Blog​

The Royal Forums blog continues to thrive. We have nearly 40 bloggers, including 17 regular contributors also known as Royal Bloggers.

The blog entries are posted at the TRF Twitter account. We hope TRF members who belong to Twitter will follow us. We also have a group and a page at Facebook.

The Royal Articles​

If you haven't had the opportunity, please check out The Royal Articles. At present the articles site is not publishing articles because we are looking to switch the software that hosts the articles. We expect to resume article publication in the next two or three months.

Since we are unable to use professional photos to illustrate the articles, the editors are very interested in hearing from any members who have taken photos of royals and would be willing to have their photos used in the articles. Also, anyone who would like to try their hand at writing an article should contact one of the editors. The editors are Marengo and TheTruth.

 

[LadyLeana]

Major Royal Events in October​

1st-9th: 121st IOC Session and 13th Olympic Congress in Copenhagen (thread, blog1, blog2)

4th-8th: Official visit to the USA by Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia (thread, blog)

6th: Opening of Danish Parliament (thread, blog)

9th: Opening of Norwegian Parliament (thread1, thread2, blog)

12th: National Day (Spain) (thread)

23th-29th: Prince Philippe on economic mission to Saudi Arabia and UAE (thread)

27th-29th: State visit to Britain by President Patil of India (thread, blog1)

 

[LadyLeana]

Royal Births​

29 March 1980 : Prince Hamzah of Jordan. Prince Hamzah was the eldest son of King Hussein of Jordan and his fourht wife, Queen Noor. He was namedCrown Prince of Jordan in 1999, by his elder brother King Abdullah II of Jordan. He went to Harrow School and Sandhurst Royal Academy in the UK, and Harvard University in the USA. In 2004, King Abdullah removed the title of Crown Prince from Prince Hamzah. Prince Hamzah is married to Princess Noor bint Asem bin Nayef since 2003. They have one child, Princess Haya bint Hamzah, born in 2007.

15 May 1981: Zara Phillips. She is the second child and only daughter of Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, and her first husband, Mark Philips. She is the eldest granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II. She went to the University of Exeter, where she specialised in Equine Physiotherapy. She is an accomplished equestrian, and collected several gold medals in jumping contests.

11 November 1981: Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg (later Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume). Prince Guillaume is the eldest child of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, then Hereditary Grand Duke and Duchess. Guillaume attended Sandhurst Military Academy, but he also studied at the University of Durham and Brunel University in the UK, and the Univeristy of Angers (France), where he graduated in 2009.

21 June 1982: Prince William of Wales. Prince William is the eldest son of the Prince and Princess of Wales. He was born in London. He was educated at independent schools, among which Ludgrove School and Eton College. He studied at the University of St Andrews and attended Sandhurst Military Academy. He has trained with the Royal Airforce and Navy.

3 June 1984: Prince Félix of Luxembourg. Prince Félix is the second son of the current Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg. He was educated at the International School of Luxembourg and the Swiss Collège Alpin International Beau Soleil. He has worked in Switzerland for a PR company, but will follow a Master's Degree in Bioethics in Rome as of 2009.He attended Sandhurst Military Academy, but due to an injury at his knee he did not complete his education there. He has taken on several public duties, especially in the sports field, for the Grand Ducal family.

8 June 1984 : Andrea Casiraghi. Andrea is the eldest child of Princess Caroline of Monaco, The Princess of Hannover and her second husband, the late Stefano Casiraghi, and the eldest grandchild of the late Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace of Monaco. He graduated with a a Bachelor of Arts degree in visual arts and international politics from the American University of Paris.

15 September 1984: Prince Henry (Harry) of Wales. Prince Harry is the younger son of the Prince and Princess of Wales. Like his older brother, he was educated in independent schools, like Ludgrove School and Eton College. After he finished his secondary education, he took a gap year, which he spent mostly in Australia. He then enrolled in the military. He was recently deployed to assist in military operations in Afghanistan.

21 February 1986: Amedeo of Belgium. Prince Amedeo is the elder son of Princess Astrid of Belgium and Archduke Lorenz. He is also the eldest grandchild of King Albert II of Belgium. He was educated at the Belgian Sint Jan Berchmanscollege, and the British Sevenoaks School. He spent one year at the Belgian Military Academy, and then continued his higher education at the London School of Ecnomics, where he graduated in 2008. After a gap year, he started working in New York.

3 August 1986: Prince Louis of Luxembourg. Prince Louis is the third son of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg. He was educated at the International School of Luxembourg and the Swiss Collège Alpin International Beau Soleil. He married Tessy Anthony (b. 1985) in 2006. The couple have two children, Prince Gabriel and Prince Noah.

3 August 1986 : Charlotte Casiraghi. Charlotte is the second child of Princess Caroline of Monaco, The Princess of Hannover and her second husband, the late Stefano Casiraghi. She went to school in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, where she got her Baccalaureate. Later, she studied Philosophy at the Sorbonne in Paris.

5 September 1987 : Pierre Casiraghi. Pierre is the youngest son and third child of Princess Caroline of Monaco, The Princess of Hannover and her second husband, the late Stefano Casiraghi. He went to school in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence and Fontainebleau. He studied at the Bocconi University in Milan (Italy) and graduated in economics in 2009.

8 August 1988: Princess Beatrice of York. Princess Beatrice is the elder daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York. She was educated at independent schools, like her cousins. In 2008 she started studying at Goldsmiths, University of London.

26 August 1988 : Maria Laura of Belgium. Princess Maria Laura is the second child of Princess Astrid of Belgium and Archduke Lorenz. She is the eldest granddaughter of King Albert II of Belgium. She was educated at the Sint Jan Berchmanscollege and St. John's International School in Belgium. She continued her education at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, and spent part of 2007-2008 in China. Since 2008, she is continuing her study of oriental languages at the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales in Paris.

 

[LadyLeana]

Royal Marriages and Anniversaries​

14 February 1981: Hereditary Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg and Maria Teresa Mestre (later Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa). Henri of Luxembourg was born on 16 April 1955, as first son to (then) Hereditary Grand Duke Jean and Hereditary Grand Duchess Joséphine Charlotte. Maria Teresa Mestre was born on 22 March 1956 to José Antonio Mestre y Alvarez and María Teresa Batista y Falla de Mestre in Havana, Cuba. They met while they were both studying Political Sciences in Geneva. They married in Luxembourg. The couple has five children: Guillaume (b. 1981), Félix (b. 1984), Louis (b. 1986), Alexandra (b. 1991) and Sébastien (b. 1992). They became Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg upon the abdication of Grand Duke Jean in 2000.

29 July 1981: Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer. Charles, Prince of Wales, was born on 14 November 1948 as the eldest child of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Lady Diana Spencer was born on 1 July 1961, as youngest daughter of John Spencer, Viscount Althorp (later the 8th Earl of Spencer) and his wife Frances. They got engaged in 1981, and married that same year. They have two children together, Prince William (b. 1982) and Prince Henry (Harry) (b. 1984). The couple divorced in 1996, after a tumultuous relationship and years of living seperated. One year later, Princess Diana would die in a car crash in Paris.

29 December 1983 : Princess Caroline of Monaco and Stefano Casiraghi. Princess Caroline was born on 23 January 1957, as eldest child of the late Prince Rainier III of Monaco and his wife, film actress Grace Kelly. Stefano Casiraghi was born in Milan on 8 September 1960 to Giancarlo Casiraghi and wife Fernanda Palici. They were married in a civil ceremony in Monace on 29 December 1983. They were not allowed to marry religiously, as Princess Caroline was, in the eyes of the Church, still married to her first husband, Philippe Junot. The couple has three children, Andrea (b. 1983), Charlotte (b. 1986) and Pierre (b. 1987). The marriage ended when Stefano Casiraghi was killed in a boat race accident in 1990.

22 September 1984: Princess Astrid of Belgium and Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este. Princess Astrid was born in Laeken on 5 June 1962 as second child and only daughter of then Prince Albert, Prince of Liège and Princess Paola. Archduke Lorenz was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, France as the second child and first son of Robert, Archduke of Austria-Este and of Archduchess Margaret, née Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta. The couple married in 1985 in Brussels. Archduke Lorenz was created Prince of Belgium in 1995. The couple have five children, Prince Amedeo (b. 1986), Princess Maria Laura (b. 1988), Prince Joachim (1991), Princess Luisa Maria (b. 1995) and Princess Laetitia Maria (b. 2003).

23 July 1986: Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. Prince Andrew was born on 19 February 1960, as second son and third child of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Sarah Ferguson was born on 15 October 1959 to Ronald Ferguson and Susan Barrantes. The two were engaged early in 1986, and married that same year in Westminster Abbey. The couple has two chilgren, Princess Beatrice (1988) and Princess Eugenie (b. 1990). They started living seperately in 1992, and decided to divorce in 1996.

 

[LadyLeana]

Royal Deaths​

6 February 1981: Princess Frederika of Hanover (later Queen Consort Frederika of Greece) was the daughter of Ernest Augustus III, Duke of Brunswick and Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia, the only daughter of German Emperor William II and Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein. In 1936 Prince Paul, Crown Prince of Greece, proposed to her in Berlin when he was there to see the 1936 Summer Olympics. On 9 January 1938 they married in Athens. Prince Paul was the son of King Constantine I of Greece and Sophie of Prussia. Ten months after their marriage their first child was born on 2 November 1938: Sophia, the future Queen Sofia of Spain. On 2 June 1940 their son and heir, Constantine was born. She was Queen Consort of Greece from 1947 to 1964, when her husband died of cancer. Queen Frederika died in Madrid, in exile after the abolishment of the Greek monarchy, on 6 February 1981, during surgery.

14 September 1982: Grace Patricia Kelly (also known as Princess Grace of Monaco) was born on November 12, 1929, the daughter of John Kelly and Margaret Kelly in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She won a Best Actress Oscar for her role in The Country Girl. She married Prince Rainier of Monaco on April 18, 1956 (civil marriage) and April 19, 1956 (religious). They were the parents of Princess Caroline of Hanover, Prince Albert II of Monaco and Princess Stephanie of Monaco. Princess Grace died of injuries as result of car accident on September 14, 1982.

18 March 1983 : Umberto II of Italy was born the Prince of Piedmont on September 15, 1904, the only of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and Princess Elena of Montenegro On January 8, 1930, he married Marie Joes of Belgium, and they were the parents of Maria Pia, Vittorio Emanuele, Maria Gabriella and Maria Beatrice. Umberto served was the last King of Italy, from 9 May 1946 to 12 June 1946. The couple separated in exile, with the King dying in Switzerland on March 18, 1983.

1 June 1983 : Prince Charles of Belgium, Count of Flanders, regent of Belgium in the post war period (1944-1950) was born on October 10, 1903, the second son of Albert I, King of the Belgians and Duchess Elisabeth. He served as regent of Belgium from 1944, 1950, in lieu of his older brother, King Leopold III, who later abdicated in favor of his son, King Baudouin I. Prince Charles retired from public life, took up painting and died in Belgium on June 1, 1983.

25 September 1983: Leopold III of Belgium was born Prince Leopold of Belgium, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the oldest son of Crown Prince Albert of Belgium and his wife Duchess Elisabeth of Bavaria. In 1926 Leopold married Princess Astrid of Sweden, daughter of Prince Carl of Sweden and Norway, Duke of Västergötland and his wife Princess Ingeborg of Denmark.. The marriage produced three children. In 1935 King Leopold was driving a car with his wife when he was involved in a automobile accident. The accident caused the death of Queen Astrid and their unborn child. In 1941 King Leopold married for a second time in a secret morganatic religious ceremony to Lilian Baels. The marriage produced three children. The most notable event to happen during King Leopold's reign was World War II and his abdication in 1951. King Leopold died on January 25, 1983.

24 April 1986: Duchess of Windsor was born Bessie Wallis Warfield the only child of Teackle Wallis Warfield and Alice Montague was born on June 19, 1896. Wallis would become one of the major players in a scandal that would thrust the future of British Royal Family into unknown waters. In the early 1930s she would meet the future King Edward VIII and they became romantically involved. By 1936 Edward wished to marry her, but she was still married to her second husband at the time. There were also major issues/problems with the King marring a divorcee and ultimately Edward abdicated the throne to marry Wallis. After their marriage they were given the title of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. The Duke of Windsor died on May 28, 1972. The Duchess of Windsor died on April 24, 1986.

30 January 1989: Alphonso de Borbon, Duke of Anjou and legitimist pretender to the French throne, was born on 20 April 1936 in Rome as the elder son of Infante Jaime of Spain and his wife Emmanuelle de Dampierre. He was a grandson of Alfonso XIII of Spain. Alfonso married Doña María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco, daughter of Don Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú, 10th Marquess of Villaverde, and of his wife, Doña Carmen Franco y Polo, 1st Duchess of Franco (only daughter of General Franco). They had two sons. Alfonso died in a skiing accident in Beaver Creek, Eagle County, Colorado.

7 January 1989: Emperor Showa (Hirohito) was born Prince Michi, the first son of Crown Prince Yoshihito (the future Emperor Taishō) and Crown Princess Sadako (the future Empress Teimei). In 1924 he married his distant cousin Princess Nagako Kuni (the future Empress Kōjun), the eldest daughter of Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi and his wife, Chikako. The marriage between Emperor Hirohito and Empress Kōjun produced seven children. The most notable event that happened during Emperor Hirohito's reign was that of World War II. Emperor Hirohito died ion January 7, 1989.

14 March 1989: Empress Zita of Austria was born Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma on May 9,1892, the daughter of Robert I, Duke of Parma and Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal. She married Archduke Charles of Austria on October 21, 1911. They were the parents of Felix, Adelheid, Rudolf and Elisabeth, Carl Ludwig, Otto, Charlotte, and Robert. Following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in 1914, Charles became heir presumptive to Emperor Franz Joseph I and became Emperor in 1916. In November of 1918, Emperor Charles issued two proclamations recognizing Austria and Hungary right to determine the future of the state and renouncing any role in state affairs. These two act are considered the end of the Habsburg Empire, although it should be noted that the Emperor did not abdicate. The Emperor died on April 1, 1922. The family spent its remaining years in exile in Hungary, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, Canada and the United States. The Empress died in Switzerland on March 14, 1989.

18 October 1989: Princess Georgina (Gina) of Liechtenstein was born Countess Georgina von Wilczek on October 24, 1921. The daughter of the late Ferdinand, Count of Wiclzek and the late Countess Norbertine Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau. On March 7, 1943, she married Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein. At her husband’s accession, she became known as Princess Gina of Liechtenstein. They were the parents of Hereditary Prince Hans-Adam; Prince Phillip, Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein, Princess Norberta and the late Franz Josef Wenzelaus. She died on October 18, 1989.

13 November 1989: Franz Joseph II of Liechtenstein was the oldest child of Prince Aloys of Liechtenstein and his wife Archduchess Elisabeth Amalia of Austria. In 1943 he married Countess Georgina von Wilczek, daughter of Ferdinand, Count of Wilczek and his wife, Countess Norbertine Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau. The marriage produced five children He succeeded his childless cousin Prince Franz I in 1938, after his own father renounced his right of succession in his favor a decade earlier. His wife, Princess Gina predeceased him in death on October 18, 1989. Franz Joseph died on November 13, 1989.

 

[LadyLeana]

Accessions, Enthronements, Jubilees, and Abdications​

1 January 1980: Changes to the Swedish Act of Succession make Victoria of Sweden Crown Princess and therefore next in line to the throne, ahead of her younger brother.

30 April 1980: Abdication of Queen Juliana of The Netherlands, in favour of her eldest daughter, Beatrix, who succeeded her that same day. Queen Juliana abdicated at the age of 71, after a reign of almost 32 years.

30 April 1980: Enthronement of Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands, upon the abdication of her mother, Queen Juliana of The Netherlands. Queen Beatrix is currently still Queen of the Netherlands.

7 January 1989: Accession of Emperor Akihito upon the death of his father, who still reigns the Japanese Empire.

13 November 1989: Accession of Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein upon the death of his father. He is still the Head of State of Liechtenstein, but his son, Hereditary Prince Alois has been regent since 2004.

 

[LadyLeana]

Major World Events​

27 December 1979-15 February 1989: Soviet-Afghan War. In 1978 a communist government was set up in Afghanistan after a period of unrest following the overthrow of the King in 1973. The reforms instituted by the government were unpopular with religious groups and led to a civil war between these groups (the Mujahideen) and the Soviet-backed government. On 24 December 1979 Soviet troops entered Afghanistan at the invitation of the Afghan government, and on 27 December they took over Kabul. The Mujahideen responded to the Soviet invasion with guerrilla tactics and sabotage, preventing the Soviets from taking control of much of the country outside the principal cities. The resistance movement was supported by many major powers, including the United States, which saw this conflict as part of the Cold War against the Soviet Union; it was also supported by Muslim countries throughout the Middle East. It was not a centralised movement but instead was run by powerful warlords with control of different parts of the country, along with groups of religious fanatics (including the Taliban and the group that would evolve into al Qaeda). By the mid-1980s it was clear to the Soviet Union that the war was costly and unwinnable, especially since it had become part of the Cold War with resources being contributed by the United States, China, the United Kingdom among other countries. The Soviets started to withdraw troops in 1987, and the withdrawal was complete by 15 February 1989. The Afghan civil war continued after the Soviet withdrawal and is still under way, with Islamic extremists fighting the influence of the West.

4 May 1980: Death of Marshal Tito (Yugoslavia) and the beginning of the breakup of the country. Marshal Josip Broz Tito was born in Croatia in 1892. He joined the Communist Party after being captured and imprisoned in Russia during World War II. He became a leader of the Yugoslav Communist Party during the years between the wars and was Prime Minister in the short-lived post-war monarchy under King Peter II. He became President in 1953. Although previously loyal to Moscow, he achieved a degree of independence for the Yugoslav Communist Party, and became Secretary-General of the Nonaligned Movement in 1961. Yugoslav communism allowed for more freedom of religion, travel, and commerce than did Soviet communism; however, the government enforced unity among the different religious and ethnic groups, and squashed attempts at self-determination. In 1974 Marshal Tito was declared President for life. He increasingly became an elder statesman in his later years. He died on 1 May 1980, and almost immediately a series of conflicts broke out as different ethnic and religious groups vied for independence and power, resulting eventually in the dismantling of Yugoslavia.

22 September 1980-20 August 1988: Iran-Iraq War. The Iran-Iraq War started in 1980 with an invasion of Iran by Iraqi forces. Feeling that Iran might be both destabilised and aggressive as a result of the recent revolution, Saddam Hussein acted to try and establish Iraq as the dominant force in the Middle East. The Iraqi forces were initially successful in making advances inside Iran, but after a couple of years the situation was stalemated. In 1985 Iraq began a strategy of bombing Iranian cities; after obtaining missiles from sympathetic countries (such as Libya and Syria), Iran responded in kind. Each country was also attacking civilian shipping of the other country. Since the Middle East was an important part of the world for the United States and the Soviet Union, these superpowers gradually intervened in the war to protect their commercial and political interests, and after further Iraqi offensives in 1988, Iran agreed to a United Nations resolution bringing the war to an end.

2 April–14 July 1982: Falklands War. In April 1982 the Argentinian military government invaded the Falkland Islands, a British overseas territory which was also claimed by Argentina. The Argentinian government hoped to increase its popularity at home by taking over the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and counted on the British government to decline to respond militarily. However, the British government decided to send the armed forces to retake the islands, and fighting started later in April. South Georgia was retaken by the end of April. In May the British forces started to retake the Falklands, and on 14 June the capital, Stanley, fell to the British. As a result of the war, the Thatcher government gained increased popularity in Britain whereas the military government in Argentina was discredited and democracy was restored. Prince Andrew saw active service in the Falklands war as a Royal Navy pilot.

11 March 1985: Mikhail Gorbachev becomes leader of the Soviet Communist Party and starts to institute reforms. Mikhail Gorbachev was the son of farmers who became a lawyer and politician and quickly climbed the ladder to high office in the Communist Party. He became a member of the Politburo in 1979 and became General Secretary of the organisation in 1985. Under his leadership, the USSR started dialogue with western powers in the hope of ending the Cold War and implementing nuclear disarmament, as well as introducing domestic reforms to increase freedom of speech and open up the political system to other parties - reforms known in the west by the Russian terms glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring). He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.

15 April-4 June 1989: Tiananmen Square protests (China). The Tiananmen Square protests were an attempt by students, intellectuals, and other reformers to obtain reforms over and above the introduction of limited capitalism during the 1980s. The protesters were trying to precipitate the overthrow of the Communist system as had happened in Eastern Europe. The protests started after the death of a pro-reform politician, Hu Yaobang, who had been dismissed for his views. Hundreds of thousands of protestors gathered in Tiananmen Square by the time of Hu Yaobang's funeral on 21 April, and were demanding press freedom, a multiparty system, and genuine democracy. The protests by this time had spread to other Chinese cities and were being reported in the world press. In May the protestors started a hunger strike, which attracted the attention of some of the top government leaders, some of whom argued for a conciliatory approach while others advocated a harsh response. At the beginning of June the leadership ordered the People's Liberation Army to clear the protestors out of the square. By the time this was done, there had been hundreds or possibly thousands of deaths. The Communist Party remains in control of China.

 

[LadyLeana]

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