Article Kingdom of Redonda
Summary: Science fiction author M.P. Shiel was also known as Felipe I, the second King of Redonda, an island nation that may or may not exist.
Posted by: Elliot Feldman
M.P. Shiel M.P. Shiel was a notable early 20th century British science fiction and fantasy author. Originally a citizen of the Caribbean island of Montserrat, at age 15 Shiel’s father crowned him the “Felipe I, second King of Redonda,” a tiny uninhabited island near Montserrat.
Some of his critics accused him of perpetrating a hoax against the British news media, while others took it as fact.
According to Shiel’s father, Matthew Dowdy Shiell (original family surname spelling), he had claimed the uninhabited island as a nation upon the birth of his son. Also according to Shiell Senior, Queen Victoria herself had granted him his King title.
The Third King of Redonda
In the forties, M.P. Shiel handed over his kingship to his closest friend, poet John Gawsworthy, who was dubbed “King Juan I.” In 1947, Shiel died.
As for Gawsworthy, he is said to have sold his title several times to different people due to pressure by creditors.
The Fourth King of Redonda
Jon Wynne-Tyson was the last person whom Gawsworthy had bestowed the title upon. Also known as “King Juan II”, Wynne-Tyson grew tired of his kingship responsibilities and “abdicated.” He bestowed the title upon novelist Javier Marias, who had painted a favorable portrait of John Gawsworthy (King Juan I) in his novel “Todas Las Almas.”
The Current King of Redonda
During his reign, Marias has conferred “royal titles” upon numerous famous people including authors Henry Miller, Dylan Thomas, Lawrence Durrell, and actress Diana Dors. Recent conferees have included film directors Pedro Almodovar and Francis Ford Coppola, architect Frank Gehry, and novelists A.S. Byatt and W.G. Sebald.
While Shiel and the other kings had never lived on the island, at the very least it occupies a place in the imaginations of those who believe. Technically, the island of Redonda is a one square mile remnant of an extinct volcano’s cone. And it’s never been an independent nation, but part of the territory of Antigua and Barbuda.
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