London exile Boris Berezovsky announced Sunday that under his new Resurrection Movement political party, he would instate a constitutional monarchy in Russia and named Britain's Prince Harry as a candidate for king.
The business tycoon published a manifesto for his Christian-democratic party on his LiveJournal blog Sunday, the day Orthodox believers celebrated Easter.
"Returning the monarchy to the throne will reinstate an interrupted chain of time and become a symbol of the rebirth of Russia," he said. "Prince Harry — the younger son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana — is one of the bright symbols of the modern civilized world and a possible candidate. He has more Russian blood than the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II." Berezovsky noted that Harry's great grandmother was a Romanov.
The party will be founded on the "Christian" ideals of love and freedom, which Berezovsky says he believes will bring Russia salvation.
Berezovsky's other proposals include transforming Russia into a confederation; liberalizing the Orthodox church; installing a British-style legal system; and allowing anyone who can pass an exam that demonstrates their fluency in Russian and knowledge of Russian culture to become a Russian citizen.
But he told the BBC that he does not plan to register the party while President-elect Vladimir Putin is in power, since Berezovsky does not believe that Putin's reelection was legitimate.
"Putin...put himself there outside the law — he does not have any right to a third term," he said.
Prince Henry of Wales, known commonly as Prince Harry, is an officer in the British army and a controversial figure in Britain. He is the frequent subject of British tabloid reports, which have included a photograph of him wearing a Nazi uniform at a party and and a video of him making a racial slur about a fellow officer.
