Man-slaying conquest of a kingdom bequeaths legitimacy when it is acknowledgeand affirmed by foreign powers. A bloodless coup acquiesced to by the last of the line ended it, also when acknowledged and affirmed by foreign powers. The big dogs of the world are those the other dogs recognize, and that's about it. What's new on earth is popular sovereignty of federated states under self-imposed written constitutions.  Thought madness, and considered doomed to fail by the world's man-slayer-descendent monarchs, our United States has become one of the longest-surviving continuous governments on earth.  We may sing of Kamehemeha defended by spears, and may also sing of the banner so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming.  Let's pray that the two lines continue in peace and prosperity with the leisure and knowledge to enjoy anachronistic arcana like this throughout our and our descendents' lives.