Sixty Joyless De-Britished Uncrowned Commonpoor Years (1949-2009)

Elizabeth II Vice-Regal Saint: Remembering Paul Comtois (1895–1966), Lt.-Governor of Québec
Britannic Inheritance: Britain's proud legacy. What legacy will America leave?
English Debate: Daniel Hannan revels in making mince meat of Gordon Brown
Crazy Canucks: British MP banned from Canada on national security grounds
Happy St. Patrick's: Will Ireland ever return to the Commonwealth?
Voyage Through the Commonwealth: World cruise around the faded bits of pink.
No Queen for the Green: The Green Party of Canada votes to dispense with monarchy.
"Sir Edward Kennedy": The Queen has awarded the senator an honorary Knighthood.
President Obama: Hates Britain, but is keen to meet the Queen?
The Princess Royal: Princess Anne "outstanding" in Australia.
H.M.S. Victory: In 1744, 1000 sailors went down with a cargo of gold.
Queen's Commonwealth: Britain is letting the Commonwealth die.
Justice Kirby: His support for monarchy almost lost him appointment to High Court
Royal Military Academy: Sandhurst abolishes the Apostles' Creed.
Air Marshal Alec Maisner, R.I.P. Half Polish, half German and 100% British.
Cherie Blair: Not a vain, self regarding, shallow thinking viper after all.
Harry Potter: Celebrated rich kid thinks the Royals should not be celebrated
The Royal Jelly: A new king has been coronated, and his subjects are in a merry mood
Victoria Cross: Australian TROOPER MARK DONALDSON awarded the VC
Godless Buses: Royal Navy veteran, Ron Heather, refuses to drive his bus
Labour's Class War: To expunge those with the slightest pretensions to gentility
100 Top English Novels of All Time: The Essential Fictional Library
BIG BEN: Celebrating 150 Years of the Clock Tower

Tuesday 8 July 2008

The Duke and his d'Orsay

I must say the Duke of Edinburgh is looking rather dapper here in his morning suit and beaver hat. Is that a d'Orsay or Regent, I think it's a d'Orsay, which fell from fashion eons ago when beaver felt made way for silk. Whatever the style, the choice of pearl gray is perfect for afternoon garden parties like this one at Holyroodhouse, though strictly forboden as evening wear.

Insight%20jul08%20gallery%20holy4%20largePrince Albert singlehandedly saved the Canadian beaver from extinction, when he donned the silk top hat as a statement of royal pleasure in 1850. For the three hundred years prior (1550-1850), virtually all hats were produced from beaver pelt, from the bicorn/tricorn cocked hats of the navy and army, to the mass of gentlemen toppers across civilised Europe, and the Hudson Bay Company flourished as a result. The beaver was trapped out of existence in mainland Europe and then Scandanavia before operations really took off in British North America. Thanks to Prince Albert, the great and glorious beaver never met the same fate in the New World. Isn't that right, dear Beaverbrook!

6 comments:

Beaverbrook said...

Right you are Tweedsmuir! My, our Duke does look rather dapper doesn't he. Gabrielle d'Orsay would be proud.

I'm off to Europe for the rest of the month. So be good, everyone. And don't forget to feed the fish!

mrcawp said...

Enjoy your time there/here! (I don't know whether you include Britain or not in the word Europe... and there lies all we need to know, incidentally, about why the EU is ridiculous!).

Beaverbrook said...

Europe, as in not Britain. I will be in Iceland and France, no disrespect to the Mother Country intended.

I must say, your name is an improvement over "Scott". It didn't quite meld with the theme, did it.

mrcawp said...

It did rather make it look like it was my first name, yes. I got frustrated with it!

Shaftesbury said...

Great Britain has never been part of "Europe."

mrcawp said...

No, I know. But part of the trouble is that technically - and only very technically - it is now.

And yet of course it very physically, and politically, and culturally isn't.

Hence many of our present woes.