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Check Out The History Behind Theresa May's Kneeling Down Before The Queen by 2emgee(m): 1:19pm On Jul 27, 2016 |
After days of political tumult in Westminster, a
single image of calm suddenly emerged on
Wednesday evening from the inner sanctum of
royal authority: The Queen granting private
audience to a genuflecting Theresa May, who has
succeeded David Cameron as prime minister of
the United Kingdom. Easily dismissed as nothing
more than a shiny scrap of pageantry, the
photograph of the newly selected leader of the
governing Conservative Party and the monarch
who invited her to form a new government is, in
truth, a fascinating cultural document.
On its surface, the image reaffirms that
democracy in Britain, at least symbolically, is still
subservient to inherited power. Though the photo
may be accented with smiles and the glamour of
designer fashions, a stony silence entombs this
week’s image. It divulges nothing of what was
actually discussed between the queen and the
new PM.
The mute postures of the two women – one
deferential, the other munificent – are
reminiscent of those depicted on a strange 16th-
Century memorial in Bacton Church,
Herefordshire: a sculpture that reminds us how
secretive the pantomime of power has long been.
Like the photo released by Buckingham Palace on
Wednesday evening, the marble and alabaster
work portrays a figure kneeling before royalty – in
this case, the courtier Blanche Parry prostrating
herself to Queen Elizabeth I. Assigned to Elizabeth
since the future monarch’s infancy (Blanche is
said to have ‘rockte’ her ‘cradell’), Blanche would
become a close royal confidante.
In time, Elizabeth would entrust Blanche with
responsibilities that far exceeded her initial remit
as lady-in-waiting, giving her sole charge of the
royal jewellery, wardrobe, and books. Before
long, Blanche was enjoying, for private pleasure,
the lease of crown lands across Britain, while
wielding profound political influence in state
affairs. What earned Blanche such astonishing
prerogatives? Was it her acumen or judgment?
Her learning or intelligence? What Elizabeth
valued above all was loyalty of service – the kind
of quality you demonstrate not with your mind,
but with your knees.
Today, the Queen has far fewer political gifts at
her disposal than her Renaissance predecessor
once dangled. Theresa May’s courteous curtsy,
therefore, in no serious sense echoes the
obeisance shown by Blanche Parry to her
Sovereign over four centuries ago. In stooping
low, she reaches high. |
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