Sunday 15 May 2004 The Once and Future WindsorsThe second video a DVD, actually was
Matthew Bournes breathtaking version of The Swan
Lake liner notes are careful to say that the royals portrayed are composite figures
inspired by members of the royal family over the course of the 20th century,
with a couple of obvious nods to Bavarias Mad Ludwig thrown in for good measure. Bournes Prince certainly raised the spectres
of figures like the late and unhappy Duke of Windsor, the physically fragile and nervous
George VI, and also their addictive and bisexual brother George, Duke of Kent (the current
dukes father). The portrayal also brings
to mind the rumblings and rumors concerning one or two current members of the family, at
least as they were in the troubled 90s. The
archetype at play here, and in McKellans portrayal of the young Edward V, seems to
be of fragile princes dancing on the edge of destruction.
And the disturbing thing is that this archetype is so easily evoked by
various Part of the genius of monarchy is that it is
archetypical. That is what has informed
playwrights and filmmakers from Shakespeare down to James Goldman author of A Lion in Winter and beyond. To work, however, I suspect that archetypical
monarchy has to authentically connect to the spirit of its age. Henry II and Eleanor evoke the 12th
century. Henry VIII and Elizabeth I embody the
sixteenth century. George III is the paradigm
of the 18th century, both as farmer and madman.
In the process of the 20th century it
seems that the core archetype of the House of Windsor became one of majestic
powerlessness far beyond that of Bagehots constitutional theory. The secret of why it has worked so well is, I
think, that all power in I wonder if it may be time for the What will the new archetype be? Only time will tell. It will certainly have to be more substantive than Cool Britannia! It will emerge and blend the best of the old into the new realities. At the very least it will call for a prince with a strong sense of self-confidence in a changing world. One of the things that most impresses me in the informed and thoughtful members of Williams generation is how comfortable they are with themselves, and with a much more fluid and diverse reality. That bodes well in a chaos-theory world. Beyond that, though it has always been dicey for the royals to flirt with the Arthurian myths, I suspect that they may hold more of the pieces that our times will require than any other. In some sense the 21st century may need a prince who really will pull the sword from the stone. It is just a hunch. - Ken Cuthbertson |
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