Arriving in London early in the morning, we quickly went into the Queen’s Gallery in Buckingham Palace, to see a wonderful display of pictures and memorabilia about Charles I. He was born in 1600 and ascended to the throne in 1626. An Anglican, he was immensely disliked by the Puritans and other non-conformists. In the early 1630s he dissolved Parliament and decided to rule Britain without it. He did so for eleven years. It was reconvened eventually, and Charles could not avoid a civil war. It continued for Charles till seven years later until he was be-headed in 1649. The gallery had many beautiful oil paintings and prints from the era. Considering the Queen sponsored the event, it was not suprising that Charles was shown in a really good light. One painting in particular caught my eye. It had three profiles of Charles: one from the front, one from the left, and one from the right. The one that faced forward had shifty eyes that seemed to follow me as I walked about it. After maybe twenty or thirty minutes, we left and walked around to the front of the palace. The facing was done in limestone in a paladial style. The gates were black with golden spears on top. The guards in front that neither spoke nor moved no matter how much little children prodded them, before their parents stopped them and explained the importance of guards who never move or look around. Outside the gate is a monument to Queen Victoria, who reigned from 1837 till 1902, with a golden figure on the top and Roman gods and cherubs all the way to the bottom. At the base was a platform that one could get to via a stair facing the palace. Below the platform running around it was a pool with fountains. It was truly glorious. It outshone the palace.
After lunch and a stop at the reform club, we visited the Banqueting Hall at Whitehall. The current hall was built by Inigo Jones for the Stuart Kings of the early seventeenth century. It was completed in 1616 and caught fire in 1698. The Banqueting Hall is all that remains. The Rubens paintings on the ceilings depict mythological scenes honoring James I. At the far end of the room, we saw a throne. Charles I was beheaded there January 30, 1649. We were there on January 29, 1999, which meant that we were there because of the anniversary. Outside beneath the plaque that commemorates the be-heading, some one had laid a bouquet for the occasion. The card read, “Served you right, you old Parasite.” While there, Mark and I noticed that the throne did not have a sign that said, “Do not touch,” and no guards were present, so we saw our chance. Mark got on the throne and had his picture taken. I followed him and sat down too. Sure, I did not have flunkies or power, or a crown, but I had a velvet throne and a large backdrop behind me. After thirty seconds, I became nervous for my continued un-incarceration and descended from the throne to mingle with commoners once again. “The King is Dead, Long Live the King.”
I
think I was a good King. I mean during my momentary reign, there
were no wars, no famines, and no social strife. That’s better than
most Kings and Queens of England can claim. Maybe Charles will out-shine
me.
Next,
we walked up to Trafalgar Square and went into the National Portrait Gallery.
It had paintings of Kings, Prime Ministers, and a few famous regular Brits.
If you like great writer of England’s past his portrait is probably there:
Milton, Shakespeare, Lord Byron, and Keats, all adorn the walls.
The most interesting painting is of Edward the sixth. He inherited
the throne at the age of nine from Henry the eighth in 1548. He was
a sickly boy who died at fourteen. His portrait looks as if it had
been done on silly putty and stretched out to make his face look very wide.
But when viewed from the side, it looks completely normal, normal in every
way. The artist is playing with perspective. What a novel idea!
A Warhol, hanging on the ground floor imitated his painting, ‘Four Marilyns’
depicting Queen Elizabeth the second. My Rival! The pictures
were almost exclusively of Kings, Dukes, and Lords. No common men
are depicted till Shakespeare, and he is far from Common. I think
this shows the class system in England very well. It isn’t until
the second half of the twentieth century that most portraits are of non-nobles.
Even some less than memorable people hang in the gallery, like the Spice
Girls, for example. God save England!
After dinner, all of us went back to the Barbican centre to see Shakespeare’s ‘Measure for Measure’ performed by the RSC (Royal Shakespeare Company). Last week, we saw ‘The Tempest’ at the same place. It was done so very well. I was impressed with the actor that played Lucio. He was magnificent. He was Trinculo in ‘The Tempest’ too. Shakespeare in London is rather magical. I already loved Shakespeare, but it has a whole different life here. In America, the actors talk down to the audience because they feel the language id too difficult. Here they do not do that. The respect the audience and the audience can understand it. The two productions we have seen at The Royal Shakespeare Company have been the best shows I have ever seen.
After the play we were all very tired and ready for a good night’s sleep. The bus ride back was very quite as we all contemplated our beds. My mind wondered back to the tours, my time as a King, and the play. It was all so marvellous. I truly love London. It has a feel to it that is alien to me. Even with all the video cameras and the police watching all the time, I feel a certain freedom to think and feel differently. The city buzzes with excitement and history; I try to understand it all in vain. I think it will take me a hundred trips there to get a feeling for it, but I don’t have that time. April comes all too quickly.