French to confiscate British crown jewels
July 18th, 2012
In one of the more unorthodox diplomatic initiatives of recent years, a French petition is being submitted to Her Majesty the Queen of England, demanding the Crown Jewels. The petition originates from Angers, a city around 300km west of Paris, which was once capital of the historic province of Anjou. This lies at the root of the demand, as Anjou was ancestral home to the Plantagenet dynasty, the family that ruled England for much of the Middle Ages. Such distinguished monarchs as Richard the Lionheart and Henry V, hero of Agincourt, all descended from the Plantagenet line.
That line was severed in 1499, when Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick, was beheaded at the command of Henry VII, the first of England’s Tudor kings. Now the citizens of Angers want compensation for this 500-year-old injustice. With interest… This would be a considerable sum, but in recognition of the difficult times we now face, they are willing to accept a substitute. Namely the British Crown Jewels. A spokesman for Angers council confessed that, while their petition had ‘little chance of success’, it was worth reminding Britons of the ‘state crime’ of Edward’s ‘unfair and horrible death’, and encouraged tourists to visit the city.
The petition already has several hundred signatures, and though we at Alchemy wouldn’t support the campaign as it stands, we certainly do approve of visiting beautiful historic cities like Angers, which boasts a wealth of stunning medieval architecture. We also like to draw attention to – and inspiration from – Europe’s rich historical heritage. Such as with our ornate Plantagenet wine glass, the perfect receptacle with which to toast England’s most esteemed medieval dynasty.
To buy your very own visit www.alchemyengland.com/buy