This Wednesday morning at 3AM (there's a song title in there somewhere) I was gently raised to consciousness by a somewhat premature blackbird to the news, from the perceptive, logical and rational Tom Bower, that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex plan to rebrand themselves as "The Spencer family." Here is the GB News video in question, though to get to Mr Bower you first have to witness the rather lovely Miss Kelly Osbourne not mincing any words at all. Which is good fun, but killjoys can scroll past her:
"Spencer" is probably the second most common Anglo-Norman surname after "Norman" and whilst the Duke of Sussex may assume that the inhabitants of Althorpe House in Northamptonshire are the only Spencers who need to be consulted about this (I cannot believe that the Duke and his Duchess might have failed to consult Earl Spencer, at least), they are but one cell in a global Spencer diaspora numbering at least in the tens of thousands and now covering an impressive range of ethnicities. Unless the Duke plans to consult us all, and he doesn't display any awareness that the rest of us Spencers even exist, it would be courteous of him to follow the politically-perceptive example of his great-great grandfather King George the Fifth and adopt a new and somewhat more unique family name.
It would need to be something that captured the popular imagination and which the public might start using of their own accord, rather than being woke-bullied into using it by endless pressure and coercion. And if it neatly epitomises his brand,it might remain in popular usage for his lifetime and for generations to come:
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the Absalom-Jezebels!
No comments:
Post a Comment