Tudors and Tories

Here is our Prime Minister, David William Donald Cameron. He gets something of a rough treatment from the public and media alike – a popular perception being that of a heartless leader, who cares for pragmatism over sentimentality, with the HS2 scheme often cited as an example.

But fear not Mr Cameron! History O’Clock has dug deep into English history and found a political soul mate, to prove that your pragmatic policies are but a continuation of English political narrative.

We present to you King Henry VII!

Ahh Henry VII! His lasting legacy certainly wasn’t being the man who initiated a High Speed railway that sought to change the infrastructure of his land – but if there was such technology at the turn of the 15th century, I’m sure he would have pursued it.

Henry’s big ‘HS2 moment’ came after he slayed Richard III to usurp the English crown. He utilised the Medieval belief that the Marriage Bed was the grandest and most effective diplomatic tool to the extreme, by marrying the daughter of his one-time enemy Edward IV, before fiercely negotiating his first son Arthur (and after his untimely death, Henry) to marry the Spanish Princess Catherine of Aragon.

Although History O’Clock believes these two long lost political soul mates would have got along well together over a pint of pragmatism (ba dum tss), this is nothing compared to the son and successor of the first Tudor monarch, and the rumored successor (certainly not son) of Mr Cameron.

Indeed in the same way that Henry VII’s reign of sober efficiency was followed by an era of crimes, scandals, lusts and passions in Henry VIII’s court, can we expect a reign of flamboyancy from that well-known potential successor, Boris Johnson?

Henry certainly didn’t take an interest in the nitty-gritty of politics, and instead sought glory, honour, and immortality on the battlefield and in his bedchamber. In a similar way one might suspect the leadership of ‘Britain’s Berlusconi’ to be littered with controversy and exuberance, perhaps with ‘Bunga Bunga’ parties encompassing a British twist….

Or how about a modern day re-enactment of The Field of the Cloth of Gold?

In the spirit of competition and friendship as conveyed by King Henry and King Francis all those years ago, it would be quite something to see Boris and Francois Hollande strip down to their pantaloons and wrestle each other furiously…

Tags: Boris Johnson, David Cameron, Henry VII, Henry VIII, Hollande, Tories, Tudors