Vive le Roi

Coronation Day Approaches, and here in France some people are getting excited.

I recently paid a visit to an osteopathe for the very first time. Being unsure of what to expect I was soon put at my ease. The osteopathe was a very pleasant, youngish lady and we soon started chatting as she stood behind me to manipulate my spine. Perhaps conversation flowed because, much like a television interview conducted between car driver and passenger, there was no eye contact. We certainly seemed to have a lot in common as we spoke of our children , our shared love of the local countryside, and growing vegetables. As with all sympathetic conversationalists, I found that she helped me to speak fairly fluent French too . As the session drew to a close, and she moved to sit behind her desk, a large gulf suddenly occurred between us. She had begun to tell me of her love for the British Queen Elizabeth II. Indeed , she told me, we French admire all your Royal family. I confess I could not stay silent. Recent revelations in The Guardian about King Charles' enormous wealth, had already riled me, not to mention the innumerable works of art that belong to the nation, yet are hidden from view. I gently pointed out the disparity between this king and his struggling subjects. She looked at me strangely, smiled , and then waved that fact away as if it were of little importance. No, she insisted, we love your Royal family. The irony could not have been greater as I , an anti Royalist, found myself in total disagreement with someone whose ancestors had guillotined their king Louis XVI and later his wife Marie- Antoinette. By the way, I shall not be repeating the oath of allegiance on Saturday.