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| Letters From London |
| Humorous Views on London Culture, Royals, Gossip and Politics |
Rule Britannia, Britannia Rules the Waves - 3 February 2008
It was a nails-bitten-to-the-quick thumbs up signal…twice…during PM Gordon Brown’s rousing
pro-Britain speech. Everyone in Britain needs to express their pride in being British. Let
patriotism prevail… except on the lovely 50 pence coin. This is where Gordon draws the line.
Gordon wants the image of Britannia on the flip side removed. He has the Queen’s blessing. He
thinks Britain wants modernising beginning with numismatic attention to detail through the medium
of currency. Gordon wants the historic figure replaced by artists’ creative efforts.
Call in the YBAs. Will we see an image of Tracy Emin’s bed (Rauschenberg did it first and much
better) or Mark Quinn’s head of his own blood (no other artist has been quite that ludicrous – not
even shoot-the-messenger Chris Burden) or Damian Hurst’s deteriorating shark (makes one long
for the dead Dadaists).
The 50p piece is an Equilateral Curve Heptagon, the world's first equilateral curve heptagon
introduced in 1969. 1969 you say. You have a pristine Beatles’ t-shirt older than that. And the
point? British history.
The fifty pence evolved from the half sovereign, which was first issued in 1544 in the reign of
Henry VIII. There are an estimated 769 million 50p pieces in circulation featuring the image of
Britannia which has been used on British coins for over 400 years - since 1672.
But wait. The figure of Britannia may have been chosen as the motif on the 50p’s reverse in
1969, but Britannia had appeared almost 2,000 years previously when the Romans created her
as a personification of the British Isles, which they called Britanniae… on coins of Claudius, on
coins struck by Hadrian and Antonious to mark the colonialisation of Britain. She is/was a symbol
of empire, militarism and economics. Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves.
Since 1672, Britannia has been anthropomorphised into a helmeted woman carrying a shield and
trident. The mistress of Charles II supposedly posed for the 1672 version. Now, that is rather
noteworthy. Surely it requires artists to improve on it….
Britannia was conjured up as a symbol of Britain's political and naval might during the time of the
Third Anglo-Dutch War, and by the Victorian era she had grown to become a more forceful,
trident-holding representation of the British Empire. Remember The Empire, Gordie? The
empire. That empire. Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves….
GB praised the British values of responsibility, liberty and fairness. He appointed a trusted ally,
Michael Wills, as Minister for Patriotism with orders to promote ‘Britishness’ across Britain. Oh
Geordie Gordie. Could he share the same anti-Britain attitude of his fellow Scots? The hideously-
grimacing Andy Murray as well as most of the population of Scotland who want independence.
Historian and author Andrew Roberts: "We constantly see Gordon Brown wrapping himself up in
the Union Jack, yet here we find a blatant attempt to erase our history, to allow important
symbols to be abolished after 300 years. Britannia is a classic symbol of modern Britain and
people care very much about what is on their coins. People fight for symbols, for flags, because
they represent in a small way the big things that matter to us. Does it mean sticking that awful
Jade Goody on the 50p instead?" I don’t know. He’ll have to ask Mr Brown…or Mr Wills.
Public opinion didn’t want Jade Goody or the passed-sell-by-date, YBAs: “What next? Will they
change the name of our country? How about The Country Formally Known As Great Britain'?
Slowly, bit by bit, we are losing our identity. Leave the 50p alone and concentrate on more
important issues!” Like selling off Britain to the non-tax paying super-rich…?
Coins frequently endure a century in circulation. And just imagine all those Roman coins graced
with Britannia buried in every British back garden. Could be another nail biting problem for Gordie.
The poem "Rule Britannia" by James Thomson (1700-48) was put to music by Thomas Augustine
Arne (around 1740) and is sung as an unofficial national anthem.
Oh Gordon. ‘Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves: Britons never will be slaves.’
It was a nails-bitten-to-the-quick thumbs up signal…twice…during PM Gordon Brown’s rousing
pro-Britain speech. Everyone in Britain needs to express their pride in being British. Let
patriotism prevail… except on the lovely 50 pence coin. This is where Gordon draws the line.
Gordon wants the image of Britannia on the flip side removed. He has the Queen’s blessing. He
thinks Britain wants modernising beginning with numismatic attention to detail through the medium
of currency. Gordon wants the historic figure replaced by artists’ creative efforts.
Call in the YBAs. Will we see an image of Tracy Emin’s bed (Rauschenberg did it first and much
better) or Mark Quinn’s head of his own blood (no other artist has been quite that ludicrous – not
even shoot-the-messenger Chris Burden) or Damian Hurst’s deteriorating shark (makes one long
for the dead Dadaists).
The 50p piece is an Equilateral Curve Heptagon, the world's first equilateral curve heptagon
introduced in 1969. 1969 you say. You have a pristine Beatles’ t-shirt older than that. And the
point? British history.
The fifty pence evolved from the half sovereign, which was first issued in 1544 in the reign of
Henry VIII. There are an estimated 769 million 50p pieces in circulation featuring the image of
Britannia which has been used on British coins for over 400 years - since 1672.
But wait. The figure of Britannia may have been chosen as the motif on the 50p’s reverse in
1969, but Britannia had appeared almost 2,000 years previously when the Romans created her
as a personification of the British Isles, which they called Britanniae… on coins of Claudius, on
coins struck by Hadrian and Antonious to mark the colonialisation of Britain. She is/was a symbol
of empire, militarism and economics. Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves.
Since 1672, Britannia has been anthropomorphised into a helmeted woman carrying a shield and
trident. The mistress of Charles II supposedly posed for the 1672 version. Now, that is rather
noteworthy. Surely it requires artists to improve on it….
Britannia was conjured up as a symbol of Britain's political and naval might during the time of the
Third Anglo-Dutch War, and by the Victorian era she had grown to become a more forceful,
trident-holding representation of the British Empire. Remember The Empire, Gordie? The
empire. That empire. Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves….
GB praised the British values of responsibility, liberty and fairness. He appointed a trusted ally,
Michael Wills, as Minister for Patriotism with orders to promote ‘Britishness’ across Britain. Oh
Geordie Gordie. Could he share the same anti-Britain attitude of his fellow Scots? The hideously-
grimacing Andy Murray as well as most of the population of Scotland who want independence.
Historian and author Andrew Roberts: "We constantly see Gordon Brown wrapping himself up in
the Union Jack, yet here we find a blatant attempt to erase our history, to allow important
symbols to be abolished after 300 years. Britannia is a classic symbol of modern Britain and
people care very much about what is on their coins. People fight for symbols, for flags, because
they represent in a small way the big things that matter to us. Does it mean sticking that awful
Jade Goody on the 50p instead?" I don’t know. He’ll have to ask Mr Brown…or Mr Wills.
Public opinion didn’t want Jade Goody or the passed-sell-by-date, YBAs: “What next? Will they
change the name of our country? How about The Country Formally Known As Great Britain'?
Slowly, bit by bit, we are losing our identity. Leave the 50p alone and concentrate on more
important issues!” Like selling off Britain to the non-tax paying super-rich…?
Coins frequently endure a century in circulation. And just imagine all those Roman coins graced
with Britannia buried in every British back garden. Could be another nail biting problem for Gordie.
The poem "Rule Britannia" by James Thomson (1700-48) was put to music by Thomas Augustine
Arne (around 1740) and is sung as an unofficial national anthem.
Oh Gordon. ‘Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves: Britons never will be slaves.’
