Neither the Queen nor any of the politicians - Blair is mentioned by name - survived the Change. Thus, King Charles, now married to Queen Hallgerda, heads a royalist government.
Also of interest: our viewpoint character, the former SAS man, John Hordle (a reference to John Hord?), is six foot seven inches. That is big. Recently in town I was passed by a big black guy who was head and shoulders above me. When I tapped him on the shoulder and (politely) enquired as to his height, he replied, with a very pleased smile, "Six seven!" So, throughout this novel, I will bear in mind how tall Hordle is. And I will be interested to find out whether King Charles comes on stage.
In another timeline, Poul Anderson's Terran Empire has a Mayor Palatine of Britain and we wonder whether that Mayor is a member of the House of Windsor.
6 comments:
'tis not a reference to John Hord, but to Hordle Joh, the (very large) character in Conan Doyle's "White Company" historical novel. But it's a little more complex than that... 8-).
Mr Stirling,
Thank you for your continued input. It adds an extra dimension when an author occasionally sheds light on his texts. I plead ignorance of the White Company. Although Doyle disliked this, many of us are familiar only with the character that he tried to kill.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
You are not quite correct about the Elizabeth II of the DIES THE FIRE timeline. She did survive the Change for approximately one year before dying of grief and overwork. The Prince of Wales of that timeline then succeeded his mother as Charles III.
And I have wondered if the Mayor Palatine of Britain who was a friend of Dominic Flandry in A KNIGHT OF GHOSTS AND SHADOWS descended from the old British royal family. I can imagine the Founder of the Terran Empire, Manuel Argos, as he was uniting the remnants of the old Terrestrial nations, ennobling some of the leaders of these nations and finding places for them in the new Empire. Meaning the heir of the former kings of Great Britain became the Mayor Palatine.
Sean
Kaor, Paul!
I have read most of the A. Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories. But I did read one of his Professor Challenger stories as a boy: THE LOST WORLD.
Sean
"Hordle John." Oh, for crying out loud; I SHOULD have recognized that name, because I've read *The White Company*. I particularly recall how Hordle John didn't think Sir Nigel Loring, quite short and delicate-looking, was at all impressive — until the knight CASUALLY confronted a big, angry bear. He didn't even HURT the bear, but after seeing WHAT he did, John apologized to Samkin Aylward, who'd told him beforehand that Sir Nigel was awesome.
Kaor, DAVID!
And as Stirling himself has said in his Nantucket books, you don't WANT a bear to take a personal interest in you! They are apex predators with little or no fear of man. They can and will try to EAT YOUR FACE.
So, anyone who can, like Sir Nigel, FEND OFF an angry bear without hurting it, will be QUITE impressive.
Sean
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