"This 18th-Century British Queen Turned King Arthur ..." Topic

…Into a P.R. Strategy, Drawing on Myth to Promote Her Dynasty's Claim to the Throne

"Long before communications teams and media advisers became fixtures of royal life, Queen Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1683-1737) attempted a remarkable piece of image management. Faced with the challenge of making a German royal dynasty seem unmistakably British, she turned to one of Britain's most powerful national stories: the legends of King Arthur and Merlin.

As the wife of Great Britain and Ireland's then-king, George II (1683-1760), Caroline belonged to the House of Hanover. The German dynasty had only inherited the British throne in 1714 and was still viewed with suspicion by many of its subjects. At the same time, an increasingly public feud between the king and his heir, Frederick, Prince of Wales, threatened to undermine the image of stability that a country recently torn apart by civil war, religious schisms and political revolution so desperately needed…"

link

Armand

You know… my imagination was intrigued by the premise, so I clicked on the link and read the entire -- shockingly brief -- article, was pretty dang disappointing. Which perhaps comes as no surprise considering its lack of the word-count ostensibly needed to properly state… support with some (any?) specifics… present at least one cogent argument against its premise… then outwit said argument and stick the landing presenting its conclusion. None of which occurred. It's been a long time since I was in academia, but I have three kids who each went to a different college within the past decade, so I do know a bit about how things have changed, but even taking that into account… that article presents a shockingly thin argument for a barely cogent premise.

No offense, Armand -- I'm not trying to shoot the messenger! This is the first time I've responded in print (albeit of the digital variety) to a historical essay in a long long time, so reading it must have been worthwhile!

I read it too. Very chopped up by adds and other information. Didn't find it that informative on the topic. Agree, lack of specific evidence or facts.

Sorry for that…

Armand