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Now here is a problem for the retiring British Prime Minister.
Can he accept being a Knight of the Thistle, or will he try and hold out for the Garter?
If he refuses the Thistle he will offend Scotland, if he takes it he will never be a Knight of the Garter - so when the great and the good assemble at Windsor Castle he will not be there - he will go when the invitation comes to Edinburgh Castle.
Isn't this delicious revenge?
From today's "Sunday Telegraph"
Queen makes Blair an offer that he can refuse
Courtiers at Buckingham Palace, who still feel a sense of grievance over Tony Blair's shameless exploitation of the Queen in the aftermath of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, may be about to take their revenge.
Mandrake hears mischievous whispers that, after the PM relinquishes his office, the Palace will offer him not the Garter, the honour bestowed upon most other prime ministers, but the Thistle, the equivalent order that is traditionally offered to Scotsmen. There is, happily, a rare vacancy in the Order at present.
Blair has always been a closet Scotsman - both his parents had strong Scottish roots and he was of course educated at Fettes in Edinburgh - but, representing an English constituency, and, in the past decade, a predominantly English populace, it is not something he has exactly shouted from the rooftops.
Hugo Vickers, the author of Royal Orders, and, coincidentally, a Lay Steward at St George's Chapel, Windsor, says that, while Blair will hardly be delighted, the courtiers are quite within their rights to offer him the Thistle. "Her Majesty likes to offer the Thistle when she is aware of a strong Scottish link," he says. "Certainly there is one here. Mr Blair is almost as Scottish as Rob Roy."
The distinguished political commentator Anthony Howard says that, while they may well offer it, Blair will almost certainly turn it down. "He will receive a letter saying that the Queen is minded to give him the Thistle. He will, I am sure, write back and say he would prefer the Garter. It isn't just that the Garter is seen, rightly or wrongly, to have more social cachet. Presbyterianism is obviously a force to be reckoned with among the Knights of the Thistle, so I wouldn't see them taking kindly to one of their own converting to Catholicism."
Sir Alec Douglas-Home accepted the Thistle before he became prime minister. Present knights include Lord (George) Robertson, Lord (David) Steel, Lord Mackay, and, perhaps significantly, Blair's old tutor at Fettes, Sir Eric Anderson.
Order of the Thistle
Order of the Garter
Can he accept being a Knight of the Thistle, or will he try and hold out for the Garter?
If he refuses the Thistle he will offend Scotland, if he takes it he will never be a Knight of the Garter - so when the great and the good assemble at Windsor Castle he will not be there - he will go when the invitation comes to Edinburgh Castle.
Isn't this delicious revenge?
From today's "Sunday Telegraph"
Queen makes Blair an offer that he can refuse
Courtiers at Buckingham Palace, who still feel a sense of grievance over Tony Blair's shameless exploitation of the Queen in the aftermath of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, may be about to take their revenge.
Mandrake hears mischievous whispers that, after the PM relinquishes his office, the Palace will offer him not the Garter, the honour bestowed upon most other prime ministers, but the Thistle, the equivalent order that is traditionally offered to Scotsmen. There is, happily, a rare vacancy in the Order at present.
Blair has always been a closet Scotsman - both his parents had strong Scottish roots and he was of course educated at Fettes in Edinburgh - but, representing an English constituency, and, in the past decade, a predominantly English populace, it is not something he has exactly shouted from the rooftops.
Hugo Vickers, the author of Royal Orders, and, coincidentally, a Lay Steward at St George's Chapel, Windsor, says that, while Blair will hardly be delighted, the courtiers are quite within their rights to offer him the Thistle. "Her Majesty likes to offer the Thistle when she is aware of a strong Scottish link," he says. "Certainly there is one here. Mr Blair is almost as Scottish as Rob Roy."
The distinguished political commentator Anthony Howard says that, while they may well offer it, Blair will almost certainly turn it down. "He will receive a letter saying that the Queen is minded to give him the Thistle. He will, I am sure, write back and say he would prefer the Garter. It isn't just that the Garter is seen, rightly or wrongly, to have more social cachet. Presbyterianism is obviously a force to be reckoned with among the Knights of the Thistle, so I wouldn't see them taking kindly to one of their own converting to Catholicism."
Sir Alec Douglas-Home accepted the Thistle before he became prime minister. Present knights include Lord (George) Robertson, Lord (David) Steel, Lord Mackay, and, perhaps significantly, Blair's old tutor at Fettes, Sir Eric Anderson.
Order of the Thistle
Order of the Garter
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