The Saturday briefing
IS THERE anything you are desperately yearning to know? Are there any pressing factual disputes you would like us to help resolve? This is the page where we shall do our best to answer any questions you throw at us, whatever the subject.
WATCHING the programme Inside The Tower Of London, it was interesting to learn about 1066, The Battle of Hastings and William I, who was crowned on Christmas Day at Westminster Abbey. It occurred to me that 1,000 years from then, in 47 years time, it will be 2066 and there may be another King William?
AMrs Heathcote, West Midlands
PRINCE William, the current Duke of Cambridge, is 36 years old and will be 84 in 2066 so it is highly likely that he will be monarch and we will indeed have another King William on the throne. Longevity is in William’s genes – his paternal grandfather is 97, his grandmother, the Queen is 92, and his father is 70 and still the heir-in-waiting.
When William does get his chance to reign, he will most likely be styled as King William V and Kate will become Queen Catherine.
In addition, William will inherit his father’s titles, becoming the Duke of Cornwall when in England, and the Duke of Rothesay when in Scotland. Kate would take the same titles but as a Duchess. And because William will always be the Duke of Cambridge, he may be styled as HRH The Duke of Cornwall and Cambridge.
The couple will also, most likely, have another title. While many assume that William will become the new Prince of Wales, as first-in-line to the throne, this title is actually not hereditary. It is given to the heir apparent, but at the discretion of the sovereign. It’s safe to say that William will be given the title, and when he does, Kate will become HRH The Princess of
Wales.
WHAT is the correct date of the 12th day of Christmas? There is a popular superstition in the UK that all Christmas decorations should be
by TITLE HOLDERS: The Duke of Cambridge may be King William in 2066, reigning alongside Queen Catherine
taken down no later than the 12th night and many say this is January 6. However, counting backwards would suggest that the first day of Christmas is December 26. I find this puzzling because I would have thought that Christmas Day was the first day of Christmas. If it is not, then why not?
Brian Butler, Penticton, British Columbia, Canada.
ATHE 12 days of Christmas, also known as Twelvetide, is a festive Christian season celebrating the nativity of Jesus which ends on Epiphany, which is
January 6. But, as you rightly observe, there is disagreement with some people believing that the 12th night falls on the eve of Epiphany – January 5.
In most Western ecclesiastical traditions, Christmas Day is considered the first day of Christmas and the 12 days are December 25 to January 5.
Our advice would be to make sure your decorations are down by midnight on January 6 otherwise you’ll have to keep them up until Shrove Tuesday.
YOU read about people receiving sentences of 10 years to infinity and both are described as life sentences. I would like to know what constitutes a life sentence?
Alfred Powell, Nottinghamshire
AWHEN a court passes a life sentence it means that the offender will be subject to that
sentence for the rest of their life but not necessarily spend it behind bars.
When passing a life sentence, a judge must specify the minimum term (sometimes called the tariff) an offender must spend in prison before becoming eligible to apply for parole. If released, an offender serving a life sentence will remain on licence for the rest of their life. They may be recalled to prison at any time if they are considered a risk to the public. They do not need to have committed another offence in order to be recalled.
The only exception to this is when a life sentence is passed with a whole life order, meaning that such an offender will never be released.
As of June 2018 there were 66 offenders serving a whole life sentence. These include serial killers Peter Sutcliffe and Rosemary West, left. “Do you never deviate?” John Bull. In London once I lost my way In faring to and fro, And ask’d a little ragged boy The way that I should go. He gave a nod, and then a wink, And told me to get there “Straight down the Crooked Lane, And all round the Square.” I box’d his little saucy ears, And then away I strode; But since I’ve found that weary path
Is quite a common road. Utopia is a pleasant place, But how shall I get there? “Straight down the Crooked Lane, And all round the Square.” I’ve read about a famous town That drove a famous trade, Where Whittington walk’d up and found
A fortune ready made. The very streets are paved with gold;
But how shall I get there? “Straight down the Crooked Lane, And all round the Square.”
Do you have a half-remembered poem from your childhood you would like to see again? Just send us details of what you can remember and we shall bring as many as possible to our Forgotten Verse Corner.
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