So, the place is the Royal Lodge, a stone's throw from Windsor Castle. The year is 2016, and the world is probably a lot different that the one you are reading this in. The event, a large social (read "party", complete with open wet bar) with friends, and friends of friends.
The the three people in question? James, Ed, and Beatrice.
But of course, these aren't just any people. So, lets do proper introductions:
"James" is James Blunt, a British singer, song writer, and military veteran of Her Majesty's Royal Army.
"Ed" is Ed Sheeran, Grammy award winning British singer, and song writer.
And "Beatrice" is Princess Beatrice Elizabeth Mary, daughter of the Duke of York, 9th in line to the throne of England.
So, we have three well-known, well to do people, together, at a party, drinking.
What could possibly go wrong?
Oh yes, lets add a sword to the mix.
As it turns out, James, who was several years into a successful music career and was (and remains) highly popular with the younger British crowd, had commented casually to Beatrice that he had always wanted to be knighted by the hand of a royal. A schoolboy dream if ever there was one, but also one likely shared by a great many from around the world. Beatrice was reportedly intrigued by this idea, and the conversation ensued from there.
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Now, as an aside, this does segue nicely into a bit of actual modern history on the part of James.
James Blunt joined the British army in 1996. In '99, he was an officer with the "Blues and Royals" cavalry Squadron when it deployed to Kosovo as part of the NATO peacekeeping force sent to the region. His unit was working the front lines, spotting troop formations as conducting reconnaissance for the NATO bombing campaign to stop the Serbians. (this was about 4 years after the Scott O'Grady shoot down, for reference). In June of that year, James's unit was the lead element of a large NATO ground force ordered into the country at the time.
His squadron was ordered to take the Priština International Airport. However, a Russian mechanized infantry unit interceded ahead of the NATO force, and occupied the airport first. Russian, not being part of the NATO force, was now blocking one of the strategic points needed for the peacekeeping force to do its work. US General Wesley Clark, the NATO task force commander, ordered the Blues and Royals to attack the airfield, and take it by force. However, General Sir Mike Jackson, the British contingent commander, refused the order. "I'm not going to have my soldiers be responsible for starting World War III." [source]
Blunt would later comment to the BBC that had Jackson not blocked the order, he would have refused to follow it anyway.
"There are things that you do along the way that you know are right, and those that you absolutely feel are wrong, that I think it's morally important to stand up against, and that sense of moral judgement is drilled into us as soldiers in the British army." [Source]
Jackson would order his the squadron (and several other units) to encircle the airfield. Under the cover an undisputed NATO air superiority, the Russian troops were isolated, and soon out of basic provisions, including food and water. They would surrender the airport soon there after without firing a shot at NATO troops.
While not a 'guts a glory' war story worthy of a Hollywood film, its worth pointing out that James Blunt went farther towards actually earning a knighthood than many of us today, having actually volunteered first for the military, and then for a combat assignment. All of this was then followed up by him publicly stating that he would have refused orders if needed, in order to not start a shooting war with the Russians.
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So, now lets get back to the 2016 party with Ed, James, and Beatrice.
Beatrice evidently decided to oblige Jame's dream. This being the estate of some of the royal heirs of England, the chances of at least one sword being in the house are about 1000%. And, low and behold, evidently there was one, because the next thing people were seeing was James dropping down on one knee before the British princess, and her highness presenting a sword over his head in an impromptu ceremony with the party guests as witnesses to the good-natured gesture.
Now, we don't know what type of sword it it was, or even what it looked like. The British sword culture has tied all the way back to Roman Britain, and the Royal Family traces its own monarchical rights back to the battle of Hastings, 1066, when Norman, Saxon, and Angles used thick, tough, single handed swords. The linage since then include almost every major sword in Europe, from great-swords, to rapiers, to 'pike breakers', to cavalry sabers, and so on. So, as to what style or type of sword was produced that night, we can't say at the moment.
But I can say one thing about it for sure. And for that piece of evidence, we look to the remaining person on our list of three, Ed Sheeran.
First of all, a picture if worth a thousand words, so lets let the photos do the talking for us.
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| Exhibit A :Ed Sheeran 2010 (note the face) |
So, Ed is completely on board with this bit of light-hearted fun, and is standing close when Beatrice produced the sword and begins to 'knight' James. In fact, he was evidently standing just behind the princess, looking over her shoulder.
This was all well and good until Beatrice was done, and pulled the sword out of the way so that James to 'arise' as a new knight.
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| Exhibit B: Ed Sheeran, circa 2018 (note the face) |
From the evidence, it looks like the sword was very sharp indeed. So sharp in fact, that the scar is now a permanent fixture on Ed Sheeran's visage. If you note the location, its not hard to argue that the man was only a few inches (if that) from possibly needing a glass eye, or an eye patch for the rest of his life.
Such revelations tend to make one wonder how many scars and eye patches in history were actually earned in combat, and how many might possibly have been due to a bit of fun gone wrong.
In the years since the incident, all three of our principles have gone on to live their respective lives. Beatrice, as part of the royal family, has gone on to continue her work with Chartity and philanthropy. James and Ed are each widely popular recording artists both in the UK and in the US, and each have released multiple successful albums in the past few years as well.
There is no word that any of them have had anything to do with swords since that day.
His Lordship Ivo Blackhawk
Kingdom of Ansteorra
"Long Live the King!"
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