Josh Bararinde has reminded us of the Tory power pose.
As it happens I took my two grandsons to Hampton Court Palace on Monday. As we explored Henry VIII’s apartments we came across the man himself, holding court to a delighted audience of children and their adults.
One of my grandsons had noted that the King had to wipe away sweat from his brow and asked if he was hot. That gave the actor an opportunity to talk about the clothes he was wearing and to introduce a new word to the boys’ vocabulary: codpiece.
He told us that the familiar Holbein portrait (which his costume was based upon), a copy of which hung in the corridor outside, was the first full-length portrait of a monarch standing. It was designed to emphasise Henry’s power, and most importantly his masculinity, hence the stance with legs apart and exaggerated shoulders.
And, at the very centre of the painting, acting as its main focus, is the famous codpiece, which lies at eye height.
Nuff said.
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