What rule of protocol or precedence could have brought this about? Length of service? Only the two most recent? Only if it is more than X years since they were in power, time to turn into a National Treasure, political enmity forgotten? Only if they have reached pensionable age?
Tony Blair & Gordon Brown have been snubbed, John Major & Margaret Thatcher have received their invitations. Surely – it can’t be – a favour granted only to Tories?
Thatcher & Major have accepted titles. Perhaps Brown & Blair have received, but declined offers – well we won’t invite them if that’s how they feel about it? No, too petty.
We are told that Lady Thatcher & Sir John are both also members of the Order of the Garter, that’s why. I haven’t checked whether this means that you have to be BOTH a former premier AND a member of the Garter to qualify as a wedding guest, or if in fact premiership has nothing to do with it – all Knights of the Garter get to go.
Perhaps that’s just the way the cookie crumbled. But I can’t help feeling that, even if no flunkey was delegated to find a rule which would produce this result, nevertheless there were smiles of quiet satisfaction when things turned out this way.
Among the irritations delivered by impatient New Labour’s modern manners & anti-flummery was this story told by Hugh Pym & Nick Kochan in their book Gordon Brown: The First Year in Power
At a barbecue at Goodfellows, the Brown family’s holiday residence on Cape Cod the Chancellor recalled how Whelan leaked to the press the fact that the Royal yacht Britannia was to be scrapped. Brown was transparently gleeful at Whelan’s talent for making mischief.
Well there were respectable reasons for scrapping the Royal Yacht, although the Queen in particular was very attached to it – had to fight back tears at the final ceremony.
To show such glee was just crass.
