Why banish our own Britannia from her realm?

Apr 7 2008 by Peter Elson, Liverpool Daily Post

RULE Britannia? Not on our coinage if our Prime Minister has got anything to do with it. Although Scottish-born, Scottish constituency-representing Gordon Brown is keen to emphasise (well, south of the border) that his regime is all for Britain with an extra dose of Britishness, he has done nothing to prevent the removal of the figurative symbol of the British Isles from our coinage, namely Britannia.

The Royal Mint unveiled the latest designs for the six main denominations of coinage last week, and it’s a very trendy chopping-up of the Queen’s Royal Coat of Arms into sections. When the five lower denomination coins are placed together, they complete the Royal standard. The one pound features the entire Royal shield. Doubtless it’s meant to celebrate Britain’s modern diversity and all that jazz.

But Britannia, who adorned most of our 50p pieces from 1969, has been banished from her realm. Prior to that, she graced our old one penny pieces from 1797 to 1970, and has been in circulation for more than three centuries. She first appeared on coins in Roman times, with her first appearance on a bronze sestertius struck in Rome for Emperor Antoninus Pius, who ruled from AD138-161. She was the goddess who personified the British Isles and also appeared on coins during the time of Emperor Hadrian, but really came into her own as a symbol when represented on a copper farthing during the reign of King Charles II.

The rumoured model for the Carolian Britannia was a Royal mistress, Frances Theresa Stuart, the Duchess of Richmond. Allegedly the merry monarch suggested that the Duchess, famed for her beauty, pose as Britannia for a commemorative medal marking a naval victory over the Dutch in 1664.

Such was the impact of her presence, dressed in helmet and flowing robes while clutching a trident, that the design was chosen eight years later for use on the currency. The image proved enduring and appeared everywhere as Britain’s empire expanded. Next time you’re grid-locked on Runcorn road bridge, check out Britannia’s reliefs on the towers of the Queen Aethelflaeda railway bridge alongside. Here the background has been updated to include a train steaming over a viaduct – which would give the old Duchess a heck of a shock if she turned around.

Surprisingly, in spite of Britannia’s omission, the new coin designs are intended to underline the Government’s commitment to the Union.

The Royal Coat of Arms features the three lions of England, the lion of Scotland in the second quarter and the harp of Ireland in the third quarter. Being partly Welsh, I am ashamed to report that there is no Welsh dragon. This adds insult to injury as the Royal Mint, where the coins are manufactured, is based in Wales. Worse still, the winning designer was a young Welshman from Bangor. Even if, at the tender age of 26, designer Stephen Dent doesn’t know his onions, he should know his leeks.

British design guru Stephen Bayley, from south Liverpool, says: “It seems a tad elegiac that ‘supporters of the Union’, whoever they might be, are now required laboriously to reassemble their identity from a coinage as fragmented as it is devalued.”

He’s not convinced that Britannia attracted much loyalty as a symbol, in the way that Madeleine does as the personification of France.

“Paris recently chose a supermodel as a source for its ‘matron’ saint. I suppose Kate Moss would excite momentary interest before coins disappear entirely,” says Mr Bayley, who wondered what else would capture the ambience of modern Britain. “Probably a no-frills airliner zooming off to the horizons. Or an Indian Land Rover.”

In spite of Britannia’s exile, we’re now threatened with a Britain Day and encouraged to fly Union flags on our homes. It’s all so un-British, because being British is mainly about being embarrassed about flaunting Britishness. Whereas promoting the country through the gravitas of the goddess Britannia, when she’s really the king’s tart, hits just the right kind of seaside sauciness and double standards that made us the great country we once were.

peter.elson@dailypost.co.uk