In Whither Canada?, the very first episode of Flying Circus, there is a sketch about a TV show (presented by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) showing famous deaths from history. It also includes Eric Idle playing a cheesy TV host named Eddie who presents a scoreboard with the scores that a jury has awarded to a number of famous deaths. You can see a still of it on this fanpage.
Most of the historical figures on this scoreboard are, indeed, popularly known for the manner in which they died, and G(enghis) Khan’s passing had just been shown in the sketch a few seconds before. But what is noticeable is that at the very bottom of the ranking, trailing the other names by a big margin, there is King Edward VII. What’s the joke here? Did Edward VII die in a particularly embarassing and ignoble way? I read the Wikipedia article, and the only unusual thing I see there about his death is that the body was not moved from the bed for several days. I’m not sure that explains the joke the Pythons seem to be making here.
I doubt it. AFAIK, the only remarkable thing about Edward VII’s death (for a man who’d lived, eaten, smoked and all the rest as he had, dying at nearly 70 was hardly surprising)- was that Queen Alexandra accepted his last mistress, Mrs Keppel, to the point that she was with him at the end.
A pervasive rumour holds that, after being told he could recuperate in the seaside town of Bognor Regis, the King George V’s last words were “Bugger Bognor."
Edward VII was a notorious whoremonger who spent long hours in Parisian brothels enjoying himself in a chair he had specially constructed to accomodate his impressive girth. I wouldn’t be surprised if he succumbed to complications from tertiary syphilis.
I went to check out pics and there is a blogger with some potential variations of position, and after looking at it, i think its_just_jennie’s idea is probably the best concept [female 1 on top, Dirty Bertie ‘in the driver’s seat’ standing, and a second female on the bottom padding providing tittillation to whatever ‘falls’ into her grasp from underneath.
I don’t think it really looks particularly comfortable for either female, but then of course the King [well, prince at the time] wouldn’t really care if the women were comfy.
I know of King Edward potatoes though our friend Benny Hill. He was doing a cooking show and held up two taters saying they were King Edwards. Drunken sidekick says they’re more like King Kong’s. Laffs aplenty.
