Exactly 800 years ago, a Frenchman set sail from the north-west of his country with an army of conquest. His plan was to cross the Channel, claim England as his own and have himself crowned king. Oaths had been sworn to him and he considered the throne to be his by right. Yes: 800 years […]
Magna Carta
‘[Magna Carta is] the Bible of the English Constitution.’ William Pitt the Elder, British Prime Minister, 1766–68 ‘The democratic aspiration is no mere recent phase in human history. It is human history. It permeated the ancient life of early peoples. It blazed anew in the Middle Ages. It was written in Magna Charta.’ US president […]