Another notable literary event took place at Oxford, last week. When Princess Elizabeth visited the university to receive an honorary doctorate of civil law, the "OUDS" (pronounced OWDS—the Oxford University Dramatic Society) produced a masque in her honor. Oxford had not entertained a royal visitor with this traditional Renaissance theatrical since 1636, when Charles I and his Queen Henrietta Maria paid a call*. In sunlit, flower-decked Radcliffe Quadrangle at University College, Elizabeth was ensconced beneath a blue-&-gold canopy while from a swan-shaped chariot (drawn by redheaded twins) Venus and Neptune delivered their welcoming speeches. Beneath the glassy eyes of movie and...
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