A tiny island off the tip of the Furness Peninsula has piqued the interest of a global audience with the search for its new king or queen about to get underway.
Veteran Piel Island tour guide John Murphy has provided interviews for news outlets across the UK in the wake of the news that a new landlord for the island’s pub, the Ship Inn, will be sought in January.
But more surprising, perhaps, was the appearance he made over the airwaves for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), based in Ottawa.
Mr Murphy, 73, spoke to CBC about the island and the tradition of appointing an island ‘king’ or ‘queen’ – the title bestowed upon the landlord of the Ship Inn.
He believes part of the island’s appeal to far-flung audiences is that it shows the ‘absurdity’ of English tradition and the English way of life.
“They are advertising for a new landlord or landlady of the pub,” he said.
“That will create a new knighthood in April or May of next year.”
He also told of the history behind the tradition. On June 5, 1487, a force hoping to overthrow Henry VII landed on Piel Island.
The figurehead of this Yorkist rebellion was a 10-year-old named Lambert Simnel. Simnel was promoted as the rightful heir to the throne but was, in reality, of humble origin.
The army camped overnight on the island before setting off in the direction of London the next morning but the rebellion was crushed at the Battle of Stoke Field, near Newark.
Simnel was spared, however, and, according to Mr Murphy, ended up working in the Tower of London before becoming a falconer.
In the 1800s, a group who were drinking at the Ship Inn drew on the story of this failed takeover and decided Piel Island could have a monarch of its own.
Earlier this year, Mr Murphy announced he would be retiring from leading walks across Piel Island and passing the baton onto Ben Pinder, a park ranger at Lakeland Holiday Park, near Grange.
