Back to school – a king returns
The old man was confined to bed now, unable to get himself up and care for himself. For most of his life he had taught boys at this well-known boarding school and had found himself in charge of a group of boys who shared his house and lived with him and his wife as a family. He was awake when his visitor entered the room with the words, “Hello Sir. How are you?”
“Your Majesty, do come in. How are you?”
“Very well Sir.”
His visitor looked round for a moment, as if to find another chair, then continued.
“But look, you’re not to address me as Your Majesty. I may be a king now, but when I was a boy you looked after me and you were Sir and Sir you must remain, just as I must remain Hussein. I insist.”
It was the start of a long conversation that both of them would enjoy. I would not have become aware of it were it not for a friend of mine. At one time he had been a chaplain at the school and he too happened to be visiting the old housemaster when King Hussein of Jordan arrived.
How did the writer become aware of this story?
Why do you think that this story was passed on?