Prince Harry in his Dior shirt with the embroidered golden bee. express.co.uk
Well, we all saw it when Prince Harry suddenly appeared in London recently. With his suitcoat open, it soon became evident that his fine Dior shirt sported a golden bee. My interest was immediately piqued about the messages that sent. Perhaps the prince is going to give a boost to men’s fashion by being a style icon for Dior (hopefully with a lucrative marketing deal). However, I wonder if there is not another more subtle message: a reminder that he is royal, whether his family likes it or not.
I admit that in the last year I have been deep into Ancient Egypt because of a novel I have written (see comments on that at the end of this article). In the process of my research, I discovered quite a few things that have come down to us literally through the ages. Among them is the bee as the symbol of royalty. (On a side note, Harry’s wedding ring is on full view in the photo above. The use of the fourth digit on the left hand – the ring finger – for wedding rings comes from the ancient Nile kingdom also. The pharaohs decided that the ring symbolized eternity. Find out more here rusticandmain.com .) The long history of the association of the bee with royalty is fascinating, and it also has a connection to the production of good wine. Let’s dive into this, shall we?
Ancient Egyptian beekeeper with clay cylinders for capturing honey and, of course, the bees. Find out more at planetbee.org
It seems that the ancient Egyptians kept bees starting around 4,000 B.C. and somehow, it became the symbol of the kings of Lower Egypt (that part near the Mediterranean) around 3,500 B.C. As with many countries, including ours, there was a north/south divide, and in ancient Egypt the symbol of the south was the reed. Ultimately, the two symbols were used together to show the unity of the country under the pharaoh.
Ancient Egyptian collecting honey from The History of Honey meli-feli.com
Honey is the bee’s most wondrous product and was used for a variety of things in ancient Egypt. Its powers as an antiseptic became known, so it was used to prevent wounds from becoming infected. Since it is acidic and lacks moisture, it is a natural perservative, which gave it a role in the mummification process. Honey found in King Tut’s tomb is said to still be edible – though this is not recommended (talk about the curse of the pharaoh!). Naturally it was used in the production of sweetcakes, an ancient dessert, and in flavoring sauces to go with dishes like roast duck. Those sweetcakes were often used to make amends with people and with the gods. Honey was offered to the deceased during the Opening of the Mouth ceremony which allowed the essence of the dead person to continue to eat and drink in the afterlife.
When it comes to magical thinking, the ancient Egyptians were among the best. The honeycombs produced by the bees were sometimes made into wax figurines to use in the practice of magic called “heka” (perhaps where our term “hex” comes from). This involved working magic to influence the actions of others, for good or for ill. Supposedly honey was thought to be the Tears of Re, the sun god, and therefore, precious enough to be used to pay one’s taxes. (Don’t try this with the IRS).
Ancient Egyptians making wine. egyptianstreets.com
When it comes to wine, our bees royal or not, play only an ancillary role, though it sometimes is very important. Since grape vines do not need pollination to produce fruit, the bees are free to do their magic elsewhere. That elsewhere involves their fertilization of cover crops like clover and mustard which balance the soil in and around the monoculture planting of grapevines. Grgich Hlls Estate in the Napa Valley has a wonderful article, “Why Vineyards Need Bees” on its website www.grgich.com, which gives some insight into this process.
Those old Egyptians started making wine about 3,000 B.C. in the southern part of Egypt using grapes, dates, and pomegranates. It was drunk by the upper classes and the royals but supposedly in moderation or “prescribed amounts.” The ordinary folk drank a nutrient rich beer that was commonly part of the payment, along with bread and grains, that workers were compensated with. Wine was for the elite, and from the Second Intermediate Period (1700-1550 B.C.) through New Kingdom (1550- 1070 B.C.) and later, it was imported from the Levant and beyond. Interestingly, some of the wine jugs in King Tut’s tomb show that he even had white wine. For more on ancient Egyptians and wine see “Oaks and Corks: A Brief History of Wine in Ancient Egypt” on the website, egyptianstreests.com
The Temple of Seti I in Abydos (1290-1279 B.C.) (Photo licensed from Shutterstock.com)
As I mentioned above I spent a lot of 2022 researching and writing about the temple pictured above and the pharaoh who built it, Seti I. In the process I discovered a treasure trove of information from various academic papers on aspects of ancient Egyptian life, from foods and wine to their debit and credit system, which was quite complicated since they did not have a coined money until the Ptolemaic Period in the 4th century B.C. In more ancient times they had a system of weights and measures to count out amounts of gold called “debens” which appear in their art as stacked rings of that metal.
All this to say, that coming perhaps by the end of summer will be the novel, Temple in the Sand, the Memoirs of a Pharaoh, that takes the reader into the last year of the life of a pharaoh who was a great warrior, and a great king. In his tomb and temple, he left some of the most beautiful art made in ancient Egypt, which has caused some Egyptologists to refer to him as an true art connoisseur. He also produced a great son, Ramesses II. Since I have gathered this information, I have created a Facebook page dedicated to the period, the temple and the book, facebook.com/templeinthesand
As for Harry’s golden bee, maybe it will translate into one of his conservation projects either here or in Africa. Preserve the bees, what a princely thing to do!
Photos and references come from the websites linked in the articles.
Marjorie Vernelle is an artist, writer, college professor, and traveler. For more see the Pages at ofartandwine.com. Her author page is at amazon.com and her art at Vernelle Art Boutique vernellestudio.com.
©marjorie vernelle 2023