You’d not guess from this view that the pressure was still below average and there was still snow on the ground in sheltered spots. Curious. The shadow doesn’t move much in four days, tracking here over the northwestern-heading part of King William Street. No chance of seeing this alignment from street level. Given the great age of the City, the name does raise the question: which King William?
The Fourth, it turns out. Goodness knows what was here before, but this road was only built between 1829-1835, and it was named after the King at the time. An old man at his coronation, he reigned for less than seven years. Mirroring this short reign, there was a tube station on the road for a brief period too – King William Street station was on what’s now the Northern Line, and was the terminus of a line with the next station south at the still extant Borough. It opened in December 1890 but lasted less than ten years, before being closed and replaced by the labyrinthine Bank to the northwest.
The Williams have all had pretty short reigns, with William I, the Conqueror (or Bastard), being comfortably the longest at coming up for 21 years, 7563 days according to this site. It’s said he was injured by the pommel of his saddle and never recovered. His son made it 4710 days before being mysteriously and totally accidentally shot with an arrow while out hunting (on horseback) with the very-soon-to-be King Henry I. William III (of “and Mary” fame – England ruled by an Orange, and all that) made it a bit longer, 4770 days, before dying from complications of falling from his horse, Sorrel, who tripped in a mole hole. I’m not sure how superstitious the future King William V is, but Kate might want to keep him from the stables. If it’s of any consolation to him, William IV of the short street and short-lived tube station died of heart failure, with no horses in attendence.
Shard Analemma 