Adeste Fideles

I'm still having fun with Jacobitism. Today's fun is seaonal fun as an academic has claimed that the popular carol O Come All Ye Faithful was originally a coded rallying call for Catholic supporters of Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Professor Bennett Zon, head of music at Durham University, said the Latin version of the song, Adeste Fideles, celebrated the birth not of Jesus but of the prince.

He said: "There is far more to this beloved song than meets the eye.

"Fideles is Faithful Catholic Jacobites. Bethlehem is a common Jacobite cipher for England, and Regem Angelorum is a well-known pun on Angelorum, angels, and Anglorum, English.

"The meaning of the Christmas carol is clear:

'Come and Behold Him, Born the King of Angels' really means, 'Come and Behold Him, Born the King of the English' - Bonnie Prince Charlie!"

These are deep waters, Watson. "Even today, some Highland clans and regiments pass their drink over a glass of water during the Loyal Toast — to the King Over the Water. "