>>And would the "roy" bit refer to "le roi", i.e. french for king, so "bastard son of the king"?
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>>Incidentally it was perportedly Henry VIII who named the beef cut "sirloin". So the story goes, he was presented with some beef, liked it, asked the chef what cut it was. "Sur loin" (above the loin) answered the chef, and H, seeing the pun, knighted the cut "Sir Loin".
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>Are the descendants of that cow now Landed?

Funnily enough, as quirky British ceremonials go (e.g. order of the garter), yes. There is a side of beef, with robes, ermine and coronet, that occupies one of the rear right-hand benches of the House of Lords, behind the Woolsack, to this day. You very rarely get to see it on the TV show.

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>>>I was thinking about this the other night when watching Showtime "The Tudors" and Henry VIII's bastard son was introduced formally at court as Henry Fitzroy. That's interesting about Esposito - didn't know that.

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