Queen Beholds New Globe’s ‘Swelling Scene’

LONDON — Queen Elizabeth II ventured into the world of her 16th century namesake Thursday at the opening of the reconstructed Globe Theatre, where Shakespeare once premiered many of his plays.

In a style befitting Elizabeth I, the queen and Prince Philip came to the open-air theater on the south bank of the Thames by boat and were greeted by a trumpet flourish as they passed through its wrought-iron gates.

As ever, the Bard provided the appropriate text:

O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend

The brightest heaven of invention,

A kingdom for a stage, princes to act

And monarchs to behold the swelling scene!

William Shakespeare was an actor and playwright at the first Globe, which opened in 1599 and burned in 1613, when cannons fired during “Henry VIII” set it ablaze. It was rebuilt in 1614 but was demolished 30 years later to make way for houses.