August is when Switzerland crowns a new king – a wrestling one, that is. British monarch Queen Elizabeth was invited to his inthronization at an alpine festival sponsored by UBS.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, were apparently invited as guests of honor to the «Schwingfest», Switzerland's popular annual wrestling and alpine games held in Estavayer-le-Lac.
A new video message from the Queen shows she was invited to attend the three days of festivities, during which a new wrestling king is crowned after fighting it out in a ring of sawdust.
Unlike in the U.K. and most other monarchies, where the crown is inherited by virtue of one’s royal bloodline, «here a man claims the title by putting his strength against the bravest of men in the sawdust for three long days,» the Queen remarked, before «regretfully» declining the invitation in a UBS video.
She and Prince Philip would offer their places to the «people of Switzerland,» urging them to celebrate: «sing your most passionate yodels, roast your finest bratwurst.»
