Tony Blair is attending his weekly briefing at Buck House. As he and the Queen sip their Earl Grey Phoney begins to speculate about what the UK should call itself if he and not the Queen should rule.
"It could still be called the United Kingdom I suppose," said Phoney.
The Queen looked at him over her glasses. "You are not a king so the word kingdom would no longer be appropriate," she replied in her stately voice.
"How about empire?" enquired Phoney.
The Queen shook her head. "No that won't do at all. You are not an emperor so you cannot rule an empire even if Britain still had one."
Phoney smiled the ingratiating, toothy smile he normally reserved for assuring people he wasn't a liar. "Then what would you suggest Ma'am?" he asked of the sovereign.
The Queen took another sip of tea. Then she fixed her Prime Minister with a shrewd stare and smiled faintly.
"I believe the term country would do very nicely," she replied.
