What's that sphere with the feathers sticking out of it?

Question

Last week I was watching TV, and some lame show called "The Princess Diaries" has the princess (or whatever she calls herself bein') holding an object described in the question. Then, yesterday, I saw an old pic of Queen Elizabeth II with the same thing. The King of Clubs has it too... WHAT THE HECK IS IT???

Answer 1

just a guess but is it a birdie from the game badmitten?!?!?!

Answer 2

That is the Ball c**k from a toilet cistern.....tarted up and called a orb

Answer 3

I don't see what you're talking about on the king of clubs (mine has a sword) but it sounds like your talking about a fleur de lys. They were symbolic of royalty and feature on many European coat of arms.

.....wait, I think I see what you mean. On another set of playing cards the king of clubs is holding a round thing too. Not feathers sticking out though, it's a cross on mine. Perhaps it's a variation of the same thing. If so, the thing you are talking about is an orb, and it's another symbol of leadership.

Answer 4

The orb held by many European monarchs is called the globus cruciger. The traditional orb is topped with a cross, a Christian symbol of authority used throughout the Middle Ages and even today on coins, iconography and royal regalia. It symbolizes Christ's (the cross) dominion over the world (the orb), literally held in the dominion of an earthly ruler (or sometimes celestial being such as an angel). Monarchs will usually get to hold the orb during their coronation, when they are crowned as the new monarch of their country.

In the movie Princess Dairies 2: The Royal Engagement, Princess Mia is probably playing with the "globus cruciger" and using it as a birdie. The director wanted to make this ancient traditional orb a bit more creative and interesting for the younger audience by adding feathers to the orb, as many young children like to be imaginative. However, the real orb does not come with feathers!