Benedict's Match

But of course Mr Cumberbatch is engaged to an English rose called Sophie. How perfect! Miss Hunter is as fagrant as they come, with a sleek and slightly quirky beauty very similar to Mrs Cameron's, a distinguished family and an Oxford education. From her accomplishments as a theatre director we can be fairly certain her understanding of the power of words and language is a match for that of her mellifluously-voiced fiancé. Best of all, for those who delight in such things, Mr Cumberbatch comes home to roost in the sort of understated English poshness he has often denied having, albeit nowadays the poshness involves boasting right-on credentials as much as anything else. We must therefore assume Miss Hunter shares his views on social matters. Mr Cumberbatch is also to be commended for a) committing to marry before the age of forty, and b) choosing a woman his own age. Such a refreshing change from celebrity bachelors who can and do play the field for a very long time and then marry someone markedly younger. So onwards and upwards, the future Mrs Cumberbatch! Maybe she will prevent her husband from participating in ill-informed stunts like the 'This is what a feminist looks like' t-shirt débâcle, where the t-shirts worn by the liberal bien-pensants of England in widely published photographs turned out to have been made by poor women trapped in poor conditions halfway around the world. Mr Cameron refused to wear the t-shirt and was predictably vilified by many commentators before the embarrassing detail of the origin of the pricey slogan rags was made public. For once, I was able to rejoice at the PM's action (or non-action). I still cling to the tiny hope that his refusal stemmed from something about the dignity of office; if that wasn't the case, I'd prefer to think it was due to Mrs Cameron's influence and sense of dignity, rather than to some convoluted PR calculation. I wonder if Mr Cumberbatch's choice of a woman so similar to Mrs Cameron suggests that, beyond Miss Hunter's obvious suitability as his bride, he might have an interest in some level of political life in the future?