Camelot

In the legend of King Arthur, Camelot is a currently unknown and seemingly fictionalized Romano-British province of post-Roman Britain many days' journey from Avalon. Camelot is the site of Arthur's stronghold, from which he fights the battles that make up his life. Various stories present Camelot's court in varying ways, anything from welcoming followers of both the Celtic and the Christian gods, to exclusively one or the other. Since the location of Camelot is still a mystery, the truth about it is still unknown. It is however known that it is a silly place.

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The 1960 musical, Camelot, was written by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe and is loosely based on the Arthur legend as adapted from the T.H. White novel The Once and Future King. The main thrust of the novel and the play is the illicit romance between Arthur's wife, Guinevere, and his great friend, Sir Lancelot. Songs include:

If Ever I Would Leave You

The Lusty Month of May

How to Handle a Woman

In the stage version, Arthur was played by, among others, Richard Burton, and Guinevere by Julie Andrews. In the 1967 film version, Richard Harris played Arthur, Vanessa Redgrave was Guinevere and Franco Nero was Lancelot. The film was directed by Joshua Logan.

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The administration of United States President John F. Kennedy is often referred to as "Camelot". The Burton/Andrews production of the musical opened December 1960, a few weeks after Kennedy's election, and was a favorite of both the President and his wife Jackie. Jackie gave an interview to Life magazine shortly after the President's death in which she used some favorite lines from the musical, and that theme was often repeated in the press.

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Camelot is also the operator of the UK National Lottery.

Website: http://www.camelotgroup.co.uk