“It's sort of fashionable, actually. All the actors do it. Even Redgrave.”
For over 30 years and many re-watches I have heard this as “a kaftan and a bell” and only now does this scene make any sense.
Weirdly, I think the reason many of us still prefer a constitutional monarchy is because of the relative downsides of a system in which that other man, and men like him, are able to come into absolute power.