close one's eyes and think of England

Etymology
Supposedly derived from the 1912 journal of Alice Marion Mills,, now lost. Later apocryphally connected to, wife of , and or described as advice given to  brides-to-be. First popularized by the 1955 translation of Pierre Daninos's 1954 Les Carnets du Major Thompson, a French satire on upper class British culture.

Verb

 * 1)  To accept one's duty patriotically, particularly  to endure unwanted affection or sex due to social pressures.
 * 2) * 1912, Alice Marion Mills, Journal (attrib.):
 * I am happy now that Charles calls on my bedchamber less frequently than of old. As it is, I now endure but two calls a week and when I hear his steps outside my door I lie down on my bed, close my eyes, open my legs and think of England.
 * 1) * 1940 Nov. 2, "Canadian Industrial Independence Seen as War Outcome", Windsor Daily Star, p. 10:
 * ...when the test comes, when the United Kingdom gets into trouble again, and when the King calls upon his loyal subjects all over the world, the Canadian knows at a still deeper level of his being that he will undoubtably do as he has always done before. He will close his eyes and think of England.
 * 1) * 1955, Robert Farn tr. Pierre Daninos as The Notebooks of Major Thompson:
 * Meltenham and her mother had prepared her for marriage in an entirely Victorian spirit. The day before she left home, Lady Plunkwell had delivered her final advice: "I know, my dear, it's disgusting. But do as I did with Edward: just close your eyes and think of England!" Like her mother and her mother's mother before her, Ursula closed her eyes. She thought of the future of England.