Jubilee & Monarchy

Never in the field of digital photography will so many Platinum Jubilee photos be lost when phones are upgraded. Sad, but true.

So Boris was booed and jeered when entering and leaving St Paul's on Friday. True to form, Nadine Dorries, Johnson's unthinking attack-dog, waded in and said there were more cheers than boos. I think she needs spelling lessons - it's spelled 'jeers', not 'cheers' and I think she was merely parroting Johnson's claim that; "There was no booze."

I do sometimes wonder whether those who vehemently support the monarchy would support it as much if Andrew or Harry, were direct in line to the throne? If not, then it's not the institution of the monarchy they support, but the present incumbent who, with the exception of the occasional and forgivable slip, has performed the job in an exemplary manner. However, her powers are limited and she is little more than a cypher to whatever malfeasance the government may get up to. That is not good when the incumbent is capable and loved and the government hated, but extremely good in the case of an incompetent and hated monarch and a government that's liked.

That's not to say a cypher doesn't have its uses - a good cypher is a potent rallying point in times of crisis; an embodiment of the country as a whole. Louis XIV, the Sun King, took this to the zenith of its conclusion in his statement; "L'état, c'est moi," which some maintain is apocryphal.

My abiding memory of Queen Elizabeth is opening Parliament in a hat that looked suspiciously like the flag of the European Union. She has ways of making her views known.

It is rather strange that millions of flag waving monarchists have brought chaos to town centre roads across the country over the Bank Holiday weekend with their protests in support of the Queen, but the police never moved them on. However, just a handful of animal rights or climate protesters make some people go bonkers and demand their execution.

At least Elizabeth has shown unswerving, 70 year dedication to duty, whereas those at the top of our government have, in a very short space of time, trashed the very notion of duty in favour of greed, complacency, self-servience, lethargy and utter incompetence. The fault for that lies with the Prime Minister, who has eliminated within his Cabinet anyone who could feasibly challenge him - dogged loyalty has trumped competence. He then compounds his greed and debases his office by rewriting the Ministerial Code such that what was once a resignation issue is no longer relevant.

No wonder Britain is no longer trusted or revered internationally, being a byword for corruption. Britain talks big on the international stage of the rule of International Law, while simultaneously showing every inclination to defy it when it's convenient. Honesty, decency and integrity lie in the gutter at the feet of this PM.

However, on the bright side, I'm looking forward to buying Malbec by the gallon in Tesco. Oh, hang on, wine makers don't use Imperial measurements....