by Kevin Meagher
Meanwhile, in a parallel universe…
What have you been doing this weekend to celebrate the Jubilee?
It is of course ten years since Britain became a republic, ending centuries of monarchical rule, following the abdication of Queen Elizabeth the Second.
Her withdrawal from public life followed the disestablishment of the Church of England, abolition of the House of Lords and the overwhelming vote in favour of Scottish independence.
With her role as ‘defender of the faith’ and symbol of the Union and heredity superseded by the will of the public the Queen decided there was no longer any point to the monarchy. The public agreed and the British Republic was born.
It was the role, not the person that the public had fallen out of love with. The enduring esteem for Queen Elizabeth was matched by an equally certain rejection of the Prince of Wales as her successor. He led the campaign to retain the monarchy, but lost the subsequent referendum by a 70/30 margin.
Some said antipathy at the prospect of Queen Camilla lingered, others that the public had the measure of him and found him wanting. Too old and unlikable was a common view – while his son William was likeable but too young. Daylight had flooded in on the magic following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales and the public did not like, or perhaps respect, what they saw.
Either way the house of Windsor ended with a whimper.
