There was some unexpected implied criticism of King Charles in the Daily Mail last week. It wasn’t the usual sort of complaint about his environmentalism or a kindly remark he made that could be interpreted as left-leaning. An article about bank closures, with particular reference to Windsor where every single bank has now closed, said this about the late queen: “Would they have dared to shut down – particularly those in plain sight of the castle – if she were still in residence.” No question mark (perhaps they’re economising on subeditors?) but I took it as a question.
To my mind the answer is clearly yes. The proximity of her late majesty would not have affected the banks’ decisions. But it doesn’t feel like the writer of the article would agree with me. She seems to think they would have been scared to close in case the queen had disapproved, especially – and this strikes me as an eccentric worldview – if the branches were “in plain sight of the castle”. It suggests that the queen used to look out of the window and check up on whether any changes happening in Britain were to her liking. With this rudimentary form of vigilance, a branch hidden round the corner might get away with closing, but not ones that she could immediately spot.
