Jonathan Freedland observes that the Queen was a master of diplomacy, or rather, as he puts it, “scrupulous neutrality” (The Queen’s death will shake this country deeply – she was a steady centre amid constant flux, 8 September). But there were occasions where her true feelings were there to see. When she said, on the eve of the Scottish independence referendum, that she hoped voters would “think very carefully about the future”, it was not hard to see that as a warning against a yes vote. And she could get things badly wrong. Her profound misreading of the nation’s reaction to the death of Diana led to a low point in the monarchy’s reputation.
Freedland’s comment that the monarchy makes an “illogical, irrational kind of sense” only leads me to conclude that it’s time to look towards a constitution free from deference to a long-outmoded hereditary principle. We can handle it.
Steve Turner
Edinburgh
• The death of the Queen is a momentous event. She was a great lady and rightly respected the world over. Now, inevitably, we have to look to the future – for the monarchy but also for our country, which has been in prolonged and unhappy turmoil.
In the current context, and with no disrespect to Her Majesty, it is clear that both the royal regime and other aspects of our national life need reshaping. The new King has in the past talked about a slimmed-down monarchy. That would certainly suit the current zeitgeist, where automatic deference to hereditary privilege has practically disappeared. In addition, recent substantial articles in the Guardian have highlighted anachronistic and concerning privileges exercised by the head of state which need addressing.
After the reign of Boris Johnson, we are all aware of the need to remedy the lacunae in our current constitution – gaps that allowed a rogue politician to rise so high and do so much damage. Hopefully, along with very proper thanksgiving for the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, we can begin a national conversation on how we wish to be governed in the remaining decades of the 21st century.
Rev Andrew McLuskey
Ashford, Middlesex
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