Elizabeth

I've preference for monarchs who stay out of the way, but that may be something imbibed with the rest of our culture. Probably if I'd grown up with kings, I'd have a feel for the king as an icon of the people, and maybe if the king were sovereign even a respect for a king's authority. It's not part of my mental furniture, though. I wonder what it would feel like.

Elizabeth did her duty as a "monarch who stays out of the way." I wonder to whom she confided what she really thought about the ministers and policies. Maybe Philip; maybe nobody. Rest in peace.

At the side of my desk sit some coins and bills left over from Canada. I wonder how long they'll keep making money with her face on it.

And, of course, I wonder about Charles. I'm told he's unpopular; does he have the gravitas to be an icon?