Monarchy
‘Enough to kill any man’: the trials of serving Queen Victoria
Of all the Queen’s prime ministers, Gladstone suffered the most from her wilfulness, but while he opposed her policies he did much to popularise her monarchy
In defence of privilege
Privilege at birth displeases wannabe types, and the subject came up rather a lot last week, especially in the Land…
The monarchy will survive Diana's death (1997)
Today marks 25 years since the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Andrew Roberts wrote The Spectator’s cover story that…
Nationalise the royal collection!
It is high time we did justice to the treasures of the royal collection, says Jack Wakefield
70 years on: the making of Queen Elizabeth II
The making of Queen Elizabeth II
The delicate business of monitoring the monarchy
This very readable account of relations between the British intelligence services and the Crown does more than it says on…
Should we fear for the future of the monarchy?
Fourteen prime ministers; 18 general elections; seven changes of government. Even in a stable country like Britain it is remarkable…
War of the Worlds is as bad as Doctor Who
Edwardian England deserved everything it got from those killer Martian invaders. Or so I learned from the BBC’s latest adaptation…
From good witch to female Alan Bennett: the Queen on the big screen
If cinema is propaganda, Elizabeth II can be grateful to it. Film is a conservative art form, and almost nothing…
Out of sorts at the RSC
The RSC’s summer blockbuster is about Queen Anne. It’s called Queen Anne. It opens at the Inns of Court where…
To save the British monarchy, skip the Prince of Wales
The Prince of Wales has become a threat to the institution he ought to uphold. He should renounce the throne in advance
Why the Middle East needs more kings
What the Middle East needs is more constitutional monarchies
The birth of a royal baby is hardly an exciting event
There are already people camping outside St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, to await the birth shortly of another royal baby, the…
The mysterious pleasure of Magnus Mills
Since his debut with the Booker-nominated The Restraint of Beasts in 1999, Magnus Mills has delighted and occasionally confounded his…
As a republican, I used to look forward to Charles III. Now I’m scared
The Prince of Wales has shown himself too vain to accept the limits of constitutional monarchy
Elizabeth is about to become Britain’s longest-reigning queen. Here’s how she’s changed monarchy
This year the Queen will become the longest-serving monarch in British history. Her rule defines our era
My ghosts of Athens; a shooting and a royal wedding
Athens This grimy semi-Levantine ancient city has its beauty spots, with childhood memories indelibly attached. There is a turn-of-the-century apartment…
The Spectator's Notes: French presidents used to have a touch of the monarch. Not any more
When I interviewed Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, the former president of France, for my biography of Margaret Thatcher, I asked him…
Conrad Black’s farewell to the British press
The astonishing level of enthusiasm over the birth of the new prince goes far beyond the pleasure that people naturally…
