God Save The Queen...from herself!

Saw The Queen on Saturday night. Haikugirl and I had to bite the bullet and see it before the Oscars. We started with groovy jazz and delectable bouffe at the newly shwank Pilot in Yorkville--one of our favourite haunts. Although Mirren's performance was commendable the film left me lukewarm. It confirmed what most of us in the colonies have known for decades, that the monarchy is choking on its own crumpets and cucumber sandwiches and no number of hot water bottles or furry pink housecoats can instill humanity into an institution as archaic as the stone castles we dole out trillions of pounds to maintain. Be it "God's" will or shameless nerve, the film triggered a larger debate for me, namely the purpose served by a ruling monarch in an age of liberal and democratic values purported to have been exported by the U.K. in the first place!

The world's remaining monarchs (sauf the houses of Saud, Brunei, Oman, Qatar, UAE, The Vatican and other absolutes) serve a symbolic purpose. Spain's Juan Carlos I never sits on his thrown or wears a crown. As does Elizabeth Windsor he supports whatever governing party wins an election, but does not invite the president elect to requesting royal patronage on bended knee. He is a reigning yet non-ruling monarch and acts as an essential symbol of the country's unity. He and his family draw a salary ( a generous one) and all the royal palaces are national heritage sites not personal-tax-exempt-behemoths-of-stone.

I'm all for a royal family, just sick of paying for them!