The smashing Royal Jubilee is over, but Britain's monarchy lives. Yesterday a million loyal subjects cheered their queen's 50 years on the throne, quite a turn-around.
Not long ago Elizabeth herself lamented her annis horribilis, years when broken marriages and gaudy expenditures reduced the royals to tawdry Fleet Street fodder and raised questions about their relevance in modern Europe.
But the last four days featured more than gilded carriages and the crisply disciplined Queen's Guard, there were also rock bands at Buckingham and overwhelming affection for the lady in the crown. It was either the royalty truly in-tune with modern times, or perhaps just a palace public relations coup, and it's part of a continuing debate: Monarchy or Republic
