QE2

A chilly but enjoyable pre-dawn run by the loch, relishing the tang of seaweed on the shore.

And so the Queen of Britain has been in post for 60 years. The conservative media have gone into a predictable hyperspace of obsequious drivelling about how her Royal Magnificence has been the kindest, wittiest, most Christian being, with the best dress sense, that has ever walked our planet. And so on. The left-leaning media are generally maintaining a polite silence.

Now it’s true that, during those 60 years, she has broadly stuck to her job description and avoided public outrage, unlike her husband & sons which, in these times of moral turpitude and short concentration spans, is something we should probably be grateful for. On the other hand, given her extensive and expensive support team,  the limited range of her actual work, and the large number of other people losing their jobs, arguably such a performance is the very least we could expect.