Monarchy
How French absolutism powered a techno-progressive revolution
The Enlightenment is back. Despite the best efforts of the past decade of handwringing about cultural imperialism and wailing over…
‘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
High life
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…
Going public
It is high time we did justice to the treasures of the royal collection, says Jack Wakefield
Her father’s daughter
The making of Queen Elizabeth II
A delicate bargain
This very readable account of relations between the British intelligence services and the Crown does more than it says on…
Royal standard
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…
How to save the monarchy
The Prince of Wales has become a threat to the institution he ought to uphold. He should renounce the throne in advance
The royal road to peace
What the Middle East needs is more constitutional monarchies
Long life
There are already people camping outside St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, to await the birth shortly of another royal baby, the…
Pure word music
Since his debut with the Booker-nominated The Restraint of Beasts in 1999, Magnus Mills has delighted and occasionally confounded his…
The Charles problem
The Prince of Wales has shown himself too vain to accept the limits of constitutional monarchy
Long to reign over us
This year the Queen will become the longest-serving monarch in British history. Her rule defines our era
High life
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
When I interviewed Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, the former president of France, for my biography of Margaret Thatcher, I asked him…
Diary
The astonishing level of enthusiasm over the birth of the new prince goes far beyond the pleasure that people naturally…
