• God save the Queen
Sir: Robert Hardman (‘The Queen’s manifesto’, 22 October) is right to say that we should respect the Queen for more than longevity and never putting a foot wrong. One of her great strengths is that she is so willing to take advice from those placed (or elected) to give it. There are times when she has been known to ask ‘What should the Queen do?’, much as a parent has to ask what line to take towards a child.
The Queen has invariably agreed to do as bidden by her government, for example in entertaining figures like President Ceausescu of Romania in 1978. He was a far from easy guest, digging up the floorboards at the Palace in quest of electronic bugs, yet he was extended the traditional hospitality by the monarch. She cannot be blamed for inviting him. The person to blame is David Owen, the then foreign secretary.
She does not express her views in public, so we do not know what she is thinking. This does not mean she does not express them in private. When the files are eventually opened, I suspect we will find she held some surprisingly robust views.
It is a good idea to have a head of state above politics and one who has been trained from birth for the job, with all the benefits of continuity and absorbed experience. Also we know exactly who the Queen is and where she has come from. She is one of the very few people in public life that we can wholly trust. Robert Hardman’s book is a wonderful clarion call to the forthcoming Jubilee celebrations.
Hugo Vickers
Hampshire
• The right to fail
Sir: Ross Clark (‘The free market in danger’, 22 October) is right to say that the masses and the young ought to be given more of a stake in our capitalist society.
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