Letter: The monarchy and spectacle
As Sacha Ismail says ( Solidarity 658 ) the royal row has shone a light on the bigotry of the royal family. And a bit more. It lifts the lid on how the spectacle of the monarchy is created — a sick abusive relationship between the media and the Windsors. Politically, the monarchy survives as a political resource for the ruling class, usable as a backstop in crisis, largely by the monarch doing and saying as little as possible in ordinary times. The monarch must be an empty vessel. That was much easier to achieve before 24 hour news and social media. Now the royals can’t exist without their...