Martina Milburn
: What Makes a Great Role Model
Alistair Darling
: Salmond's Default Position Bankrupts His Credibility
Nicola Sturgeon
: Scotland Has Every Right to Be Confident About Our Economic Prospects
Duncan Weldon
: Chancellor Should Heed IMF Advice and Increase Infrastructure Spending Now
Harry Cooper
: A Referendum on Europe Tomorrow Would Not Stop Ukip
A facial reconstruction of King Richard III is going on display in Leicester's Guildhall on the first stop of a nationwide tour. The model, which g...
The main reason, in fact, the only reason why the BBC has chosen to prioritise the royals, throughout the Duchess's pregnancy, throughout her marriage to Prince William, throughout the jubilee, is because it is pandering to the right-wing media, of which it is absolutely and permanently petrified.
It seems there has never been a better time to head outside and start digging up your local car park. Since the bones of Richard III were exhumed in Leicester last summer, archaeology has become more exciting than even two decades of Channel 4's Time Team could have dreamed.
Lord Prescott has suggested the Queen may be "overburdening" herself and should consider abdicating. Writing in the Sunday Mirror, the former Labo...
At the moment academic literature on the Arab Spring fixates on the monarchical exceptionalism argument - that is, the tendency for Arab monarchies to largely avoid the conflict of the Arab Spring (while Arab authoritarian regimes have been overthrown).
I recently wrote on this site that, in reference to the recently published photos of the Duchess of Cambridge, pregnant and on holiday, that '...our morbid fascination with this bizarre, ordinary family invests them with a sort of inverted dignity just by them doing and saying nothing of real consequence.' I didn't expect such a vivid illustration to present itself so soon.
So we have received the news that Richard III fans have been waiting for. The skeletal remains found last year in Greyfriars car park in my Leicester South constituency are indeed those of Richard III, the last Plantagenet King of England.
Republicans have reacted with horror to the revelation that the Queen and the Prince of Wales exercise their power to veto legislation that is propose...
Pippa Middleton may not be an official member of the royal family, but a US TV show is desperate to get her to become their correspondent on the B...
Top secret dresses for meetings with James Bond, no hats after 6pm and jackets embroidered by indigenous north Americans are just some of the Queen's ...
The government has been accused of orchestrating a "royal cover-up" after it vetoed the publication of letters sent to ministers by Prince Charles. ...
The motion to abolish the monarchy won the vote in the end and sense won out.
The BBC has apologised for reporting that the Queen raised concerns about radical cleric Abu Hamza, after security correspondent Frank Gardner made th...
Why exactly are the vast majority in favour of the monarchy in this age of democracy? Has the Queen brainwashed the entire nation? Economically, there seems to be no need for a monarch.
Judging from the media coverage of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations you'd think that the entire British population are ardent monarchists. Critical, dissenting voices were mostly ignored and sidelined. Journalistic balance and impartiality was supplanted in favour of fawning sycophancy towards the royals.
Today's public has access to their Queen unlike any other. She is a brand, and so the jubilee is the perfect opportunity to showcase some of the great work that our 'company' produces. For such a tiny island, the United Kingdom's track record in science and medicine is outstanding.
"Even the most ardent republicans respect the Queen". And with that statement so ends the debate. Ardent or otherwise, it is tough enough to get a discussion about ending the monarchy going, let alone begin a process that would actually bring about its demise. Conservatives, lower and upper-case c, appear to have this one sewn up as most of Great Britain celebrates her diamond jubilee, during which affection for the person will overwhelm any doubts about the institution. Not only is 'respect for the Queen' the default position in the media and politics, but in a recession the idea of something as unsettling as ending the monarchy can be dismissed as a waste of money and a priority of abyssal insignificance. However, in the long term it is anything but.
If we're measuring success in terms of opinion poll findings, there can be little doubt that The Palace goes into this weekend's Jubilee celebrations in rude health.
"We all have fond memories of 60 years of our Queen," Dermot Murnaghan smarms through my TV screen inaccurately. After retrieving whichever inanimate object now lies below the screen having found itself being hurled along with a range of colourful language towards the inane news man's grinning bonce, I reflect on what has been an annoying few months for me and millions of other Britons.
Bunting's a-hanging, patriotic picnics are planned, and 'union jack' is the colour scheme de-jour. On the run up to the Queen's diamond jubilee, Brits...
I was pretty pleased to read that Kate Middleton now owns Lupo the Cocker Spaniel puppy. Hurrah! More royal distinction for the humble Spaniel, which has long been overlooked in favour of the decidedly less regal-looking Corgi.
Prince Harry today chatted to armed forces comrades about the "nightmares" of remembering how to use all his kit when on tour in Afghanistan. The 2...
And so it begins. The 60th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne draws ever nearer and with it the inevitable hysteria and servile behaviour reserved especially for royal events. 6 February will be a Monday. It will also be the day of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. I will celebrate it for the former.
As long as we retain the absurd belief that these titles are inheritable by birth and not earned by virtue and talent (and frankly, our royals have rarely proved themselves to be either virtuous or talented) then we are going to continue to question the monarchy at times of heightened constitutional awareness.
The Queen should be replaced as Britain's head of state by the Speaker of the House of Commons, veteran Labour politician Tony Benn has suggested. ...
