Well, she’s now 80. Everyone is making a fuss about it, the BBC is running specials all over the place, the book(s) of the week are a series of biographies, etc. As I’ve covered before, I’m a convert tot eh idea of a proper, ceremonial monarch.

The current fudge, where most of the powers of the Prime Minister are really Crown Prerogative powers, and no one is really sure what she can (or cannot) do is, well, messy. Still, at least our lot get the whole point of being Head of State, not Head of Government.

Defining (and limiting) the powers of the Executive as exercised by and on behalf of the Monarch has to be a central objective of constitutional reform. But this former republican is now utterly convinced that it is reform that is needed. Besides, Starkey thinks Blair is the modern Charles II.

who “never said a foolish thing and never did a wise one”. For Starkey, Blair has, “the same slipperiness, the same duplicity, the same ability to tell utterly convincing lies”.

It was Charles I that got his head chopped off. Maybe we could just chop Blair?

Still, let’s not be cynical. Wait, she appointed him. She could fire him as well. Ma’am? Give the nation a gift on your birthday?