International Royalty to Gather for Jubilee

As Queen Elizabeth II prepares to host many of Europe and the world's leading royalty (as she did ten years ago as shown in the above picture) at Windsor to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee this Friday, Harry Mount reflects on "the world's most exclusive club." It's not a bad article, but I don't understand why even pro-monarchy commentators feel the need to include back-handed compliments like this: "Looked at objectively, monarchy is a ludicrous anachronism." No, no, no, a thousand times no! I do not concede this! While there's nothing necessarily wrong with "anachronism," there are plenty of rational and contemporary justifications for constitutional monarchy.  It is not all about glittering royal events, though this promises to be a splendid one, with guests including the Emperor of Japan.