'I used to think that the interesting issue was whether we should have a monarchy or not. But now I think I think that question is rather like, should we have pandas or not? Our current royal family doesn't have the difficulty in breeding that pandas do, but pandas and royal persons alike are expensive to conserve and are ill adapted to the modern environment. But aren't they interesting? Aren't they nice to look at? Some people find them endearing; some pity them for their precarious situation; everyone stares at them, and however airy the enclosure they inhabit, it is still a cage.'.
A paragraph from the 2013 essay 'Royal Bodies From Anne Boleyn to Kate Middleton', one of twenty essays in the book 'Mantel Pieces, Royal Bodies and other writings from the London Review of Books', writing as it should be in my opinion-trenchant and very well edited.
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