JohnInHull, compare and contrast to the assassination of JFK - how many Americans had ever met him? It's not the person, it's what they represent.

Don't sell the diplomatic role short - both diplomacy in selling Britain abroad, and diplomacy in supporting British institutions. The Queen, Prince Charles and Princess Anne really do pull their weight on those issues. Other members of the Royal family don't do much, and are known not to do much, so recently there have been serious cut-backs in the money that minor Royals get - hence Edward with his TV job, and stuff like that.

For my money, it's not broken. I also believe that the House of Lords wasn't broken and was possibly a better, saner, more representative institution than the House of Commons. Remember that the House of Lords for the last 10 years or more has a history of opposing the government's more ridiculous outbursts - think Poll Tax for one. The Lords don't need to run after votes, so they can focus on what's right instead of what the current Prime Minister thinks is a good idea. For anyone who thinks that elected officials are always a good idea, think of the police chiefs in 1960's Southern US...

Graham.