To Wat Tyler, Jack Straw (the other one), John Ball, Jack Cade, Michael An Gof and his mate the Truro lawyer whose name keeps slipping out of my head, the leaders of the Pilgrimage of Grace, and all the others who have felt the need not to show allegiance to a person, but to the idea of British liberty.

The only good thing about the Royal Family is that they are not Blair, Brown, Thatcher or whoever else actually wants the job.

Penny