In the days leading up to the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, the leftist media in Britain showed themselves at their worst. Assertions were made that opinion in support of the institution of monarchy was collapsing and that support for a republic was rising. In fact, the most reliable long-term poll of support for the monarchy, conducted by YouGov, showed that 62 percent of Britons thought the monarchy was a good thing, about 25 percent wanted an elected head of state, and 12 percent could not decide. Those over the age of forty-five were heavily in favor, with the elderly almost 80 percent supportive of the status quo. The young were more skeptical, but then they always are. Even at this coronation there were a few retired rebels who suddenly found themselves cheering for the House of Windsor. It is astonishing how seductive the idea of royal favor can be, now as in Tudor or Plantagenet times.

The polling figures were more or less identical to those of a year ago, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth II and as the time approached to mark her Platinum Jubilee. Meanwhile, at the British Broadcasting Corporation, which broadcasts the ceremony, there have for months been arguments about impartiality (the bbc, under its charter, is supposed to be impartial). As if at last trying to comply with this dictate, its coverage of the build-up to the coronation and on the day itself included scrupulously conducted interviews with