16 FEBRUARY 2002, Page 32

No dignity, no deference

From Mr George L. Black Sir: Bruce Anderson ('The threat to the monarchy', 9 February) regrets the decline in esteem of the royal family and blames the media for this unhappy state of affairs. He concludes, 'When there is no deference, there is no dignity: where there is no dignity, there can be no monarchy worthy of the name.'

In view of the proposed Jubilee celebrations at Buckingham Palace comprising a pop concert with simultaneous giant-screen coverage of England's participation in a football match, a better conclusion might be: 'When there is no dignity, there can be no monarchy worthy of the name; where there is no monarchy worthy of the name, there can be no deference.'

George L. Black

Mansefield, Inverness