Platinum Jubilee and the 'pong of Pyongyang'

Photo by Ryan Johns on Unsplash

Midway through the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, someone mentioned the distinct “pong of Pyongyang “.

That’s a touch over the top but it’s true that the gushing tributes to Queen Elizabeth II — from everyone featured anywhere in the British press, on TV, radio or anything — would not have disgraced event choreographers in North Korea.

There is none of that robust self-deprecation that we might expect.

This is not to say anything against the Queen. Why would one? After all, she is 96 and the Diana years are well in the past, as are the several unfortunate racist passages in this country’s life that she has presided over in her 70-year reign. As ‘The Economist’ has noted, “a 70-year reign is unprecedented for an English monarch. And the queen commands widespread approval. Eight in ten Britons have a positive opinion of her; every single age group thinks of her favourably. The virtues of continuity and consensus that the queen represents are sorely la…