We all love the Queen, but she’s not the monarchy – it’s time to imagine a future without her

The Queen’s accelerating frailty since the death of Prince Philip is clear for all to see, writes Denis MacShane. The nation is looking for a fresh start

‘The question of the future of the monarchy can not be put off much longer’ (Getty Images)

Has the time come when we can talk about the future of the most central feature of the British constitution – the monarchy? Almost every effort to open this discussion hits the brick wall of the extraordinary affection the nation has for the Queen. I can testify, as a minister for eight years at the Foreign Office, to the respect, indeed the love or veneration, that the Queen enjoys worldwide. But the monarch is not the monarchy. The question of the future of the monarchy can not be put off much longer.

The Queen’s accelerating frailty since the death of her husband, Prince Philip, is clear for all to see. She was unable to attend the Cenotaph ceremony. She no longer rides. She needs a stick. Public appearances are off until well into 2022. She accepted the new Swiss ambassador’s credentials over Zoom. She looks drawn and tired in rare photographs. At some stage, her frailty will become a public question. She has two big questions to consider.

The first is whether she steps down, as so many other European monarchs have when they became old and weak. Or take Pope Benedict. The papacy has been around for a millennium longer than the English crown. For centuries, popes have always died in harness, as it were. But Benedict made a wise decision – he had achieved everything for his church he could hope for and it was right to allow a more vigorous pope to take over.