Leading Article: That's enough, Philip

WE MUST hand it to Prince Philip. It turns out that, in the great debate about the relationship between the Royal Family and the people, his main complaint is that the second lot do not bow and scrape enough to the first. While the rest of the nation was pondering the significance of Diana's death, Prince Philip thought the real problem was that Cherie Blair failed to curtsey to the Queen at Balmoral after the funeral.

This is the same crusty reactionary who was at his wife's side when she spoke at the "People's Banquet" to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary last year, listening as she spelt out that the monarchy "exists only with the support and consent of the people". She went on to admit that the message of public opinion was often hard to read, "obscured as it can be by deference".

Yesterday's reports that her husband is the chief obscurantist can only help to modernise the monarchy, by drawing attention to the fact that the age of forelock-tugging is over.