Letter: Royalty buys its subjects' loyalty

Stephen Haseler's 'Final days of the monarchy' (4 October) is most heartwarming for the millions of us who have suffered, over the years, from an inability to make ourselves heard.

The sheer obscenity of the royal circus would be obvious to us if another country endured it.

A point which Professor Haseler omits, however, is the snobbery that is generated by royalty, which, using public money, buys the loyalties of thousands through garden parties and honours. There is a direct connection between this buffoonery and the lack of initiative and vigour in the country generally.

J E Barnes

Lancaster