Monarchy in step with public this time

By NICOLA LAMB foreign editor

The bad old days for the royal family are just a recently stored film clip away in the memory.

Remember those glum, dry-eyed faces as they lined up outside Buckingham Palace as millions around the world and thousands on London's streets dissolved in pools of tears over the death of Diana, Princess of Wales?

It was a grouchy, reluctant display from the Windsors who never seemed to appreciate or want the glamorous glitter sprinkled on them by that tragic shooting star.

Novelist Robert Harris (Enigma, Fatherland) argued on these pages last week that the Queen Mother, always considered the most popular traditional royal, had essentially "saved" the monarchy by seeing it through to a calm harbour after the turbulence of divorce and Diana.

I would take that argument a step further. In their handling of the matriarch's death, the royals have probably forged a better relationship with the constituency that matters most to their long-term survival, the British public.

It has been an assured dance shadowing the public mood.

From the Queen's very early public thanks for the bouquets of remembrance to Prince Charles' fulsome and raw televised tribute the royals haven't put a foot wrong.

Princes Andrew and Edward have made public appearances to thank the queues of well-wishers, Andrew drawing his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie into the warm circle for good measure.

The royals' very future, William and Harry, who are usually shielded from media attention, reminisced about their great grandmother, with PR-friendly anecdotes about her fun-loving side including her imitation of leftfield comic Ali G.

After Friday's procession for the lying in state at Westminster Hall the Queen surprised television commentators by travelling to Windsor Castle down the same route, acknowledging the people who still lingered there.

She has made a televised address to the nation, thanking the more than 125,000 people who queued for hours to file past the Queen Mother's coffin.

When Diana died the public perception, rightly or wrongly, was that the grief was primarily on the subjects' side.

It was Prime Minister Tony Blair with his "People's Princess" eulogy who caught the mood and appeared to guide the royals through the crisis.

This time the death has awakened an atmosphere of appreciation for a long life that has enveloped monarchy and people alike.

And the royals have been sensitive to the sentiment, active and in control.

Now it is reported that the Queen is supporting historic changes to allow daughters equal rights to succession and the 300-year-old ban on Catholics sitting on the throne to be lifted.

The Queen allowed Princess Anne to break with tradition and march in the procession with her brothers behind her grandmother's coffin.

The royals have emerged from the dark days more aware of the requirements of a modern monarchy and more media savvy.

They have learned their lessons and it has been there for all to see.

Feature: The Queen Mother 1900-2002