Happy and glorious

A FEW still living can (just) remember the day a king had to abdicate before he could marry a divorcee. Many more can recall when the Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret, was forced to give up the man she loved because he was divorced.

How times change. And how the monarchy and Royal Family have evolved with them.

In 2018, only an isolated minority of curmudgeons and republicans voice any reservation about today’s marriage of a very modern couple in the ancient and glorious setting of Windsor Castle.

He is the prince who has won the nation’s hearts with his palpable good nature and his mother’s gift for engaging with people from every walk of life. She is the divorced American actress, with an eccentric family and colourful past, who has made her own way in the world, helped only by a good brain, a thirst for work and a winning smile.

As is shown by the jubilant crowds massing in Windsor – and the countless others who will be celebrating elsewhere – once again the old Firm (which remains far more popular than any politician) has shown its ability to adapt.

This paper joins the great mass of its readers in wishing Harry and Meghan every joy in the world, on this happy day and for the rest of their lives.