Royal we means us all at last

When Tony Blair first became Prime Minister, he told everyone: “Just call me Tony.” So everyone did. For a bit. But it was too much for starchy Whitehall mandarins who had spent entire careers using titles.

And soon they were addressing Tony as Prime Minister again.

Even Mr Blair’s chief aide and close chum Alastair Campbell eventually shied away from such intimacy, other than in private, and referred to him as PM.

But that was 25 years ago. Times have changed. We no longer doff our caps or touch our forelocks to authority.

Addressing people by their first names is now what comes naturally, whether it’s the bus conductor, the bin collector or the boss.

So all credit to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge for wanting to be known simply as Wills and Kate. And for opting to banish bows and curtsies too.

Their move follows examination of their disastrous Caribbean visit – a royal tour which rubbed raw nerves in places where the subject of Britain’s colonial past is a hot potato.

Tony Blair’s informality may have been before its time. But royals must be of their time.

That is the way for the monarchy to survive. And thrive.