You can’t delete HM...she’s our Forces’ beacon

I read with disgust last week about the Ministry of Defence’s efforts to change how our Armed Forces are branded, by dropping the words ‘Her Majesty’ from its Facebook page.

This country has had a monarch throughout almost all of its history. Men and women have fought and died for Queen (or King) and country.

Political parties come and go but the monarch is always there as an impartial beacon.

In the hypothetical event of our Forces having to save either the Government or our monarch, it would always be the monarch.

As for the recent plans to make the Army less elitist by dropping the ‘Be The Best’ slogan – what utter tripe. The British Army has always been the envy of the world.

All recruits strive to ‘Be The Best’ – that is a reason why many join up. What next? Take out the competitive element from training to prevent hurting feelings?

It is a disgrace that these moves have been taking place at a time when we are celebrating 100 years of the Royal Air Force.

The feeble excuse that the words ‘Her Majesty’s Armed Forces’ on social media had been ‘changed in error’ is typical. Roger Findlay, King’s Lynn

Your Comment last week said that the Services are ‘above politics’, but this is inaccurate. Although every soldier, sailor and airman pledges an oath of allegiance to the lady in Buckingham Palace, he takes his orders from the tenant of No10. Like it or not, every serviceman/ woman on active service is on the sharp end of a political cause. A. Bingham, Newton Abbott, Devon

As if the Army’s proposed dropping of ‘Be The Best’ slogan (presumably to be replaced by ‘Be Average’) from its recruitment literature wasn’t bad enough, the MoD recently removed mention of ‘Her Majesty’ from its Armed Forces Facebook page. I wonder how long it will be before valour medals such as the Victoria Cross will also be banned as being ‘too elitist’? Heather Rolph, Luton

This eroding of our national institutions by stealth is very disturbing. Twice now recently, the way our military is branded has been changed, albeit temporarily.

The result is that the public have now been ‘softened up’ so that when a lasting change comes, we will be less likely to protest so much. Your interview with Derren Brown a few weeks ago in Event magazine threw up something interesting – he said that we are all having our strings pulled all the time by politicians. ‘The more bewildered we are, the more suggestible we become,’ he added. And this from someone who manipulates for a living. J. Benn, London

At a time when the country is split over Brexit, we need the continuity that the monarchy provides. So the MoD could not have picked a worse time for removing Her Majesty from the Armed Forces’ Facebook page. J. McLean, Manchester