War, slavery and lack of social mobility are not limited to monarchical nations, writes Ian Roberts; plus letters from Harry Dickinson and Jenny Bushell
With regard to Peter Tatchell’s article (No thanks, Ma’am. For LGBT campaigners like me, your jubilee is nothing to celebrate, 15 May), perhaps it can be suggested to Mr Tatchell that republicanism has, historically as well as now, never gained ground in the UK and that republican nations are just as guilty – if not more so – of many of the things that Mr Tatchell accuses the monarchy of.
The monarchy in the UK is immensely popular, albeit with a small core of detractors. The monarchy may be drawn from a “small circle” of society, but the US presidency is no less guilty of such a charge. Slavery and war? Were not some of the early US presidents themselves slaveowners, with Thomas Jefferson fathering children by an enslaved black woman? The US still has a far worse race relations record than the UK.
