As the sun sets on the second Elizabethan age, focus will turn to the next succession, likely to arrive mid-century. The bequest from the third Carolean age – the age of Charles – will be shaped by choices made today, when the risks for the royals and the chances of misjudgment are all very high.

Charles’s prospects will depend on how he grasps the issues at stake, and the model of monarchy that he adopts. He starts without the spirit of youth, optimism and fortitude of his mother, although he lately also exudes a strong survival instinct too.