Summary: Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey next April will be attended by hundreds of foreign dignitaries and marked by street parties, a concert in Hyde Park and a national Bank Holiday, at a cost of more than £10 million. Our monarchy is the most expensive monarchy in Europe and the most cosseted. More significantly, it is the one with the strongest vestigial political role. Although the Swedish royal family was flung into controversy recently, when a new book, Carl XVI Gustaf - The Reluctant Monarch, alleged that the eponymous King enjoyed wild sex parties and whirlpool liaisons with strippers, for years the Scandinavian royals have been known for their modest style; the term the “Bicycling Monarchy” was coined following the former Danish Queen Juliana’s fondness for bicycling, and her often unscheduled interaction with the public. Here, we invite LabourList columnist Paul Richards and writer Jerome di Costanzo to debate if Britain would benefit from a modernised Royal Family, or whether the pomp, ceremony and constitutional fudge is
