IN the recent political turmoil, one picture stands out in my mind.

That is the short clip on BBC TV of the new Prime Minister kissing the right hand of the Queen.

The Queen, I thought, as might be expected of a lady her age, looked rather frail at this traditional moment, re-enacting a supposed medieval ceremony whereby the chief nobles and landowners express their loyalty to the Crown.

After kneeling and bowing they had to retire, walking backwards, as it was regarded as impolite to show your back to the monarch.

During the various celebrations of the Queen’s record-breaking reign and her birthday, a lot of time was given to the cameraman to depict the enormous crowds of cheering people stretching down Pall Mall and filling the area around Buckingham Palace and beyond.

I doubt if any leader of any state in Europe or possibly the world could receive such enthusiasm from those they governed.

I could not see, much as I tried, one single black or brown face amongst the tens of thousands of people.

But is it reasonable to expect French, German, Romanian, Somalis that have come to live here to celebrate the longevity of someone who hasn’t done anything directly for them?

Everything she does in public is scripted and all her little speeches are written for her and while dining with the leaders of other countries she is obliged simply to make small talk.

I admire her deeply for not publicly putting a foot wrong, which is essential for the survival of the monarchy.

We need an elected president with some power and with some real authority appointed democratically, like other countries which do this to restrain their prime ministers from being too dictatorial.

Remember it was just one man who got us into that disastrous war in Iraq.

But are American citizens any better off with the choice confronting them at this moment?

I have thought long and hard about this. Alfred the Great who saved England is very dead. Most of the others have been disasters.

George III lost us our American colonies by refusing to negotiate. He then went on to provoke over a century of strife in Ireland by preventing Pitt the Younger from giving that country independence.

One ex-royal in World War Two had to be kidnapped in Portugal by the secret service and rushed to Bermuda to stop him from allying himself to Adolf Hitler.

Another, on a royal visit to Nottingham, looked up from the car and saw a toilet sign which should have been covered by a Union Jack. He screamed “I shall never visit Nottingham again!”

But who can sit at state banquets with the likes of Trump or Putin or others of that ilk?

I saw a documentary on our present Queen supervising the laying of the table, measuring the distance between knives and forks etc.

Important features in their way, but there are planetary issues that ought to take priority.

But then in a flash I thought that here in the Forest of Dean we have someone far better equipped to meet such a challenge.

On Saturday, a memorial was presented in tribute to the miners who worked in the New Fancy pit.

Their work was hard, skilled and dangerous, many suffered injuries and a few lives were lost.

A number of their descendants came to remember, to pray and show their respect.

But the voice that lifted all was Baroness Royal.

She has served as Leader of the House of Lords and contended and directed mostly retired politicians and leaders and others who have followed successful careers. Like being friends of the Prime Minister.

That should be a good qualification for the top job.

She is experienced, very caring, and we need her or someone equal to her.

The Queen has done her best but this referendum has changed everything.

It is the first time that British people have been asked to vote on a vital issue that affects us all.

But the verdict in favour of leaving the European Community is not binding on government.

If we wish to be truly democratic, we need a constitution whereby a majority vote for or against a national or local issue is and has to be implemented.

I have lived and worked in Switzerland where this is the way of doing things and it works very well.

One Sunday during a visit to Berne I rather cheekily parked my car in the space reserved for the President of the Federation which makes up Switzerland.

I couldn’t re-start it. The handbrake pinion was jammed into the flywheel. The mechanic whom I had called out said: “Don’t worry. He always comes in by tram”.

Feudalism should be relegated to the history books. We are all equal in the eyes of God and democracy is about equality for all citizens.

– Roger Horsfield, Bream.