Currycombed as sleek as seals, Britain's famed Windsor greys last week were harnessed once again to the Irish state coach to carry their mistress to Westminster for the opening of Parliament. In an age of internal combustion engines, the greys were as much of an anachronism as the three gleaming detachments of the Household Cavalry which escorted the Queen's coach, but all played their parts in the elaborate ceremonial of royal rule with the dignity and solemnity that Britons expect of the occasion.
This year, for the first time at an opening of Parliament, Elizabeth wore the Imperial State Crown...