Harry, the pointless prince: a follow-up

I saw a new satirical comedy show the other night on BBC3 - I think is was called Seven Days. It was basically a bunch of comedians who aren't good enough to get their own show commenting on the news. Cheap and cheerful - perfect for the new age of digital TV.

And they were really laying in to Harry. At first, I thought this was at best mildly amusing but generally a bit cheap. An easy target is Harry. But then it got to the point where it just become overwhelmingly cynical. There was simply no respect given at all. Now, Harry has done nothing himself to earn any respect. But he is still third in line to the crown, and the monarchy is an institution with a long and powerful history. In failing to recognise that there is something there with some standing, even if it is much reduced, the message is simply that nothing at all should command respect.

We should recognise that the monarchy does represent a body of power and influence in society - and we should do our level best to abolish it for that very reason. Instead all we get is childish cynicism from the state's very own broadcaster. And such is the loss of any kind of sense of mission amongst the establishment that ridiculing the monarchy is completely unremarkable.