To be fair, I was never going to - I am a republican, and I did respect the late queen, so used to sing "God save the Queen". She came from a long gone era, and she fought in the war.
I have always thought the monarchy should end with her, I have always thought it was a horrible system, grossly unfair to those caught up in it, and very very annoying - I do understand the point about the prime minister using the monarchs authority though, and understand it would be hard to dismantle - not least because it would mean whatever prime minister of the day volunteering to have all that automatic power taken out of his/her hands.
But the events of the last two days have changed my mind, it is beyond annoying, it is an insidious evil
The media outright calling cancer victims "lesser mortals" - the description of someone putting on pretty clothes and waving as "the bravest woman in Britain" and the huge distress caused to thousands of normal people through this.
We shouldn't have a monarchy. We shouldn't have this system where someone is seen as a better, braver, more important person because they are part of the monarchy, and other people being publicly and firmly denigrated, because whatever their situation, however they are feeling, whatever their abilities and whatever their achievements, they are not good enough,
why? no reason, other than not being royal
Kate and Charles, if you read this, I have nothing but good wishes for you. Apart from obviously you are in the best possible position to access treatment and survive cancer, I feel sorry for you - I wouldn't want your lives.
But I have really for the first time taken on board how inherently damaging this system of having a royal family really is