Australia is also still a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II the head of state.
In line with her earlier attempts at modernizing the monarchy, the queen subsequently sought to present a less-stuffy and less-traditional image of the monarchy.
In a statement to mark the royal birthday, he added: "In a hereditary monarchy the Queen's age becomes a political issue.
But it might have been better to at least try to preserve the dignity and theatre of monarchy: the Queen Mother's funeral suggested that that sort of thing is still rather popular.
Born in 1685 in the prosperous university town of Halle in central Germany to a surgeon father close to the Hanoverian ruling house, he had travelled Europe as a musician on the make, even turning to a bit of spying for the future George I in the anxious dying days of the Stuart monarchy under Queen Anne.
The other, more serious, is that in a constitutional monarchy, the Queen has no authority to contradict policy: simply, in the words of Walter Bagehot in the 19th century, "to be consulted, to advise and to warn", which would seem to rule out dramatic conflict.
According to the official website of the British Monarchy the Queen and her family "never vote or stand for election to any position, political or otherwise".
Starkey prefers radical changes to the UK's constitution in line with the federal system used by the USA, although in an interview with Iain Dale he expressed his support for the monarchy, The Queen and Prince Charles.
Even the feminist trailblazer Helena Normanton, Britain's first practicing female barrister, who was called to the bar in 1922, was obsessed with monarchy and queens, filling her files with elaborate diagrams about their movements and activities.
Those who revere Queen, monarchy, palace and country will find much to admire.
