How the case for monarchy rests not only in its advantages, but also in its alternatives

The Duke of Edinburgh’s genius was to ensure that the more the Royal family changed, the more it appeared to remain the same

A new history of movie directors is full of insight, felicitous phrases and subtle put-downs

A beautiful and unusual book can lift the spirits of even the most jaded reviewer

Robert Thicknesse on how the idea that foreign poetry was better than local soon became established dogma

The key to Europe’s future lies with Mario Draghi, the technocrat who sidelined politicians and saved the Euro, but who now needs them to succeed as Italy’s PM

Britpop has a bad reputation for stolid, white-boy basicness now, but it’s not a reputation Parklife deserves

If plum roles started being handed out on the random basis of “artistic merit”, anarchy would surely reign…

Or chaos with Ed Miliband

Simon Hoare and David Hoey debate the merits of the Northern Ireland Protocol