Simon Jenkins offers some interesting thoughts on the style of the future monarchy when Prince William becomes king (As William moves to Forest Lodge, an era of pushbike royals beckons. Will that save the monarchy?, 21 August). A good start would be to repeal the Act of Supremacy that currently binds the sovereign to the role of supreme governor of the Church of England. The future monarch should be free to choose their own religion, this being more representative of multicultural Britain.
As constitutional monarchs, William and his wife should continue to set good examples to the nation of living worthwhile lives. There is also the representational role of head of state in entertaining visiting foreign dignitaries. These are very demanding roles that require a reasonable amount of downtime to live a normal family life away from intrusive media coverage. The sovereign needs some support from their immediate family, and it would be reasonable to offer royal status for up to four supporters and partners, who meet the required standards and are willing participants.
The choice of Forest Lodge as a principal residence in the private part of the Windsor Great Park should be ideal for privacy, but is also conveniently located to attend formal state events at Windsor Castle. The handing over of Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace to Historic Royal Palaces also makes sense, with the balcony at Buckingham Palace still being available as a focal point for major state events in central London.
Finally, there is the matter of the private estates at Sandringham and Balmoral. As there is an acute shortage of affordable housing to rent in the UK, it would be a sensible gesture for the royal family to convert both of these estates into trusts to fund the provision of affordable housing developments for rentals around the UK.
Balmoral in particular has lots of scope to increase revenue from visitor ventures. Bolthole properties on both estates could be retained for the exclusive use of the royal family.
Ian Graham
Port Carlisle, Cumbria
• What to do with Buckingham Palace? Perhaps a better answer to Simon Jenkins’ suggestion would be to convert the palace and its great garden into a fit-for-purpose, modern Houses of Parliament with all necessary services and outbuildings, and turn the present dilapidated and unsuitable Westminster complex into a fabulous public centre serving as a museum, art gallery and national forum at the foot of Big Ben.
Christopher Lucas
Former director, Royal Society of Arts
• Simon Jenkins’ article on the potential redundancy of the royal palaces particularly mentions Buckingham Palace and its private gardens. Earlier articles have highlighted the need for the Palace of Westminster to be restored at a cost of billions of pounds and the decision on whether to decant or restore around function. It has been mooted previously, but discounted due to the ongoing restoration of Buckingham Palace (now almost completed), but there is a strong case for it to become home to at least the House of Lords. There is a delightful precedent in the Luxembourg Palace in Paris, which is the home to the senate and the Luxembourg Gardens that are open to the public.
Tony Orchard
Exeter
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