Windsor Castle.

Visited Windsor Castle today, as symbolic of the anachronism that is the British monarchy. They are rich; more than the usual rich, of course. And privileged. A rather convincing argument for egalitarianism as an ideology; such privilege! Nevertheless, there was much of interest in the palace; many paintings, and a lot of history. As much as I find the excess and privilege displayed by the monarchy distasteful, they are an undeniable part of history, and there is much that can be learned from a quick traipse through their quarters.

I have doubts about the endurance of the monarchy as an institute. There is much respect for the current Queen, but her heir has a decidely smaller reservoir of goodwill. And the rest of the family's mostly tabloid fodder. Still, as a source of foreign exchange in the form of tourism for the UK, the royal family does have its uses.