Twice in the past week, the Queen has come closer to the people … once unintended and once intended. She went live on Canadian radio after an announcer tricked her into believing he was the Canadian Prime Minister ringing privately. Her human side was on display. Her French was heard to be more than up to scratch, and she was seen to be humanly cautious even insecure rather than imperious when it came to deciding how to act in the face of the Quebec referendum.
On the other ocsasion she showed commendable economy in travelling on a comercial aircraft to New Zealand, rather than on a Royal Air Force or charter aircraft. However, she was whisked through the VIP lounge and took the whole first-class cabin which was shut off from the other classes with a security door.
The events show there is no harm in the Queen mixing it more. Indeed, there would have been no harm in her sharing first class with other passengers. Nor would there have been no harm in engaging in the occasional live radio interview. She could be trusted to not engage in party political matters. It would be a step towards the British monarchy becoming more like the monarchies on the European continent, where royals mix more freely with the people.
More importantly, the people would be more forgiving of the human failings of the Royal family … especially the marital ones … if they saw its head in a more human role more often.