Thank you for posting this, Karen. I read once that the late Queen considered the investitures among the most important aspects of her role, and I think she was correct. What modern constitutional monarchies do so well, more effectively than most republics, is to recognize ordinary citizens for their services to the communities, to culture, or to the state. The only republic that comes close is France with the Legion of Honor, but as tremendous of an honor as that is, there is an extra cachet about going to the Palace, either in London or Edinburgh, and having it bestowed by the monarch or another senior royal that a presentation by a local official or diplomat - as special as the occasion is - simply cannot match. The royal connection also guarantees that the Honours get more attention than they otherwise would.

On another issue, perhaps the new reign would be a good occasion to rename or replace the now deeply problematic and long controversial, not to mention no longer accurate, "Order of the British Empire." The Empire has not existed for a couple generations now and the continued use of the word in the name of the order - which nowadays has absolutely nothing to do with service to the late empire - is an antiquated and unnecessary reminder of the historical link between the Crown and colonialism which has been getting renewed attention since even before the late Queen's death. I recall several years ago there was a flurry of high profile people returning their OBEs and MBEs because of the word, and my understanding is that many people through the years have turned down the Honours for that reason.

I have read that the late Duke of Edinburgh favored a proposal to change the name to the Order of British Excellence. It would be a lovely gesture to what sort of Britain the monarchy is supposed to embody in the twenty-first century if the King, his son, were to lean on his government to finally do it.