Britons 'coming towards the end of an era' with Queen Platinum Jubilee: Ex-Archbishop

Britons are in for a steady turn in monarchy,  analyses ex-Archbishop of Canterbury.

Lord Rowan Williams of Oystermouth spoke to BBC Newsnight this week and briefly touched upon how the 96-year-old shaped his view of the monarchy during her reign.

Lord Williams told the host: "There is certainly a widespread sense isn't there that like it or not we are coming towards the end of an era.

"The era of that steady visibility of the Queen in our public life.

"We are going to have to cope with other ways of thinking about her and she's certainly never been a Queen Victoria, retiring to a dignified and sad remoteness, that is not her style."

Lord Williams added: "But she's clearly calculating what she can cope with and what she can't.

"Also calculating what's going to be helpful in making the transition possible for people when the time comes and typically thinking it through."

The ex-bishop of Wales added: "I'd never been a great monarchist by conviction, though I wasn't a principled republican either, I hadn't really thought it through very much.

"I think, if I can say it, sheer personal affection to somebody who was unceasingly supportive and kind and generous in my regard, did make a difference, of course.

"I liked her, I liked spending time with her.

I freely confess that my warmth towards the monarchy owes a lot to her.

"The alternatives are not clear, I think, to monarchy.

"The advantages of a monarch, like the Queen, and not all monarchs are like that, the advantages are here is somebody who has been in that office for all her adult life, she's got no history.

"She's got no skeletons in the cupboard."

Queen will celebrate her Platinum Jubilee alongside royal family members this week.