Do monarchies still matter? Britons have four days to celebrate 70 years of the country's longest reign. It's a very different United Kingdom from the one where Queen Elizabeth II first saw the light of day in 1926. What is the Platinum Jubilee all about in post-Brexit Britain?
Why do crowned heads still abound throughout Europe in the 21st century? Is the embodiment of a nation's power best represented by a hereditary head of state or an elected president? The thrill may be gone in some parts of the Commonwealth, but the aura endures.
Even here in Republican France, where the rivalry has run deep ever since a Normand crossed the Channel in 1066 and where royal heads have rolled, the state is paying respects to Elizabeth Regina. Is it a nod to neighbours whose fate will always be intertwined, or a farewell to a soon-to-be bygone era?
Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Juliette Laurain and Imen Mellaz.
