Even in this, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year, I am forever hearing how the UK would be better if we got rid of the monarcy.

Nonsense! The Queen is more democratic than a president of the UK ever could be, because she represents all her people.

An elected president would owe his selection to a political faction, and this would publicly divide him from many of his countrymen and would make his claim to represent "the people" less convincing.

Frequent selections of presidents would interrupt the continuity essential for an effective head of our country.

An elected president will always be partisan, whereas a monarch will not be.

The Queen and her heirs have been trained from birth for one vocation – that of discharging the duties of sovereign of the UK.

Unlike politicians, a monarch does not have to gain power by being ruthless, stabbing people in the back and generally “fighting dirty” to win elections.

Who would you rather have – Queen Elizabeth or President Boris?

Mavis Stringer, Colne Road, Burnley.