THE BIG STORY
THE COUNTRY’S LEADING CEO by Maarten Hoffmann
I
n my heart l am a republican. I cannot adhere to the world of deference through position, l cannot doff my cap to those born of supposed
high status, nor can l offer respect to any human due to the coincidence of their birth. I
cap and stroke his ego. He was probably totally correct, as God knows what l would have done to their blood line, but that was not the point. Therefore, l regard no one to be superior to me. There are those with much more talent,
will certainly pay due respect to those with
those with much more money, those who give
talent or those who have worked their way
of themselves to worthy causes and certainly
from the bottom to the top, but because of
those with far more success, and l respect
an accident of birth? l think not.
these people hugely for their achievements,
I realised this when l was 22, met a beautiful girl at a Grosvenor House ball and we spent the next three weeks together in a haze of passion and laughter. She then revealed that she actually carried
and isn’t that the point? People should be respected for what they have achieved and what they have done in their lives rather than for the womb from which they entered this world.
the title of Lady and that her father, a very high-profile Lord, who shall remain nameless, demanded to meet me if we were to continue our affair. The following weekend, we duly drove into the Shires and arrived at his ancestral stately pile, where l was whisked into an anteroom by an aide and was briefed on how l should
“It’s also been noted that, compared to republics, monarchies seem to perform better on the stock markets..”
address him. I was taken aback when told that l should only ever refer to
Elizabeth ll, you would have to do it over my
‘My Lord,’ and from there
dead, cold body.
on as Sir. I just couldn’t do it. I
This woman has been the Queen for as long as l have been alive, and by the looks of her
met him and stated it
glowing health, she might still be there when
was a pleasure, with no
l pop my clogs. I don’t respect and admire her
sycophantic additions or
so much for her status as monarch as for what
pre-fixes, and although
she has managed to do for this country over
he seemed to take it on
the past 63 years, seven months and two days
the chin and was quite
(at the time of writing). Duty is a word that she
charming, l was later
lives by, and duty is what she has offered for
told he was not happy
longer than l have been alive, and she has not
and that we had no
wavered in this, not once.
future. He decided his
24
But if you wanted to harm or depose Queen
him as ‘Your Lordship’ or
But apart from garden fetes, ship launches
daughter had no future
and civic centre openings, what has she really
with me based on the
done to benefit this country? Well, l believe
fact that l would not
she has attracted billions of pounds to the UK,
toe the line, doff my
forged business links where no other could