King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla will be excellent leaders

The fictional prime minister Jack Barker, leader of the Cromwell Party, had "with the stroke of a pen, destroyed the monarchy, forever" and banished the remaining members of the Royal family to a proletariat existence behind razor wire and under CCTV cameras living with the great unwashed.

That might be enough for staunch Republicans such as Peter FitzSimons to throw their bandana in the air in triumph. But not so fast.

While Charles is quite content, making turnip wine and leading a version of the 1970s British sitcom The Good Life, England is not a happy place; the population fearful, dominated by petty deprivation and an overwhelming sense of ennui.

In the book, Townsend delights in sending up the Royal family and giving them real jobs - William works for a scaffolding company and drives a ute. Harry gets a local slapper called Chanel pregnant. They want to call their baby Gucci.

The book was also kind of prophetic.

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When the Queen announces her decision to abdicate, Charles refuses to follow his destiny unless his wife, Camilla, can be queen.

In the end, the fictional New Con party seizes power and King Charles and Queen Camilla do take to the throne, but in a horrible gilded existence, literally on display behind velvet ropes for tourists to come gawk at for a few hours a week, like a living museum exhibit.

Now, here we are, in 2022, with King Charles III a reality, but by way of the sad passing of her mother, Queen Elizabeth II after 70 years on the throne.

It's interesting to consider what Townsend, who died in 2014, would make of the Queen's real-life decisions before she died to support Charles to become King and Camilla the Queen Consort.

Townsend was an avowed Republican, but it's difficult to always see that in her books. The Royal family was a comforting, unifying force in the Adrian Mole books, when the whole neighbourhood would have street parties or gather around the television together for the big events. And in Queen Camilla she shows an empathy for their lives trapped in duty, protocol and endless small talk with strangers.

Townsend railed against the financial cost of keeping the Royal family and hated the idea of certain human beings being treated differently because of their birthright.

But, I think the Royal family does more good than harm and Charles and Camilla will be excellent leaders.

The reason? For a start, they obviously genuinely like each other and there is a shared sense of humour that must get them through some of the absurdities of their life. They make a good team.

I think Charles is a gentle force for good, long advocating for causes such as organic farming and the environment, way before they were trendy.

And Camilla has shown great resilience. Yes, she was the other woman. But as Piers Morgan wrote in The Sun, Camilla has been "subjected to more abuse, ridicule and savage media criticism than any other member of the Royal family" but "never once publicly responded to it".

Morgan compares Camilla's grace and fortitude to the endless whining of the "pathetically self-serving Duke and Duchess of Sussex" and believes there's no mistaking who truly understands the concept of Royal duty.

In a world where partisan politics has invaded so much of our lives, it's good to have a unifying, non-political force, such the Royal family, who can draw attention to important issues, like mental health and support for the critical early childhood years, as William and Kate have done.

There's more to the Royal family than corgis and crowns.

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