Royal wedding etiquette for the metropolitan sophisticate, p20

The faded glory of music hall, p68

The flair of the film poster, p61

5 Leading article 9 Portrait of the Week 11 Diary A.A. Gill 12 Politics James Forsyth 13 The Spectator’s Notes 19 Rod Liddle 22 Barometer 28 Mind your language 31 Matthew Parris 32 Hugo Rifkind 44 James Delingpole 46 Letters 49 Any other business Martin Vander Weyer 96 Ancient and modern

Kate Chisholm, Roger Alton, Michael Heath and Dave are away.

14 The meaning of a marriage There are fine constitutional reasons to be excited about William and Kate Andrew Roberts 15 Roy Kelly ‘Hanging’: a poem 16 A royal notebook

Hugo Vickers 20 How to play the big day

A guide to royal wedding talk Quentin Letts 22 Harlem renaissance

A revolution in education Mary Wakefield 26 ‘What is truth?’

Pilate and the Gospels Bruce Anderson 28 Mexistan America’s toxic neighbour

William von Raab 34 Golden age

A celebration of our most influential and inspiring over-80s, with tributes by Ian Rankin, Peter Oborne, David Cameron, Nick Clegg, Alex Salmond, Martin Rees, William Waldegrave, Matt Ridley, Martin Gayford and Chris Beetles

40 Smart South and Deep South America’s divided rebel country

Florence King 41 Koo Stark’s notebook 42 Scotland the broke Welcome to fiscal fantasyland

Gerald Warner Books 52 A. N. Wilson

G.K. Chesterton, by Ian Ker 54 Lewis Jones Graven with

Diamonds, by Nicola Shulman Toby Jones Lucky Break,

by Esther Freud 55 John Preston The Coincidence

Engine, by Sam Leith Philip Hancock

‘Mind in the Halo’: a poem 56 James Buchan

The Shah, by Abbas Milani Kathryn Maris

‘Last Supper’: a poem 57 James Grande The Omnipotent

Magician, by Jane Brown 58 Alexander Chancellor

Much More of This, Old Boy?, by Peter Paterson

Cover by Morten Morland. Drawings by Michael Heath, Phil Disley, Ian Tovey, Kipper Williams, Morten Morland, Russell, Nick Newman, Grizelda, Geoff Thompson Adam Singleton, Bernie, Roger Latham, K.J. Lamb, Cookson, Robert Thompson and Wilbur www.spectator.co.uk To subscribe to The Spectator for £104 a year, turn to page 58 Editorial and advertising The Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP, Tel: 020 7961 0200, Fax: 020 7961 0250, Email: editor@spectator.co.uk (editorial); letters@spectator.co.uk (for publication); advertising@spectator.co.uk (advertising); Advertising enquiries: 020 7961 0219 Advertising fax: 020 7961 0020 Subscription and delivery queries Spectator Subscriptions Dept., 800 Guillat Avenue, Kent Science Park, Sittingbourne ME9 8GU; Tel: 01795 592886 Fax: 0870 220 0290; Email: spectator@servicehelpline.co.uk Newsagent queries Spectator Circulation Dept, 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP, Tel: 020 7961 0200, Fax: 020 7961 0057, Email: dstam@spectator.co.uk Distributor COMAG Specialist, Tavistock Works, Tavistock Road, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QX Vol 315; nos 9530 and 9531 © The Spectator (1828) Ltd. ISSN 0038-6952 The Spectator is published weekly by The Spectator (1828) Ltd at 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP Editor: Fraser Nelson

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the spectator | 23/30 April 2011 | www.spectator.co.uk