> Funny enough it feels like the popularity, if not support, of the monarchy has never been higher in Northern Ireland. A lot of that is about the Nationalist

> Funny enough it feels like the popularity, if not support, of the monarchy has never been higher in Northern Ireland. A lot of that is about the Nationalist community feeling more confident, feeling that history is now on their side and they just have to wait out the inevitable. Demographic change is causing Catholics to outnumber Protestants. The future of the UK seems uncertain, Scottish independence may no longer be an immediate prospect, but its long-term odds (within the next few decades) seem quite decent, and Scottish independence when it eventually happens is likely to have a cascading effect on the stability of the UK as a whole, significantly increasing the odds of Irish unity. Sinn Fein could soon be running Dublin. The British monarchy begins to seem less a symbol of the hated oppressor, more like some charming elderly eccentric whom you know is not long for this world, and you might as well enjoy their hospitality in their last days.