THERE are those who would follow the historic reign of our Queen Elizabeth II by abolishing the monarchy and forming a republic.

Others would skip a generation and elevate the Duke of Cambridge to the throne, or skip another to Prince George if Prince William is greying by then.

In light of the possibility of Remain winning the referendum, I would suggest a further option.

Some may comfort themselves with the thought that Remain is a safe vote to keep things the same. But it would be our seal of approval and non-retractable mandate to continue and accelerate change towards a European state.

Often that change has been at the slow, almost imperceptible pace of salami slicing and frog boiling. But that is all the more reason to take the tipping point of a Remain victory as the moment to recognise and celebrate this otherwise unsung change. And if it isn’t something to celebrate, why would we be doing it?

The option I am suggesting is for Prince Charles to succeed as... Prince Charles.

For a subordinate tier of administration to style itself as a kingdom and have its own king would be a clear case of status dysphoria.

It would be more appropriate to rebrand the kingdoms of Scotland and England as principalities and to create a principality of Ulster. We would become the United Principalities. If a later generation is permitted to challenge our EU membership again then we can celebrate their defeat by becoming the United Counties.

JG Riseley, Harrogate