In this, The Queen's Golden Jubilee year, Sue Mapp, London Press Service correspondent tells

How the monarchy keeps abreast of the times

When the recently crowned Queen Elizabeth II toured the far corners of the Commonwealth close to 50 years ago, her main option was to travel by sea.

She sailed the world in the Royal yacht Britannia and her long itinerary included official visits to Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the Caribbean island of Jamaica.

This year, as she celebrates her Golden Jubilee on the throne, she will visit these same countries again, reaching them in a matter of hours by air.

The Royal yacht Britannia was decommissioned four years ago, and the Queen, albeit with personal sadness, understood the government's decision. Although intended as a money-saver, it reflected the dramatic change in travel patterns during her reign.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

In 50 years of accelerating change in so many spheres since her accession to the throne in 1952 and her coronation the following year, the Queen has constantly had to face the challenge of representing stability and continuity while keeping the monarchy abreast of the times - even into a new century.

A palace spokesman says: "There is a paradoxical expectation from the British public that this is an institution which has to represent national traditions but also has to remain relevant. It's not an easy balance but a crucial one."

Popular financial initiatives by the Queen that have broken with tradition have included her decision in April 1993 to pay income tax and to take all members of the Royal Family except herself, the Duke of Edinburgh and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, off the Civil List which pays official Royal costs from public funds.

Taking advantage of the scope for photography and film more available to her than her predecessors, one of the main ways in which the Queen has tried to modernise the monarchy is to make herself, her family, her daily work, her homes and her art treasures more accessible, both visually and physically.

Perhaps the most obvious manifestation was the launch of the Royal website (at www.royal.gov.uk) in March 1997, allowing people worldwide direct access to a huge fount of information at the click of a computer mouse.

With regard to seeing her face to face, the scope has widened immeasurably. When she became Queen, young aristocratic debutantes still had the rare privilege of being presented at the Royal court.

Now, as head of a 60 million-strong, multi-ethnic United Kingdom, the Queen hosts garden parties, receptions and investitures for people from all walks and stations of life, both at Buckingham Palace, London, and at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland.

For example, all UK babies born on her accession day are being invited to a special Golden Jubilee garden party.

Besides meeting a cross-section of her subjects who attend the formal palace garden parties, the Queen is now able to talk in more depth with guests from different areas of national life who are invited to informal private lunches with her and the Duke of Edinburgh. This was the Duke's own idea and eight are held every year, mixing assorted professionals and enabling the Royal couple to keep in touch with developments in each field.

With similar aims, since 1998 the Queen and Duke have participated in a series of themed days, each focusing on an important aspect of UK life and giving them a comprehensive look at how it works and the parts that people play.

The themes to date have been the City of London (the capital's financial hub), the theatre, publishing, the emergency services and broadcasting. Each day involves about five workplace engagements and, with London-based themes, an evening reception at Buckingham Palace for about 650 people.

In order to contribute to the great cost of repairs to Windsor Castle, near London, after the 1992 fire, the Queen decided to open the 19 state rooms of Buckingham Palace to the paying public for a period each summer.

This arrangement has continued annually and the revenue is now used to help pay for the conservation, acquisition and display of the Royal collection of art treasures, one of the biggest private collections in the world, which receives no public money.

The Royal Collection Trust was set up nine years ago to manage the collection. Its commercial arm, Royal Collection Enterprises, is funding a major extension of the Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace and the introduction of a Queen's Gallery at Holyroodhouse, both opening in Jubilee Year for public view

Following the example of Diana, the late Princess of Wales, Royal engagements and walkabouts have become more informal and in more commonplace settings. In 1998, a year after her death, during which time the Royal Family re-assessed its public image, a communications secretary was appointed to be a media strategist for Royal activities.

Industry directors are seconded to this palace position for two years. The first came from British Gas and the second, now engaged in overall media planning for Jubilee Year, is from British Airways.

But as far back as 1994 the Royal Family set up what it calls 'The Way Ahead' process, whereby members meet twice yearly to look at their engagements during the six months ahead and try, as a palace spokesman said, to "target them more pro-actively and ensure they strike the right chords".

A co-ordination and research unit does advance evaluations of regions and local economies, as well as demographic breakdowns, towards achieving this.

For the past three years the Royal Family has commissioned an annual public opinion poll for its private use in decision making - on the monarchy and the Royal Family, to track prevailing views among different age, gender and regional groups.

In more symbolic gestures, since 1997 the Union Flag is now always flown over Buckingham Palace, and the Royal Arms of Scotland over the Palace of Holyroodhouse, when the Queen is not in residence - the Royal Standard flies when she is there - to emphasise that these buildings are national focal points.

In 1998 the Queen said that the Lord Chancellor need no longer walk backwards down the few stairs from her throne in the House of Lords after presenting her with her speech at the State Opening of Parliament. A previous Lord Chancellor, Lord Hailsham, had been allowed to break this tradition briefly in the early 1980s because of his lameness and now all Lord Chancellors have the Queen's express permission to turn their backs on her as they descend those steps in ceremonial robes. Another step in the right direction for a modern monarchy.

Related link:

Official Web Site of the British Monarchy
www.royal.gov.uk