In his Confessions St Augustine describes how, when studying in Rome, he was persuaded by friends to go to the Colloseum to watch the gladiators do battle. Despite being an ardent pacifist he found himself “drinking in the frenzy, unawares, and was delighted with that guilty fight, and intoxicated with the bloody pastime.” A similar guilty pleasure was experienced by tens of thousands around the world as they watched the Royal wedding last Friday. People who, in principle, are implacably opposed to the institution of monarchy and have no interest in the Royals found themselves surprisingly moved by the occasion.