I’m delighted to discover what happens during a British citizenship ceremony. The process in the US has been dramatised several times (we watched Moscow on the Hudson this week, for example) and I have often wondered what happens in Britain.

I am a white (or mostly white) English male, born in London, and have never pledged allegiance to the Queen. So it’s kinda funny that you have to.

I’m not a royalist. But then, what you quote from “How Britain is Governed” makes perfect sense to an English “parliamentarian”. Governing power was wrested from the Monarchy 350 years back and political opinons are the stuff of Parliament and the Queen must keep hers to herself. (In fact she must keep all opinions to herself).

As for the unwritten constitution… Such things are best written after a revolution, perhaps, by the first “commander in chief”. But Cromwell was no Shakespeare, apparently. And history is different in England than in the US. I think of the law as the “constitution”.

Once again, thanks for the insight. And welcome to the EU. Perhaps you’ll get itchy feet and move to France where you now have the right to look for work - “sans formalités” - without needing to apply for a work permit. That’s what I’ve done.