TV journalism royalty lifts lid on the mysticism of the monarchy

You may not have noticed - perhaps you've been on a solo circumnavigation of the globe, or exploring the vastness of Antarctica - but the royal family has been enmeshed in scandal of late.

- Philip Cunnington

A decade or more of divorce, death and dubious behaviour has seen more and more questions raised about the royals' place in the life of the country, and now here comes one of the best TV inquisitors of them all to ask some more.

Age is showing on the face of David Dimbleby these days, but his new series What's the Monarchy For? (BBC1, Tues, 9pm) shows his mind is as sharp as ever.

For Dimbleby, this may be like shooting particularly expensive fish in an exquisitely inlaid barrel, but given what we have learned about the royals over the last few years, these are questions that seem particular pertinent these days, questions which might finally dispel "the mysticism about the monarchy".

This first episode looked at power, and how the monarchy wields its own kind of power while also being at the mercy of others, even more powerful.

As socialist commentator points out, Dimbleby may seem an unlikely person to look at the ins and outs of inherited social position, given his father was a senior BBC journalist, and he went to Charterhouse public school and Oxford.