I was asked to join the Queen’s pageant as a ‘national treasure’, but I won’t take part in this public relations exercise

As a lifelong republican and a thorn in the side of the establishment, I was gobsmacked to receive a letter from the organisers of the Queen’s platinum jubilee pageant inviting me to join the finale on 5 June outside Buckingham Palace, as one of a select group of “National Treasures … celebrated, respected and admired people”.

What, me? Surely some mistake. As a supporter of th...