Her Majesty is EIGHTY! May the people rejoice. This is a day of blessings and blues. I ask for no choice in them. Let's celebrate! Yes. The Queen is 80! Long live The QUEEN!!!

As I watched the world media fall over themselves to bring us the event, I sense a sensitivity that is absent in most other such coverage: DECORUM. There is a king near India that is being covered this day as well: DERISION. What a media-world apart!

At eighty, and with over fifty years on the throne of her forebears, this queen has put every step right. Huge landmarks. Tested. And tried. She bowed as the casket of Diana, her late very estranged daughter-in-law and the People's Princess, passed her at the state funeral. A decade ago. That footage, that memorable shot, shot the monarchy way up and re-cemented Elizabeth The Second as the People's Queen.

The Queen knows the world has changed. And she is as flexible as they come. Canadians and Australians, for example, can count on her understanding whenever they choose to go fully republican. The birthday celebrations have been remarkable in several ways, in particular as they portray Her Majesty as a healthy, dignified and measured modern-day monarch. The UK should be truly proud of her. So should The Commonwealth of Nations.

Happy Birthday, Your Majesty, and Long Live The Queen!