It was somehow appropriate, given the tension between his public role and his personal opinions, that remarks made yesterday by the Prince of Wales and intended to clarify his views on education were described by his officials as “private” even as they released to the public a partial text. Whatever the official status of yesterday’s comments at Lambeth Palace, the Prince has discovered again this past week that any proclamation of his, however discreet, may in due course be circulated more widely and, perhaps unfairly, invite criticism.

Members of the Royal Family must constantly walk the tightrope of discretion. Critics of the heir to the throne drew a contrast last week, as they have before, between the occasional loquacity of the Prince and the quiet professionalism of his mother, whose private views have remained private for more than half a century on the throne. But the Prince has made an important contribution to various debates, even if his comments attract more controversy than serious discussion.

The Queen has squared the competing needs by keeping mum. The nation owes much respect to the Queen for her willingness to second personal opinion to the demands of public discretion. Successive prime ministers have valued her insight, born of half a century on the throne, and her consequent advice. Jim Callaghan regarded Her Majesty as the only person in whom he could confide and be certain that his confidences would not leak.

Her Majesty has not expressed a view in public on anything so small even as the cost of a pint of milk (an issue which might be considered rather political these days, given the protests of farmers against the power of large supermarkets).

Being a professional, today’s events in the House of Lords must feel like annual torture for the Queen. For one morning a year a monarch who prides herself on complete impartiality is forced to behave like a party political broadcast. Dull the words of the Queen’s Speech might be, but the message behind them is clear, and it is a political one. To expect Her Majesty to parrot the partisan wish list of the Government shows ingratitude and disrespect. The insult is compounded this year because a general election is expected next spring and the Government’s agenda outlined today clearly leads into that poll. Her Majesty is therefore being forced to act as mouthpiece and as an activist for the Labour Party.

The Queen and the country deserve better. It is appropriate that the monarch should open a Parliament with a brief speech, but they should be words of her choosing, broad and unbiased. They might reflect the nation’s current concerns, and underline the importance of a vigorous democracy. The Prime Minister could then reveal his plans himself, and would have the opportunity to broaden his speech if he so wished into something similar to the annual State of the Union address in the United States. Each to his, or her, own — today’s words are not Her Majesty’s own.