Is it the end of the line for the United Kingdom as we know it, with Her Majesty likely to be left in-charge of only bits of the country as other constituents break away from the mainland?
In the year of the Queen's diamond jubilee celebrations, it might sound like a rather rude question to ask but, suddenly, it is on everyone's lips and the buzz is that it is no longer an issue of “if” but “when” the United Kingdom would disintegrate. Indeed, many claim they even know the exact date.
If a recent survey by Ipsos Mori is to be believed, “half of Britons” believe that the United Kingdom would cease to exist after 20 years with 49 per cent saying that it “would be over by 2032”. The intimations of mortality have been further fuelled with a senior Conservative Party MP from Wales likening the UK to the
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“It's holed below the waterline. It's just a question of how long it takes to sink,” said David Davies, chairman of Welsh Affairs committee which is taking evidence from a commission set up to examine devolving more powers to Wales.
All this in a week when Scotland announced plans for a referendum on independence in 2014 with opinion polls showing a significant rise in public support for an independent Scotland. Is it then au revoir Her Majesty?