It is the kind of spectacle Britain does best. The bunting is out. An official pudding has been declared. The whole country is preparing for a long weekend of street parties and parades.

At the centre of it all is a woman who has been a fixture of British life for 70 years. Few people today can even remember a time before Elizabeth II was Queen. Her platinum jubileeMajor anniversaries of coronations and other public events are called jubilees, and named after materials of increasing value. Fifty years, for instance, is a golden jubilee. this weekend is proof of the sense of continuity she creates.

Elizabeth is only the fourth monarch in history to celebrate a platinum jubilee, after Louis XIVA 17th-Century French king who expanded the powers of the French monarchy and turned his country into the greatest power in the world. However, by the end of his long, 72-year reign he had squandered much of this advantage. of France, Johann IIA 19th-Century Prince of Liechtenstein who issued the country's first and second constitutions. of LiechtensteinA microstate located in the Alps, between Switzerland and Austria. It has one of the highest GDPs per capita in the world. and BhumibolKing of Thailand between 1946 and 2016. He was widely respected in Thailand but also criticised by activists who accused him of repressing his political opponents. of Thailand. She recently surpassed Johann to become the third-longest reigning monarch, and if she stays on the throne for another two years, she will beat out Louis to take the top spot.

The jubilee weekend serves as a reminder of just how devoted many people in Britain are to the monarch. Some 85,000 people have signed up to host 16,000 street parties.

And so perhaps it is no surprise that people in other countries want a piece of the action. One political scientist in the USA, Curtis YarvinAn American political scientist who has been associated with the alt-right, although he rejects the label. He holds extreme libertarian and reactionary views and has also made racist comments about Black people., recently made waves when he argued that the USA should replace its democratic system with a monarchy.

He believes the USA is not really a democracy, but an oligarchy run by a small elite. And he thinks democratic governments with a separation of powersThe principle that the powers of the government - making laws, executing laws and adjudicating in legal cases - should be exercised by completely separate bodies within it. have an in-built tendency to meddle more and more in people's lives.

Paradoxically, he argues, we would be freer under an authoritarian, unelected government with a monarch, because they would have no interest in interfering in our personal affairs.

Yarvin is a controversial figure, associated with the far-right, accused of holding profoundly racist views. He is far from mainstream.

But he is not the only American who is increasingly interested in the monarchical model. Some people with more moderate political views believe it is useful to have a figure who can stand above party politics.

They think America is divided because at any given time, around half the country has voted against the head of state. They suggest a neutral head of state with limited powers could act as a unifying figure - embodying the nation as a whole rather than a party.

In fact, some historians think America almost did become a monarchy after it rebelled against British rule. It is thought that some revolutionaries even invited a Prussian prince to come and be king of the new independent America, although this was not a popular proposal.

Indeed, historian Eric Nelson argues that the American Revolution was itself a monarchist movement, seeking to restore powers of the British monarchy that had been usurped by Parliament. 

He claims that many on the Patriot side wanted the king to rule the American colonies directly. And after the war, these American monarchists threw their energy into developing the next-best thing: a president with powers to rival those of a monarch.

Yes: Every system needs someone who can stand above the fray. A monarch with limited powers can be a symbol of national unity even as political parties battle it out.

No: A monarchy can be just as politically divisive as an elected president. No-one is even sure if the British monarchy will last past the reign of Elizabeth. Now would be a strange time to introduce a royal family.

Or... You cannot simply transplant the political system of one country directly into another. It takes time for institutions to develop and gain legitimacy. An American monarchy would need to develop organically.