One may have dismissed the other’s “plastic smile” but the Duchess of Cambridge and the author Hilary Mantel have been held up in a US magazine as Britain’s beacons of global influence.
They were named alongside presidents, dictators and music stars in Time’s 100 most influential people. The rundown includes no examples of serious political influence, with the rest of the Royal Family and David Cameron joining Britain’s sporting icons and musicians among the also-rans.
“One is very photographic and one is very readable. That’s what we are now, images and words,” said John Sutherland, emeritus professor at University College London.
“We don’t have much of a Navy, an Army or an Air Force. We’re soft. Neither of these figures can claim greatness.”
The