millions but by billions of people, and we are all invited to witness the start of a new chapter in the story of these ancient islands, a rather modern appendage. just in case there is a spot of rain. for a thousand years, kings and queens have been crowned at westminster, but today the people in the abbey and all of us watching will expect a ceremony that certainly blends the ancient with the modern, because it has to reflect the rich diversity of today's united kingdom and the commonwealth of nations. we can all of us admire the architectural wonder of the abbey, but it also offers a long pageant of british history, and today it serves as the grandest of theatres. look at that. the great, golden expanse of the