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