While China's lack of progress towards democracy casts a sour note amid the Olympic celebrations, a sunnier story comes from the South Pacific. Tonga's King Siaosi Tupou V has announced that he has decided to surrender his absolute powers "to meet the democratic aspirations of his people".

This gesture may have been prompted by pro-democracy unrest - His Majesty lacks the popularity of his late father who, at 33 stone, was officially the world's heaviest monarch - but it is still to be welcomed.

And it seems to be part of a trend. Last month, the young king of Bhutan indicated that his country's gross national happiness (a measure his father famously invented) would be best served by his signing a new constitution establishing democratic elections. If only the ruler of next-door Nepal had followed suit, and not seized total power for himself in 2005, he might still be King Gyanendra, instead of plain Mr G Shah, as he became at the end of May.

The NS does not approve of monarchies, but if we are to have kings they should remember that a little humility can go a long way. King Ronnie of Buganda, for instance, was restored to his throne in Uganda in 1993 only after enduring spells as a gas fitter in Reading and a double-glazing salesman in Kilburn. The role of the king is mainly ceremonial, but one feels sure his empathy for his subjects was increased by his previous jobs - not least because he managed only one sale while in Kilburn.

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