The 15 realms that acknowledge Queen Elizabeth II as their monarch have spent the weekend celebrating her Platinum Jubilee. The queen has reigned for 70 years, a record surpassed only by King Louis XIV of France and, if you count nonsovereign states, Sobhuza II of Swaziland, who assumed the throne at the age of four months and held it until his death nearly 83 years later.

Consider the record of other nations during her 70 years. Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union have disappeared. West Germany went from being under partial occupation to full sovereignty and eventual unification with East Germany. France saw Charles de Gaulle’s coup and the establishment of a new regime. Spain and Portugal moved bumpily from dictatorship to constitutional rule. And that is in relatively orderly Europe. Elsewhere, constitutions came and went like editions of periodical magazines.