The royal wedding, as a semi-state occasion, does not include world leaders outside the Commonwealth -- so Presidents Obama and Sarkozy will have to find alternative diversions for April 29.

CNN: Who's going to the royal wedding? Check out the guest list!

Despite this liberation the queen remains a passive figure, sought out only if there is a crisis in the Commonwealth, a row over royal finances or a controversial state occasion such as the visit of the much-reviled Japanese Emperor Hirohito in 1971.

WSJ: Her Maj: 60 Years of Unofficial Portraits of the Queen | Cartoon Museum | Too Gentle on the Queen? | By Richard Holledge

The funeral -- officially ceremonial rather than a state occasion in a distinction invisible to all but the most pedantic royal watcher -- was the first for a former prime minister and war leader since Winston Churchill's body was borne along the same route a generation ago.

CNN: Voices from the street: London's farewell to Thatcher

By the summer of the following year, Hendrix was in such a state that on one occasion his entourage panicked and called Etchingham over to his hotel room.

BBC: Kathy Etchingham: Life as Jimi Hendrix's 'Foxy Lady'

When the planet's richest man drops by, the occasion is practically a state visit.

CNN: HEADING FOR A PORT IN A STORM

Some close to her had thought she might be bought off on this occasion, perhaps with more public funds going to her state.

ECONOMIST: Aim higher

Michigan wasn't the most likely Big Ten candidate this year the Wolverines were the No. 5 seed in the conference's tournament behind Indiana, Ohio State, Michigan State and Wisconsin yet no team from the Big Ten is as suited for the occasion.

WSJ: NCAA Championship: Best Team vs. Best Conference

As chairperson of that group, I had occasion to meet Perot and participate in a meeting he held in Dallas of all the state campaign chairpersons.

FORBES: Trump's Political Donations Are Left-Leaning

By tying funding to individual student outcomes, the state would in essence make sure that individual programs did what was best for students, even if that was on occasion counter to conventional wisdom.

FORBES: Notable online learning developments in 2010 not all positive ones