IT'S enough to turn you pale with horror. For a moment on Saturday night we were a mere fake Bin Laden away from the inconceivable. With almost the entire royal family in one place, if the fake Osama had been the real thing we could have been left with... King Edward IX.

Fortunately, the man who gatecrashed Prince William's 21st wasn't the real Osama, or even one of his followers. He was a failed stand-up comic, Aaron Barschak, who saw carrying out the most audacious royal stunt since Michael Fagan broke into the Queen's bedroom as a quick way to gain some much-needed publicity. Well, he got that bit right, at least.

There are some serious lessons to be learned from what happened on Saturday night.

Firstly, even the remote possibility that someone such as Edward should ever succeed to a position as powerful and influential as that of king highlights how deeply unsatisfactory our system of constitutional monarchy is. It recalls the days when Dan Quayle was a heartbeat away from the US presidency.

Just as there was much soul-searching in the US then that such a man could have come so close to so much power, any right-thinking Brit must feel there is a better way of choosing the next head of state than leaving it to the vagaries of chance and inheritance.

We were lucky with the Queen, who has proved after 50 years to be a dignified, decent monarch with a strong sense of duty. We may even be lucky with William. But leaving something as important as the selection of our next head of state to luck is not good enough: and as good an argument for reform (or abolition) of the monarchy as I can think of.

Secondly, as the inevitable fall-out began, the sound of asses being covered could be heard across the land.

Metropolitan police commissioner Sir John Stevens apologising to the royal family for the 'appalling' security breach, and somehow managing to make it clear at the same time that it was not his fault and he would find and punish those responsible; Home Secretary David Blunkett demanding a full-scale security shake-up, and making clear it wasn't his fault either; and Tony Blair, who no doubt repeated the outraged "it wasn't my fault Guv, but we'll find the person who was responsible" mantra at his weekly meeting with the Queen.

Time was when those in charge carried the can when anything went wrong. Not any more. What's the betting the bloke who will cop the blame for Saturday night is the poor copper who encountered Barschak when he was already in the palace grounds and gave him directions to the fancy dress party.

If that happens, it will be a disgrace and an act of cowardice by politicians and police chiefs. It is clear that what went wrong on Saturday was something far more serious than simply one policeman's failure to recognise that a fancy-dress-clad party-goer was, in fact, a gatecrasher.

A real investigation is needed into the security arrangements surrounding our head of state, not simply a blame-finding witch-hunt.

Thirdly, Barschak is neither a hero nor a villain, so shouldn't be treated as one. He was a self-serving publicity- seeker and the best way to deal with him is to ignore him. So no more "my story" splashes in the tabloids.

Finally, if he is a genuine stand-up comic, what was he doing down in Windsor anyway? He should have been up here in York taking part in our comedy festival, like any other self-respecting comedian.

Updated: 11:08 Wednesday, June 25, 2003