The leaders’ summit to be held in London this coming week might be the most significant of its kind in the long history of the Commonwealth. This remnant of empire has looked increasingly irrelevant and adrift in recent years, short on leadership, direction and political purpose, yet for the first time in decades the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is a matter of intense interest to many member countries – and to the British government in particular. The unpredictable outcome of the summit is also creating a stir among the inhabitants of Buckingham Palace and Clarence House.