Here's a supposedly autocratic holdover from an era of despotic abuse of common people in the name of privilege, or to put it simply: The current heir of the family that proved to be bigger, nastier thieves than anyone else, and she doesn't have to shelter behind a billion dollars of walls and thousands of riot police like the peoples' choices just finished doing.
Way back in the 'fifties, during a Cold War thaw, USSR heads Bulganin and Malenkov visited London, and these representatives of the Workers Democracy had to socialize with the tyrant, who had only reigned as Queen a few short years. When they expressed a desire to see something of London after their audience, she called for her car and insisted on driving them about the city, just the three of them.
Considering she's met weekly and discussed events with every British PM since Churchill and met just about every other HoS and HoG, it's a terrible shame that only PM Cameron and not the rest of the world gets the benefit. Cheap at the price.
Now back to the progressive, modern way we do things: Bring on the G20 threads. Such an improvement!