Does this do what it says on the tin and does it matter if it doesn't? At the start of the V&A's latest exhibition you're led to believe that the objects on display will tell a particular story. This, according to a board at the entrance, is the story of diplomatic gift-exchange between the Tudor and Stuart courts and their counterparts in Russia – then known as Muscovy.

But the crown prince and princess too are part of the soft power strategy of Spain. That was why they were in New York, part of a quiet tour of the U.S. northeast.... in the party in the Cervantes institute were a select audience susceptible to their brand of royalty: prominent leaders of the Hispanic community in the U.S., an audience well aware of their own historical links to Spain on various levels...

Later this year, Britain is dispatching to Asia its ultimate “soft power” asset, Prince William and his wife Catherine. This concerted flurry of British diplomatic activity suggests that – for all the media focus on US President Barack Obama’s “pivot” to Asia and China’s assertiveness in the Spratlys – other major powers such as Britain are also ratcheting up their regional presence.

Just before the royal wedding the Queen made one of her most remarkable acts of public diplomacy: taking the first visit to Ireland by a reigning British monarch in a century. Three or even two decades earlier, the Queen would have been taking an enormous risk in visiting a country where hatred of England is almost an article of faith.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth connects with people easily, Prince Charles sometimes struggles and Diana had connectivity in spades.The big test for William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, on their first international tour was how they would take to the crowds and how the crowds would take to them.