The expression used by the Queen of Britain of the death year of the 'people's princess' in the nineties well applies as 2020 departs. That was a one-family crisis; this is a people's crisis world-wide. It is the first truly global pandemic for a century, following World War One. Governance seems close to collapse: globally in the UN system; and in weak, near-failing nation-states or under harsh authoritarianism.