I don't know. The smallest thing can turn a person. I used to be all 'oh, the monarchy, meh,' but a quick curtsey, a small handshake and here I am all starry eyed about the queen.

So I've just got back from the, you know, palace, where I met and shook hands (no gloves) with the queen, princess Anne, Camilla, the countess of Wessex, and the duchess of Gloucester. And they were all jolly nice. Princess Anne said 'ooh, publishing. Cut-throat. Cut-throat business.' The queen said 'oh, publishing, very good' (or something, I was too starry eyed. She looks amazing for 81, and managed to be interested even after 200 people. Luckily I was one of the early ones.)

And then there was meeting sirs, and royal staff, and equerries and the like, and tiny canapes filled with Royal-grade Nutella, and champagne, and general this is the life stuff until 3pm, when we all went off to the pub to hoot about how we had got away with the Greatest Wheeze Ever which was to be invited to the Palace to meet the queen when we're just a bunch of lasses trying to make a little difference in our own ways.

It
Was
Grand.

I hope we don't get sent to the Tower, though, because only the queen is allowed to have her photo taken where Hazel and I stood (above). Oops. The nice man with the dog was quite understanding, though.