I was very lucky to be at Trooping the Colour on Saturday.

The sentiment being voiced, with a strong feeling of pride, was ‘There’s no doubt no one does it better than we do’.

We were filled with admiration and sheer wonder at those young men, who drilled and paraded, as the fabulous military bands played. The pageantry and sense of continuity was almost touchable. With the sun shining and brass gleaming, it was magic.

We are so lucky to have our Queen and she is very hard-working into the bargain. Would all those thousands of people attending the ceremony and lining the Mall have felt strong emotion if it had been Gordon Brown taking the colours? I think not.

No, it is the fact that the Queen is separate and a constant, and no matter what shenanigans that lot at Westminster get up to, she is always our head of state – and long may it be so.

As I sat watching the ceremony – this time for real and not just on the TV as I previously have done many times – I was lucky to have sitting along side me an ex-Guardsman.

We chatted and he pointed out a few small details that I might otherwise have missed.

He also explained the origin of this very old ceremony, dating back to the days when the average soldier was often unable to read or write, so it was essential that he was shown the flag of his regiment in order that he knew this was the one he had to follow.

Well! They do say you learn something every day.