I HAD a front-row seat on a moment of history yesterday when Prince Charles took centre stage to deliver the Queen’s Speech.
Next to him was the lonely Imperial State Crown, resting on the cushioned table in front of the unoccupied throne.
For the first time the monarch passed on this most sacred of royal duties to her eldest son, confirming the immense faith she has in the Prince of Wales.
Performing the State Opening of Parliament in the House of Lords is a key role for our head of state.
But it is not unusual for the crown that Elizabeth wore on her coronation day 69 years ago to be somewhere else apart from the monarch’s head at this annual ceremony.
The 2.3lb gold, silver and platinum headpiece is too heavy for the 96-year-old.
Read more on the Queen's Speech
And it is becoming increasingly obvious that the weight of our sovereign’s 70 years of service to the nation are now too much for her to carry alone.
That is why it is right that Charles should be taking on more and more responsibility.
We are in a transition from Queen to the future King.
As the Queen watched on television as her eldest son delivered the Government’s wishes, she must have felt the monarchy was in safe hands.
She was also still firmly in charge — her authority represented by the crown which Charles sat alongside.
This gradual shift of responsibility from mother to son has been going on for some time.
Charles took over from Elizabeth II to lay the wreath at the Cenotaph in London on the most recent Remembrance Sunday, he stood in for her at the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow in November and has been decorating the nation’s honoured citizens with knighthoods, CBEs and MBEs.
The Prince has had what must be the longest apprenticeship for any job, and yesterday he passed another test with flying colours.
I have been told he had the speech, which laid out the intentions of Boris Johnson’s Conservative government, a couple of days earlier in case the Queen couldn’t make it.
He has clearly been watching carefully.
After Prince Philip retired from royal duties in 2017, before his sad death last year, Charles took on the role of supporting his mother at the state opening.
The Queen’s absence offered the chance for another apprentice to see how it is done.
Sitting to his right, Charles’ eldest son William gazed over the rows of peers and judges. Those misguided commentators who snipe that the crown might pass from the Queen to William, missing out Charles altogether, must now accept how wrong they are.
The Queen has already made it clear that Camilla will be our next Queen and it appears she is getting the royal house in order.
The last time I photographed Elizabeth II was at Windsor Castle last October when she was on her feet for more than an hour chatting to Microsoft founder Bill Gates and other multi-millionaires. The following day I flew to Northern Ireland where the Queen was due to attend a church service.
But as I landed I was told doctors had advised her against travelling that day.
The Queen had to undergo a series of tests and was kept in hospital overnight.
Since then the other time she had left her royal residence was to attend the Duke of Edinburgh’s memorial service at Westminster Abbey in March.
That was possible because the Poet’s Corner entrance is a very short walk to her pew.
With the Platinum Jubilee celebrations three weeks away I hope the Queen can once more find a way to attend.
I ask myself why she doesn’t get a wheelchair, to arrive like one member of the House of Lords did yesterday.
It would say so much to hundreds of thousands of wheelchair users.
By accepting this means of overcoming those “episodic mobility problems” she could enjoy the Jubilee celebrations much more.
It is no shame, Ma’am, at 96 to publicly acknowledge that the legs no longer deliver what the mind wants.
With Charles taking on more duties, some people are describing this as a de facto Regency.
But the heir to the throne can only be a Regent, like George IV when his father King George III was declared unfit to rule in 1811, if the monarch is mentally incapable.
That is definitely not the case. The Queen is as sharp as ever, speaking to foreign dignitaries and our Prime Minister on a regular basis.
It could, though, be worth considering asking Princess Anne to take on greater duties. It would make sense to appoint her as a Counsellor of State.
William was by his father’s side because two Counsellors of State must fill in for the Queen when she is unable to open Parliament.
Sadly, one of the other two Counsellors of State is Prince Andrew, who is banned from all royal duties. The other, Prince Harry, is absent without leave.
The only two other times the Queen missed the State Opening of Parliament were when she was pregnant with Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.
Now she is 96 there will inevitably be more absences.
Read More on The Celeb Report
But we must hope that does not include the Platinum Jubilee.
The people will come to see Trooping The Colour and the Pageant, but what they want most of all is to see you, Your Majesty.
