AS HER MAJESTY MARKS HER 76TH BIRTHDAY THE QUEEN DAME JOANNA LUMLEY AND FRIENDS TELL WHY SHE IS SO WELL SUITED TO THE ROLE

'Queen Camilla is a tremendous asset, a wonderful figurehead and a tremendous name to add to our great royal heritage' Dame Joanna

- TRACY SCHAVERIEN

As she celebrates her first birthday since becoming Queen, Her Majesty will no doubt be reflecting on an eventful year and be looking forward to a well-deserved summer break.

At 76, Camilla is busier than ever, having taken on the biggest role of her life at a time when many people are enjoying a quiet retirement. A few weeks with the King at his Scottish retreat, Balmoral, will give the couple a chance to recharge before royal life resumes in earnest in the autumn.

Since the coronation in May, when she was crowned alongside her husband, the Queen has been travelling around the country carrying out official engagements and supporting her favourite charities, as well as hosting receptions and receiving dignitaries at royal residences.

Earlier this month, she was at the King’s side in Edinburgh as he received the Honours of Scotland – the UK’s oldest crown jewels – to cement his role as monarch north of the border.

And last week, she was in the Royal Box at Wimbledon as she attended the tennis championships solo and for the first time as Queen, meeting ball boys and girls, as well as a search dog – a labrador called Flo – before settling down to watch the quarter-finals.

Getting into the spirit of the sport in a white Fiona Clare dress with black trim, Her Majesty revealed that she had herself been a ball girl at the Queen’s Club Championships in Kensington “a hundred years ago”.

SPECIAL SALUTE 

Although she is expected to spend her birthday on 17 July privately with family, the military will mark the occasion with a 62-gun royal salute at Tower Wharf and, just down the road from Buckingham Palace, a 41-gun royal salute in Green Park.