Queen Elizabeth II has been our monarch throughout my life. Much has changed in the years since 1952 but she has been a constant. Through the White Box I would like to convey my own sincere thoughts to her family while wishing the very best to the New King.

How wonderful was her promise as a young Princess and how diligently she has kept it. “I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.”

Yesterday we were in Strasbourg and amongst all the hustle bustle of tourists, a couple came up to us and commiserated with us for the loss of our dear Queen – so moving.

The portrait I have chosen is by Edward Irving Halliday. It belongs to Liverpool Corporation and can be seen in The Walker Gallery in Liverpool. Although completed in 1955 it was started some seven years early and represents the time that this young Princess made that wonderful promise of duty.