I doubt she notices one way or another. She crams the next five mins into her head and then has to make way for the next five mins, with someone whispering in her ear.

I doubt I shall lose sleep over the fact that according to the photos, both times I have been presented to her, I was wearing the same suit despite them being four years apart.

Princess Anne shook my hand whilst I was wearing dirty overalls though, when she came to our pit for a look round. I remember at the time, wondering why we have such a weird concept as royalty, but since then, my balls have dropped. I tend to feel sorry for them instead.

I do however fully agree with what became a bit of a consensus in Australia when they last looked at republicanism. "The present system has to be better than someone who actually wants to be head of state."