Once all the guests have arrived, the Queen comes to join them, along with her remaining corgis, which as usual stay with her for the entire drinks time and the meal. The corgis have quite an important function on these occasions; they give people something safe and innocuous to talk about, while creating a diversion. Once an old family favourite, Heather, was misbehaving, and the Queen snapped sharply at the dog: ‘Heather!’ – making the opera singer Heather Harper, who was a guest that day, nearly jump out of her skin.

Lunch is served promptly at ten past one. The palace steward slips into the room, catches the Queen’s eye and says: ‘Luncheon, Your Majesty.’ The Queen nods and then says casually: ‘Shall we go in, then?’ She leaves a few seconds to give everyone the chance to finish their drinks and then she leads the way into the 1844 Room. There is a seating plan just outside the dining room, and if guests haven’t spotted it, the ever-vigilant equerry or lady-in-waiting points it out so that everyone is seated smoothly. The Queen always chooses who she wants to sit beside, and this most important male guest will be on her right, while Prince Philip has the most interesting female guest on his right. People are always somewhat surprised to see that the Queen does not sit at the head of the table. Her place on these occasions is in the middle, with Prince Philip facing her.

As Lewis Hamilton discovered, there is a very definite ritual regarding conversation at the table. Throughout the first and second courses, the Queen talks to the person on her right. While the pudding and cheese are being eaten, she turns automatically and chats to the guest on her left. She has now ‘done’ two people, and perhaps spoke to a couple in the Bow Room while the drinks were being served. She still has six to go. The point of these lunches is that both she and Prince Philip have some sort of conversation with all the guests.