The Royal Windsor Horse Show put on a number of evening performances dedicated to celebrating different royal events over the years, some better than others, but each special in its own way. I attended all of them and enjoyed them, so when it was announced that the first official event to celebrate Her Majesty The Queen's Platinum Jubilee was to be another pageant, as part of the horse show within the grounds of Windsor Castle, I was keen to purchase tickets. This proved even more of an issue than usual, and I ended up with completely different seats from the ones that I had booked, as did a number of people, when it was decided to change the layout of the seating after the tickets had been sold! This is not good a good policy!

The show was to be televised, which undoubtedly allowed many people to have a far better view of events than those of us who were there, but what could never be captured and conveyed on screen was the atmosphere. This is always the case with any event, but this was different. The atmosphere in the arena was different from any other show that I have seen there. I have always attended the performances that The Queen was to be at, because that always makes it more special, and had had some extremely good seats in the past. Our seats this time were not brilliant in terms of watching the show itself, but were located opposite the royal box, which more than made up for any gaps in our view of proceedings in the arena. 

There had been some recent concerns about Her Majesty's health and mobility problems, and while the ideal scenario was that The Queen would attend the performance as planned, this was by no means guaranteed, and after she failed to attend The State Opening of Parliament during the week, we were not at all sure that we would see her there. I cannot really describe the reaction around the arena when our Queen arrived, it was a combination of collective relief and joy - she was actually there with us to enjoy this celebration of her reign.

As I watched her emerge from behind her official vehicle I was shocked to see how tiny and fragile she had become. She seemed so frail as she made her way to her seat - positioned to make access as easy as possible. A small lift had been installed to help her, and with Prince Philip no longer at her side she looked very alone in this setting which was sad to see. I was, however, pleased to be able to see that she was clearly enjoying the performance, applauding and smiling throughout.

At the end of the evening Her Majesty was driven right around the arena, passing everyone as she departed. The spotlight was on in the back, and we could see her beautifully, smiling, waving and sparkling in her unique way. It gave me goosebumps as she passed by, and made me cry, as I realised that this was possibly the last time that I would see her. The crowd erupted into rapturous applause, and the feeling of love that we all felt for this very special lady was palpable. It was a very emotional moment for me, after following The Queen for so many years, and I clearly recall saying to my wife, through tears, that if this was my last sight of my Queen then I was happy with it as a memory to carry with me, because it had been a lovely evening that she had clearly enjoyed, and she had looked so very beautiful as she left. How wonderful it must have been for her to feel so much affection from so many people.