Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee balcony appearance is something that I will never forget. At the end of the long weekend of celebrations of this remarkable reign, which had involved millions of people visiting London to be a part of it in some way, there was an underlying feeling, especially amongst those of us who had watched and followed The Queen closely for so many years, that things were not quite as they seemed. We had accepted, with some disappointment, but also some concern, the explanations of mobility issues as good reason for her not to attend events in person, and I know that I had felt sad for her not to be able to be at the centre of things herself, after all this weekend was all about her. So when I found myself in a huge crowd outside the palace there was an air of expectation that something special was going to happen, based on nothing but hope really. There was no real information available, and we just stood there and waited. The cheer as the doors onto the balcony finally opened and Her Majesty appeared in view was deafening! Dressed in a vibrant green, and clutching her now familiar shepherd's crook style stick, The Queen stepped carefully onto the balcony, accompanied by The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall and the entire Cambridge family. There she stood, after 70 years, flanked by her next three successors, and the view of the future was clear to us all. But this was about today and showing The Queen how appreciated she was by so many people.

It was a very poignant few minutes, and I was very aware that I was probably taking my last photos of Her Majesty, THE very last photo that I would take of her, almost 50 years after my first, on a school trip. I wanted to watch and drink in every moment of this, but I also wanted to record it, and balanced on a stepstool amongst a constantly moving crowd, this was not the easiest of tasks. The tears running down my face did not help either, and I was very grateful for autofocus.

It was clear that this appearance was taking a monumental effort on The Queen's part, but I think it was something that she both wanted and needed to do - and it was the same for the crowd below. After so many balcony appearances throughout the decades this one was just about her, it was her grand finale, and it was fabulous. I often think it is sad that people don't realise how loved they are while they are alive, all the praise is saved until after they have died. When Her Majesty disappeared from view back into the palace that afternoon she will have been in no doubt whatsoever that she was deeply loved and respected by the people she had served for the last 70 years. Throughout the world various queens were referred to with their names to clarify who they were, but whenever there was reference simply to The Queen, everyone knew that this was Elizabeth II. On this day she must have heard and felt the cheers and affection drifting up to the balcony, enveloping her as she stood and waved a final time. This was not just The Queen. This was OUR Queen saying farewell to us, as we said thank you to her.