Celebrated in June each year, the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II was always a colourful event, with troops lining the streets between Buckingham Palace and Horse Guards Parade. After Her Majesty stopped riding horseback in the processions she travelled by carriage, initially alone, and later accompanied by Prince Philip. I was lucky enough to have a photographer's pass for the Queen Victoria Memorial (QVM) on Trooping the Colour Day for several years. The view straight down The Mall as the procession returned, with Her Majesty surrounded by horses and soldiers, framed by the multiple flags decorating the route, is one that I feel very privileged to have seen, and is one I will never forget. As well as looking down into the carriages as they pass you can move around with them, there is a perfect view of the salute being taken in the palace gateway, and no scramble for a position to see the balcony appearances - if you can ever escape from behind a double row of barriers! Although there are definitely good views from street level, nowhere beats the QVM for a stress free view on this particular day.

The picture from 2022 was probably the most challenging to take - as well as enormous crowds of constantly moving people I had to negotiate the ridiculous stand that had been constructed for the jubilee concert and which blocked the view of the balcony from most positions! But it was important to see on that day, bizarrely on the Thursday of the Platinum Jubilee weekend, as Her Majesty did not attend any of the events, and this balcony appearance was never guaranteed, with The Prince of Wales having represented the Queen for the ceremony itself.