There are those who don’t want monarchy in the UK because they are seen as being too privileged and too costly, but so’s having a president, and there would be the political nonsense and bias that goes with democracy.

I’m not a royalist in the full sense of the world. I have never travelled to London to wait at the edge of the Mall to watch the parade pass, nor do I follow the life of the Royals closely, but I do enjoy the special occasions. Jubilees and Coronations are what Britain does best, and it makes us stand out above other nations, therefore pulling in tourists.

The royal family are as much part of our heritage as the stately homes and coastal walks are, so we should preserve them. They also get involved with charities and other concerns like homelessness and injured soldiers, things that the Government apparently haven’t got time to do. Would an elected president do that? What if we were to get a bad one? You only have to look at some other nations to see examples of them.

The late Queen Elizabeth’s silver jubilee in 1977 stands out for me because I witnessed the huge efforts made to bring people together to celebrate. I remember bunting and banners in red, white and blue suspended from street lights, union jack carrier bags with the Queen’s face on, mugs and a Crown coin.

My mother was publicity officer for our town’s jubilee committee, and without on-line facilities we children rode round on our bikes putting typewritten circulars through doors. The gentleman in charge of the committee brought us all Crown coins, which I still have today.

My town held a huge carnival, and there was a party for our street, but sadly, after all that work, we missed it because of a family holiday. That’s why I am keen to recreate the silver jubilee through fiction.