William Rees-Mogg, former editor of The Times (London), now a veteran columnist and Lockean defender of liberty, writes, “Our Queen is modest, her Ministers are vain.”

He believes that in the run-up to the Queen’s 80th birthday on Friday, “we can begin to see we have been living through a great reign, comparable in length, but also in achievement, with the reigns of her predecessors, Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria.”

Her style has been very different as befits a different age, but, says Rees-Mogg, “the Queen has won a historic battle of ideas by the strength of her personality and principles.”

When she came to the Throne, republicanism (anti-Monarchism) was in the ascendancy, coming mainly from the Left and based around social equality and a lack of deference to authority. In the post-war period “the constitutional structures of the Queen’s childhood were almost swept away. … Political correctness is almost the opposite of the principles on which children were educated in the Thirties. In a single bound we have gone from Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If” to gay partnerships.”

Then he returns to his main point: “One of her strengths is that she is more humble than her Ministers, which makes them look superficial. The Ministers are vain, the Monarch is modest. That is an unusual historic combination.”

More Rees-Mogg in future posts.

The Queen and other members of the Royal Family attended the traditional Easter Sunday Service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor yesterday.

The number of Royals attending this year was down compared to last Easter. Speculation has it that most of the family are waiting for the celebrations of the Queen’s 80th birthday later in the week.

The jollifications at Sandhurst, where Prince Harry graduated as Second Lieutenant Wales this week, may also have had an effect on the turnout.

The Queen was joined by her daughter-in-law, the Countess of Wessex and they were driven back together to the castle.

The Duke of Edinburgh, the Duke of York and the Earl of Wessex returned to the main royal residence on foot.

This is the final part of our series on 80 things you probably didn’t know about the Queen:

71. In 1997, the Queen launched Buckingham Palace’s first official website.

72. In 1998, the Queen introduced “theme days” to promote and celebrate aspects of British culture. The first theme day was “City Day” focusing on financial institutions. Other themes have included Publishing, Broadcasting, Tourism, Emergency Services, Maritime Day, Music, Young Achievers, British Design, and Pioneers.

73. In June, 2002, the Queen hosted the first public concerts in the garden of Buckingham Palace to celebrate her Golden Jubilee. the Queen attended both the classical and pop concerts. The ’Party at the Palace’ pop concert was one of the most watched pop concerts in history, attracting around 200 million viewers over the world.

74. The Queen is the first member of the Royal Family to be awarded a gold disc from the recording industry. 100,000 copies of the CD of the ’Party at the Palace’, produced by EMI, were sold within the first week of release.

75. The Queen hosted the first women’s only event “Women of Achievement” at Buckingham Palace in March, 2004.

76. In November 2004, the Queen invited the cast of Les Miserables in the West End to perform for French President Jacques Chirac at Windsor Castle. It was the first time the cast of a West End musical had performed at a Royal residence.

77. As a young girl, the Queen acted in a number of Pantomimes during World War Two including playing the part of Prince Florizel in Cinderella in 1941. These pantomimes took place every year in the Waterloo Chamber at Windsor Castle.

78. In 2005 the Queen claimed ownership of 88 cygnets on the Thames. They are looked after by the Swan Marker. The first Royal Swan Keeper was appointed around the 12th Century.

79. Technically the Queen still owns the sturgeons, whales and dolphins in the waters around the UK. A statute from 1324, at the time of the reign of King Edward II, states that: “Also the King shall have … whales and sturgeons taken in the sea or elsewhere within the realm.” This statute is still valid today, and sturgeons, porpoises, whales and dolphins are recognised as ’Fishes Royal’. When captured within three miles of UK shores, or washed ashore either dead or alive, they may be claimed on behalf of the Crown. Generally, when brought into port, a sturgeon is sold in the usual way, and the purchaser, as a gesture of loyalty, requests the honour of its being accepted by the Queen.

80. In summer 2005, the Queen opened the first “children’s trail” in the Buckingham Palace garden for the summer opening.

Here is the seventh part of our series on 80 things you probably didn’t know about the Queen:

61. The Queen takes a keen interest in horses and racing. The Queen’s first pony was given to her by her grandfather, King George V, when she was four years old. This was a Shetland pony called Peggy. The Queen continues to ride at Sandringham, Balmoral and Windsor.

62. The Queen also takes a keen interest in horse breeding. Horses bred at the Royal studs over the last 200 years have won virtually every major race in Britain. The Queen has about 25 horses in training each season.

63. The Queen’s racing colours are: purple body with gold braid, scarlet sleeves and Black velvet cap with gold fringe.

64. The Queen continues the Royal Family’s long association with racing pigeons which began in 1886 when King Leopold II of Belgium made a gift of racing pigeons to the Royal Family. In 1990, one of the Queen’s birds took part in the Pau race, coming first in the Section 5th Open and was subsequently named “Sandringham Lightning”. In recognition of her interest in the sport, the Queen is patron of a number of racing societies, including the Royal Pigeon Racing Association.

65. The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh were married on 20 November 20 1947 in Westminster Abbey. The Queen’s wedding dress was designed by Sir Norman Hartnell and was woven at Winterthur Silks Limited, Dunfermline, in the Canmore factory, using silk that had come from Chinese silkworms at Lullingstone Castle.

66. The Queen’s dressmakers over the years have included Sir Hardy Amies, Sir Norman Hartnell, Karl-Ludwig Couture and Maureen Rose. The Queen’s milliners have been Frederick Fox, Philip Somerville and Marie O’Regan.

67. The Queen’s wedding ring was made from a nugget of Welsh gold which came from the Clogau St David’s mine near Dolgellau. The official wedding cake was made by McVitie and Price Ltd, using ingredients given as a wedding gift by Australian Girl Guides.

68. The Queen has an extensive collection of jewellery, most of which are Crown Jewels, some inherited and some gifts, including the largest pink diamond in the world. Some well known pieces include; a brooch of diamonds forming a spray of wattle presented by the Australian government in 1954; and a necklace of large square cut aquamarines and diamonds with earrings as a gift in coronation year by the ambassador of Brazil, which the Queen wore on the French state visit in 2004.

69. The Queen has laid her wreath at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday every year of her reign, except in 1959, 1961, 1963, 1968, 1983 and 1999 when she was either pregnant or overseas on an official visit.

70. The Queen has visited the sets of a number of British soap operas including Coronation Street, East Enders and Emmerdale.