Anyone who has seen the Oscar-winning film The Queen, with Helen Mirren in the title role, will remember the amusing scene in which Tony Blair is appointed HM’s 10th Prime Minister.

Today, that process was reversed when Tony Blair went to Buckingham Palace to tender his resignation.

Dour Scot, Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer, was then appointed Prime Minister — the 11th of the Queen’s reign.

I mention this because, here in Britain, it seems such a momentous occasion. Blair has been in office for 10 long years and the public was yearning for a change.

But also because the film got it wrong. Nowadays, the incoming PM doesn’t have to kneel, nor kiss the Queen’s hand. It’s all done with just a brief exchange of words. Unlike in America, it’s the Queen who takes the oath, at her Coronation, and simply appoints the Prime Minister by asking him/her to form a Government.

However, the incident in the film pin-pointed a trait in Blair’s character : his lack of grasp of the detail. It’s a case of art casting light on reality.

The Queen appeared to get along well with Brown as he spent an hour in her company. In the movie, Blair was only there for a few minutes.

It’s at moments like these that the constitutional nature of the Monarchy is apparent to all.

No-one does it better than Elizabeth II.