For a second, with all the trappings of her gilded cage stripped away, she seemed both vulnerable and old. I experienced a sudden surge of affection for this short, hunched, white-haired lady.

I went to Buckingham Palace once to meet the queen. I spend a lot of time trying to think of a way to drop this into conversation -- and finally I have an excuse.

Before I get ahead of myself, the question that may understandably be foremost on your mind at this point is: "Why on earth were you -- you! -- invited to Buckingham Palace?"

The most plausible answer to that is: "An administrative error." I had to borrow shoes, for God's sake. And a handbag. That is probably not a situation that most visitors to Buckingham Palace normally find themselves in.

It was 2010, and Her Maj was about to host former president Jacob Zuma for a state visit. In advance of that, she threw a reception for South Africans in the UK. I had been working for a networking organisation dealing with that precise demographic, and I had assisted the palace with some contact details. Either due to the aforementioned clerical error, or out of...