Esther Rantzen grills Gyles Brandreth on Gogglebox invite

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Gyles, former MP, journalist and royal author, will delight fans again this evening with his appearance on Celebrity Gogglebox alongside his friend, actor Maureen Lipman. He was also a friend of the late Duke of Edinburgh, having bonded with him when they were both involved in the work of the National Playing Fields Association in the Seventies. He interviewed Philip on several occasions, but is also close with several other royals — and therefore got to know more about the Queen in the process.

There were widespread concerns about how the monarch would fare without her beloved husband of 73 years earlier in the year, and whether she could go into a prolonged state of mourning like her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria.

These fears were exacerbated when COVID-19 restrictions back in April meant the Queen had to sit alone during the emotional funeral for her late husband in St George’s Chapel.

While the majority of attendants could stand in their bubbles, the Queen sat in a pew on her own, metres from her relatives, with her face mask and hat on.

The images prompted waves of fury from royal fans who said it was cruel that a woman in her Nineties could not be comforted by her own family.

Yet, Mr Brandreth claimed: “I do not believe the Queen felt alone at her beloved husband’s funeral.

“She is accustomed to walking in procession and being seated on her own: she has been doing it all her life.”

He added that she would not have “dreamt” of breaching Covid restrictions and sitting closer to her family.

Mr Brandreth added that, as a religious woman — and the supreme governor of the Church of England — she “does not feel alone in the house of God” and the “teachings of Christ are the foundation of her life”.

He continued: “From the Queen’s perspective, a church is the least lonely place to be in your darkest hour.”

He pointed out that she may have found solace in singing familiar hymns and prayers, having attended church regularly since she was a small girl.

Mr Brandreth also claimed that the Queen will find comfort in her dogs and horses, as her pets are her passion — Prince Andrew even bought her two puppies to help her grieve after Philip’s death.

The commentator suggested that the monarch will continue to speak regularly to her horse trainers in the evening and often walks her dogs herself in Palace grounds, activities that will keep her mind away from her grief.

He claimed that she is also surrounded by her ladies-in-waiting in Windsor, who are her longtime friends, alongside her expansive family, whom she can lean on in times of need.

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Mr Brandreth concluded: “I doubt a sovereign has been so loved and respected in the history of the monarchy.”

The Queen also spent just two weeks in official mourning for her husband before returning to her public duties.

Just this week, she has been in Scotland in honour of Holyrood Palace, meeting with Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and touring the country with her daughter Princess Anne and grandson Prince William.

She also broke with centuries of royal tradition by choosing not to use black-edged stationery during the official mourning period, but used personalised stationery with her crest in black rather than the usual red.

This decision surprised keen royal watchers, especially as Clarence House and Kensington Palace continued to use the black-edged stationery during that same period.

Although only a small detail, it signals a major step away from the mourning the Queen’s ancestor Queen Victoria was famous for.

She used writing paper with a thick black border and matching envelopes continuously after her husband Prince Albert died in 1861.

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