A REIGN LIT UP BY THE MAGIC OF MAC

FEBRUARY 1996

The Queen once told Mail cartoonist Mac she loved seeing her corgis in his sketches. She liked this one, about precautions after an anthrax scare, so much she acquired the original

MAY 2004

After a man got into Windsor Castle by disguising himself as a senior Scotland Yard officer, what other lengths might would-be intruders go to in order to hound Her Majesty?

OCTOBER 2014

Helen Mirren – who won an Oscar for playing the Queen – is named as the new face of L’Oreal. But in signing the actress, could the cosmetics giant also bag a regal understudy?

NOVEMBER 2000

A photographer caught the Queen wringing an injured pheasant’s neck with her bare hands at a shoot in Sandringham to end its suffering – but activists called it cruel

APRIL 2006

The Royal Mail was overwhelmed with royal mail when the Queen received more than 20,000 cards for her 80th birthday. The thousands of emails would have been easier to deal with

AUGUST 2017

Buckingham Palace had confirmed that, at 95, the Duke of Edinburgh would be retiring from royal engagements, giving him much more free time to do the things he loved

NOVEMBER 2001

The Queen and Prince Philip visit the set of BBC soap EastEnders, popping into the Queen Vic. Perhaps some Cockney slang rubbed off on to the old Runner Bean

JUNE 2010

The Queen’s bid for an increase to her Civil List funding from the Government is rejected by Chancellor George Osborne, requiring some drastic measures to balance the royal finances

NOVEMBER 2017

Mac imagines some confusion as Prince Harry announces his engagement to Meghan Markle – although, with hindsight, maybe Prince Philip did hear the name correctly...

APRIL 2003

After Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling’s £280 million fortune put her above the Queen on the Sunday Times Rich List, Mac imagines the Monarch having a wizard idea to catch up

DECEMBER 2010

After two engagements in the family – Zara Phillips to Mike Tindall, and Prince William to Kate – the Queen would be forgiven for wanting a quieter social life

JUNE 2022

The Queen’s surprise appearance in a heart-warming TV sketch with Paddington Bear was a highlight of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, overshadowing some loyal companions

‘Have a word with security, Philip. On Monday somebody got within yards of me pretending to be a policeman’

‘Don’t worry. You’ve got five seconds start and if it’s not a clean shot my wife wrings your neck’

‘I feel sorry for the corgis’

‘Helen Mirren has got a chill. Are you free for a photo shoot session tomorrow?’

‘Of course, Kate. Now that he’s retired completely I’m sure he’d love to babysit a few days a week. I’ll ask him.’

‘If that’s the post, Philip dear, will you see if there are any cards for me?’

‘...Aha, cried Harry Windsor, stubbing out his fag and climbing on to his chauffeur-driven broomstick’

‘Stone me, Benskin. We’ve been goin’ round the bleedin’ TV studios all day and we’re knackered. Pour us a couple of pints and ’ave one yourself’

‘Now we know why we’ve been left alone and neglected. She’s been cavorting with Paddington b ***** Bear!’

‘MARKLE, Philip, dear, MEGHAN MARKLE! Harry’s not marrying Angela Merkel!’

‘Two’s enough for one year. I hope no one else is going to spring any surprises’

‘Mrs Figgis, I wonder if you could spare a few pounds until the end of the week?’