FROM THE PALACE

Spare a thought for the royals – it can’t have been easy deciding what to buy the Queen for her 96th birthday.

What can you possibly buy the monarch of the realm that she doesn’t already have in abundance? Not jewellery, that’s for sure – Her Majesty already owns 98 fabulous brooches. The most expensive in her collection is the Cullinan III and IV – a cushion and pear-shape design worth around £50m.

Perhaps a simple posy of her favourite flowers sufficed.