Why we need to embrace the new Queen and leave the past behind, says Christa Ackroyd

And then the Coronation concert. Wow what a spectacle that was. And in Yorkshire the sun shone on our celebrations near Skipton. It wouldn’t have mattered if it hadn’t. It was for many everything the palace had hoped for, friends and family coming together to raise a glass to the King, our country, and to each other.

Of course we made too much food. The scarecrows of Charles and Camilla were a huge hit. The red white and blue buns dyed the children’s lips much to their joy. And we ate Coronation quiche, Coronation chicken and too much more besides. My daughter had even made a union flag out of strawberries, blueberries and white meringue as the groaning table’s centrepiece. And the children played together on a bouncy castle while in Australia my other daughter raised a glass to home too. Proud to be British.

The whole weekend was one long, perfectly executed, glorious celebration. On TV it was broadcasting at its best. It was Britain at its best. And no matter how vocal the critics, no matter what the opinion polls show, I genuinely believe the vast majority of folk of all ages couldn’t help but agree it was a few days to remember, for all the right reasons. Of course those who disagreed were, as they were always going to be, the most vocal.

The rest of us were having too much of a good time throwing our parties and enjoying ourselves to sling mud at the whole event. Which is why I was so so disappointed when I finally turned on my tablet see such vitriol on social media, much of it directed at our new Queen.

Because Queen she is, like it or not and no matter how many pictures of Princess Diana were uploaded or how many hashtags #notmyqueen were posted. And so this week as the bunting is taken down and life gets back to normal, I want to get a few things off my chest in support of a woman who has quietly and diligently, without fuss not put a foot wrong since the then Prince Charles made her his bride.

She has simply got on with the job in hand. And a pretty fine job she has made of it too – supporting charities, working hard and being the rock by her husband’s side.

So here are just a few things to consider if you are one of those who proclaim they will never accept her. In doing so you reduce millions of women to second class citizens simply because they are second wives. There is not one family in the land who hasn’t been touched by divorce or separation. Often at the time it is vicious, vitriolic and sides are taken.

Eventually in most cases there is an acceptance that life moves on. Or are we saying that a woman, or a man, doesn’t deserve another chance at happiness? That everyone who was part of a marriage break up should forever to be condemned as wicked? I think not. As my mum would said people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.

We all have skeletons in our closets and there is not one family whose break down in a relationship wouldn’t make the front page if we were famous enough. Because sadly that is life. And bitterness, hurt and anger can do nothing to prevent it.

To those who put up photographs of the late Princess Diana proclaiming she should have been Queen sadly, especially for her boys, she couldn’t. Of course we will never forget her. Of course it was a disastrous marriage and Charles should have married the love of his life when as a young man he had the opportunity to do so. But he didn’t. And there is nothing we can do to change it. One thing I am in no doubt about is that by now Diana would have moved on too. Perhaps she would have found love. Perhaps she would have found forgiveness. We will never know.

What we do know is that the totally discredited Panorama interview on which we are basing our suppositions during which she laid bare her undoubted anguish was an interview with a young sad woman driven to despair by claims of spying and betrayal which were, we now know, a figment of a journalist’s imagination. And worse. No wonder William has asked for the interview never to be shown again.

It was a disgraceful piece of journalism to prey on a woman’s insecurities and make them deeper. The Royal divorce was for our late Queen, so beautifully remembered by her grandson in his tribute speech at the concert to his ‘Pa’, part of her annus horribilis.

But she wisely and kindly moved on too when, just a few months before she died, she made her wishes clear that Camilla should be known as her son’s Queen Consort, which by the way is the same title the Queen Mother and all the other female consorts to the monarch have been officially known.

It’s just that the title is shortened to Queen. And to all those who have said Prince Philip wasn’t a King so why can’t Camilla just be a Princess, again historically the Queen’s consort cannot be King, as a King always trumps a Queen. But then that is just for historical context to those who either don’t care or haven’t taken to the time to research it because it doesn’t fit their argument.

On a more human level I wish our new Queen well. I hope those who would attack her soon turn their small minds to other issues, issues which matter more, including poverty, homelessness, the seeking of cures for illnesses that destroy for which there is no cure such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s which our new Queen has done so much to bring to the fore. I totally understand that people loved Diana.

But that should not mean they have to hate Camilla. That is childish, too simplistic and at times too cruel. If the King is my King I am more than happy that his Queen is my Queen too. This whole weekend was about service: service to country, service to others, particularly service to those less fortunate than ourselves.

May I humbly suggest that those who expound so much energy on hate spend the same amount of time on love. And do something meaningful with their time.

Then they might feel better about themselves and in turn achieve that which we have been urged to do as part of the Coronation celebrations, and make this country of ours a better, kinder place to live.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​