Jayne Dowle: The Queen's Sapphire Jubilee '“ A royal rock which stands firm in a terrifying world

If you are the Queen, who today will achieve 65 years as our sovereign, these ordinary milestones are so many dandelion clocks in the wind. She is impervious to the passing of time; her life is not like anyone else’s.

However, here’s the irony. I have long held that part of her enduring appeal lies in her very ordinariness. Only last month, she visited the Women’s Institute near her home in Norfolk. If you didn’t know that she was the Queen, you wouldn’t have been able to pick her out from all the other ladies of her certain age gathered around her in West Newton village hall.

She has children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She clearly shares their troubleswhile rejoicing in their triumphs. In recent years especially she seems to have relaxed into her role as grand matriarch, as evidenced when her two-year-old great-grand-daughter Mia Tindall ran off with her handbag on a recent photo shoot.

Those official photographs to mark her 90th birthday said it all without a word. Here was a woman epitomising dignity, grace and kindness. And yet, here also was a woman who had ruled over a realm for most of her adult life. Even the most ardent republican cannot take that away from her.

And now this anniversary marks her Sapphire Jubilee. No monarch has ever held one before, and it seems unlikely that another ever will. A sapphire is believed to symbolise wisdom, virtue, good fortune and holiness. It is known as the “Royal” stone. I guess that’s where we get the shade Royal Blue from. For this monarch of monarchs, nothing could be more fitting.

Away from the pomp and splendour however, I wonder what she is thinking as she spends this momentous day quietly at Sandringham, her Norfolk retreat.

I don’t suppose we will ever know. Circumspection is one of her greatest qualities. To date, the Queen has seen 160 Prime Ministers across all her realms come and go. Do any of us really know what she thought about any of them? The odd snippet here, a certain raised eyebrow, but she is above it all.

Some would argue that she shouldn’t be. I would argue that her elevated position provides a degree of levity missing in other, more turbulent countries. Whilst earthly politicians tie themselves into knots and stab each other in the back, our Queen remains a constant.

In a world which has become ever more terrifying, she is the rock which stands firm. In this case, do you really think that she needs to be protected from Donald Trump should he eventually make it on a state visit to our shores? Do you think that with the sheer number of vainglorious leaders, dictators and despots she must have met in her life, Her Majesty would be wary of an encounter with a sharp-suited snake oil salesman from (the aptly-named) Queens?

This latest controversy provides a most timely context to this Sapphire Jubilee. Critics believe that it would put the Queen in a “difficult position”. I would argue that over the course of 65 years, the Queen has found herself in many a difficult position, and as far as anyone can ascertain, she has never put a Size 4 foot wrong.

I strongly believe that she needs to meet him. Her assessment of this new President and the wise counsel she might offer in coming months will be valuable. She is in a position to rise above the fray and weigh up where the United Kingdom could stand, especially on such fractious matters as immigration.

Note that I say “could” and not “can”. We must not forget that the Queen has no political power in her own right. The British Constitution does not allow for direct Royal interference into matters debated by Parliament; the only power attributed to HRH is the Royal Assent to a Bill, which when given, turns it into a statutory Act of Parliament. It has not been withheld for more than 300 years, but it remains her only prerogative.

We must then trust the Queen to deal with this matter of Trump as she has dealt with so many other troublesome matters before him. We might wish to protect her from advancing age and inevitable infirmity, but it does her no respect to protect her from the role she is perfectly capable of carrying out.

Her Royal Highness might well be commemorating this momentous day quietly at Sandringham, but no matter. On the special commemorative coin minted to mark the occasion is a telling inscription. These were the words the 25-year-old Queen said when she promised herself to the nation and the Commonwealth: “My whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service.”

I don’t think we need any further reminder that for 65 years, Queen Elizabeth II has fulfilled that promise to each and every one of her subjects.