At six in the morning, in the private screening room of Buckingham Palace, the Queen watched the videotape sent in advance by the BBC.
The image was of herself, sitting behind the desk in the study of Windsor Castle, wearing a dark blue suit and a pearl necklace, her expression carefully adjusted to be "solemn yet dignified."
But at this moment, watching from the monitor, all she could see were the swelling bags under her eyes and the subtle tremor at the corners of her mouth she couldn't control.
"In the past few weeks, our beloved country has faced unprecedented challenges..."
The sound engineer pressed the pause button and looked at the Royal Family's press secretary, Michael Shea: "Your Majesty, there needs to be a longer pause here to seem more contemplative."
The Queen raised her hand: "No need to change it. Just leave it."
"But Your Majesty—"
"I said leave it."
