Elizabeth the great: A surprisingly modern monarch

Her surprise part in the Danny Boyle extravaganza is a prime example.

The Slumdog Millionaire director's ambitious goal was to project an image of a brilliantly inventive, innovative Britain, proud of its past and confident about its future.

In Elizabeth II, he had an astute star, one who grasped his mission immediately and proved that she's a foil for 007 any day.

And, without losing one iota of her regal aura, she also showed a wonderfully British sense of humour