'Thank you Your Majesty for 70 years of service'

Thank goodness her life has been long and of good health for her to play an enormous part in our lives: always there in the background, giving us and the country in many times of crisis a permanence and sense of continuity that stabilises a troublesome world.

We seem to have an ideal solution to our democracy in that she is Head of State but appoints the politicians to sort out and be responsible for the tedium of political wrangling, skullduggery and posturing that they have to do.

I vividly remember the excitement as an eight-year-old watching on a nine-inch black-and-white HMV television, with the extended family, the coronation live as it unfolded and being captivated.

I never believed that one day I would be privileged to fly with the RAF over Buckingham Palace twice at Trooping the Colour - once with sixteen Tornados and also in a Lancaster bomber - and having to travel back on the train in full flying kit with beautiful long black leather gloves because the RAF forgot to put my case in the aircraft!

The Queen has made me be very proud of this country.

God Save The Queen.

Keith Massey, Bishopthorpe, York

No corgis, please

With Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee upon us, Corgi-themed merchandise is flying off the shelves and internet searches for the dogs are skyrocketing.

But PETA cautions the public not to get caught up in the fad by buying these pedigree dogs on impulse.

Corgis are deliberately bred to have legs too short for their bodies, and they are prone to other serious health problems.

Animals bought on a whim often end up abandoned once the novelty wears off and the vet bills add up.

Anyone looking to expand their family – and who has the time, love, and resources to offer a dog a home for life – should visit their local shelter and give the royal treatment to one of the many dogs of all breeds, shapes, and sizes longing for a permanent home.

Elisa Allen, PETA UK, PO Box 70315, London