IN expressing my own profound sadness at the death of Her Majesty the Queen, who has been such an inspiration and reassurance to this country and the Commonwealth, I remember that when I joined Her Majesty’s diplomatic service and received my Royal Commission, I naturally hoped that my career would involve moments of engagement with the Royal Family.

And so it proved, advising on state visits and supporting the late Queen and her family as they travelled the world in furtherance of British interests - particularly in the US, where I attended the Queen on a relaxed private visit to Kentucky and the then Prince of Wales when he opened the fabulous Treasure Houses of Britain Exhibition in Washington DC.

In retirement, my encounters continued at university and charity events, where the late Queen or the King has been the patron, notably in connection with the Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for Higher and Further Education (a signal honour won twice by Bridgwater College).

I particularly recall my involvement with our new monarch while I was British Ambassador to Israel from 1992-95.

On presenting my credentials from the Queen to President Chaim Herzog, my first task was to invite him and his wife on an official visit to the UK. Herzog was born in Belfast and served with distinction in the armies of both Britain and Israel.

The highlight of this most successful visit was an intimate lunch with the Queen and Prince Philip in Buckingham Palace, followed by a return banquet given by the Israelis at Spencer House.

Given our historical role in the post-war creation of Israel, this proved a decisive moment in establishing the cordial relations which have developed ever since between our two countries.

In his condolences, Herzog’s son Isaac, now the present President of Israel, described our late Queen as “an icon of stable, responsible leadership, and a beacon of morality, humanity and patriotism” and wished that King Charles III should reign in peace.

Later my wife and I welcomed Prince Philip and his sister to Tel Aviv when he came to pay his respects to the tomb of his mother in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Later, I escorted HRH Princess Margaret around the Sea of Galilee, touring the Christian sites and climbing up to the rocky ledge where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. She proved far more knowledgeable than I about early Christian history and the flora and fauna of the Jordan valley.

But the most dramatic visit to Israel was by the then Prince of Wales, at the time of the funeral of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995. I was on the point of departure when Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish extremist for his advocacy of the Oslo Accords.

At very short notice indeed, as is the way in the Middle East, I was descended upon by a huge British delegation that included Prime Minister John Major and Leader of the Opposition Tony Blair, with many parliamentarians and leaders of Anglo-Jewry.

This must have been one of the most emotional and impressive peace demonstrations in history with leaders from all over the world joining in grief and solidarity at the death of the man who had signed a peace agreement with the Palestinians.

I escorted the Prince of Wales to his seat of honour, flanked by President Clinton and the King of Jordan, and successfully extricated him from the ensuing melee at the end of this historic ceremony so that he could fly home.

Squashed together in the back of our armoured Jaguar on our rapid descent to the airport, he regaled us with wry accounts of comparable past events.

Some years later I found myself once again in His Majesty’s company when I had become the UK Envoy for international post-Holocaust Issues and joined him in meeting Holocaust survivors at St James’s Palace.

The King, who succeeded his mother in 2015 as patron of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, has always taken a keen interest in the welfare of those who experienced the full brutality of the Nazi regime or who have survived subsequent genocides elsewhere in the world.

He made an official visit to Israel in January 2020 to attend the World Holocaust Forum.

I wish the King well in the exercise of his new duties.