AT a time when the future of the Union is under more discussion than at any other time in recent decades, the Royal Family and the Government will have been particularly keen to ensure that the Jubilee was a truly British, as opposed to just an English, event.
Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish accents could be heard often in the capital over recent days.
As the vast concert at the front of Buckingham Palace on Monday night began one of the presenters asked those from each of the four countries which make up the United Kingdom to make themselves known.
Northern Ireland, in line with its size, evoked the smallest cheer, but individuals from the Province could be heard through the crowd.
Although no Northern Ireland artists performed during the concert, it was a Commonwealth-wide event, with musicians from as far away as Kenya, Australia and Jamaica.
First Minister Peter Robinson represented the Province at both that concert and yesterday’s church service, where he was accompanied by Iris Robinson.
Britain was a less diverse place when Queen Elizabeth’s reign began. At Monday’s concert the performers were black and white, gay and straight, and from differing social backgrounds.
Of the audience members around me in the south stand outside Buckingham Palace on Monday night, the most vocal – and one of the few who knew the words to the second verse of the National Anthem – was a black Englishman.
After the concert, the massive crowds poured out of the Royal concert venue, filling roads around the palace to the extent that cars were forced to crawl through the masses.
As well as the 20,000 concert-goers with tickets, an estimated 250,000 people watched the musical spectacle from the Mall or in Hyde Park, where huge screens relayed events nearby.
Screens across the country, and the Commonwealth, relayed the scenes to millions more.
By yesterday morning, away from the service at St Paul’s Cathedral, it was as if the city was having a collective lie-in before huge crowds returned to vantage points to see the carriage procession and to the Mall to witness the fly-past.
Few people were out on the streets during the morning rush hour and the Tube was almost empty just hours after special Underground trains that were packed to overflowing had carried concert-goers away.
The breadth of Monday’s performers – from Sir Cliff Richard to JLS to Alfie Boe singing a piece from West Side Story – was a reflection of the way the Queen tries not to reveal her personal preferences, and instead reflect the wide range of the country.
She has remained above and beyond taking positions or engaging in public debate. It is perhaps a key reason why after a 60-year reign the monarchy is seen as secure.
It is hard to imagine an elected head of state such as David Cameron or Tony Blair attracting as broad support as that on display.
And it is telling that even Scotland’s nationalist first minister, Alex Salmond, yesterday travelled to London for the service of thanksgiving and spoke to say that if Scotland becomes independent as he hopes, Her Majesty – the personification of the Union – will remain Queen of Scotland.