Miljoenen mensen over heel de wereld zijn getuigen geweest van de uitvaart van Koningin Elizabeth de tweede. Je mag van alles vinden over al dat pracht en praal, maar de organisatie verliep perfect.

De verantwoordelijkheid lag in handen van een hertog. Al sinds 1672 is de houder van de titel ‘Duke of Norfolk’ in Engeland de uitvoerder van de taken van Graaf Maarschalk. Tegenwoordig bestaan die taken uit het organiseren van grote ceremoniële gebeurtenissen zoals koninklijke bruiloften en uitvaarten, en de jaarlijkse equivalent van Prinsjesdag.

De huidige Duke of Norfolk, Edward Fitzalan-Howard, had het enorm druk met de regie van de koninklijke begrafenis vorige week, allemaal heel begrijpelijk. Hij viel door mand toen politie hem bezig zag op zijn gsm toen hij achter het stuur van zijn BMW aan het rijden was.

De magistraten leefden met hem mee toen hij de omstandigheden uitlegde maar kon deze overtreding toch niet door de vingers zien. Zijn rijbewijs is voor 6 maanden ingevorderd en hij kreeg een fixe boete. Volgens de rechtbank heeft hij ruim voldoende middelen om hem de komende maanden te laten rijden, en zijn taak als regisseur van de kroning van Charles de derde, waarschijnlijk ergens in de zomer volgend jaar, kan hij alsnog prima uitvoeren.

Een van de grootste gevaren op de weg is het gebruik van een mobiele telefoon achter het stuur. Daar mag geen uitzondering doorglippen. In die zin vind ik het zelf helemaal terecht dat werd veroordeeld.

Heb ik medelijden met hem? Totaal niet. De mogelijkheid en apparatuur om hands-free te bellen tijdens het rijden bestaat al lang. Waarom hij daar niets voor had geregeld is niet bekend. Het had hem veel ellende en geld kunnen sparen!

I have tried my best to follow the unfolding and execution of all the plans following the death of Queen Elizabeth and I have spotted a couple of things I think should be adjusted for next time around.

The first of these concerns the meeting of the Privy Council. For the first time – predictably – television cameras were present to show both parts of the extraordinary meeting called to confirm the accession of the new King. A much too small a table was placed for the signing of two large documents by King Charles. This part of the meeting clearly had not been rehearsed, even with stand-ins. First of all he had to rid himself of the book containing the texts, and he decided to pass them to Prince William as if he was a sort of gentleman-in-waiting.

The trays with inkpots and pens were placed between the documents and the King, and the chair was not placed in line with the first of these documents. We were witness to the King sliding in his chair, then deciding what to do with the tray with inkpots when he was adding his signature. When it came to the second document, there was more chair-sliding, and the dilemma that both of the trays were in his way. He started by moving the ink tray to his left but it resulted in stalemate. Somewhat irritated, he gestured to have the pen tray removed from the table. The second signature could then be placed.

The comedy did not end there. Prince William had to sign as the first witness, and of course the King had pocketed the fountain pen he had used. William had to beckon twice to be given a pen from the tray which his father had had removed from the table. He then chose to place the ink tray out of the way on top of the second document. If in the future historians discover smudges or marks on these documents, William did it!

When he was finished, he did have the presence of mind to leave the pen behind for Queen Camilla to use, but she decided not to worry about the ink tray, now back in its original position. She proceeded to sign the first document with her frilly sleeve reaching over the tray between the two ink pots. She managed the operation without further event but I had been afraid that her dress could have been ruined by a small wrong move.

So, to the logistical planners of the Privy Council: do a dress rehearsal beforehand next time, please!

My other gripe concerns the Prince’s Vigil in St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh. Actually, my critical eye had already caught a few dropped stiches at the Lying at Rest. The coffin was not placed centrally on the lovely hand-crafted catafalque. This should have been practiced by the bearers until they could have got it right in their sleep! The Royal Standard draped over the coffin was also not straight. This can easily be prepared by setting small marks or threads in the four corners where the standard hangs over the corners of the coffin.

Then, the stepped platform brought in to enable the crown to be placed on the coffin was not placed centrally; that could have been executed more elegantly. The four archers should also have practised more to make sure they stood at the same distance from their corner of the coffin.

However, my biggest objection concerns the so-called Prince’s Vigil. A vigil suggests a lengthy affair. My dictionary use a night as an example. By my watch, the ‘princes’ didn’t even spend a full 15 minutes at the coffin, and there is no way a quarter of an hour qualifies as a vigil, even symbolically.

Standing stock-still for any length of time is an art and not everybody is as able to maintain that position without moving. The Princess Royal was the least able to do so – but far be it for me to criticise that at all. However, I think Prince Edward certainly deserves a medal – he got top marks in my book for his decorum. His father, the King, did once or twice let his eyes wander but otherwise executed the procedure faultlessly. The BBC commentary – clearly not in possession of a fully annotated edition of the protocols – slightly misled us beforehand suggesting that Andrew would be dressed in uniform for the vigil. Maybe he will be in Westminster Hall, we will see. However, his presence was just a tad too much in-your-face.

As one of the late Queen’s children, he had every right to be part of the procession and the vigil. It just seemed to me as if he was strutting a bit too ostentatiously, almost as if he was still trying to make a point. This is not the place or the time to examine his record but the dust has by no means settled and his rehabilitation nowhere near achieved. I have missed any sense in his demeanour that he realises that.

The Vigil should have been longer. I think an hour, even as a symbolic vigil, would have been better.