From Budget briefings to mothballing the Royal Yacht, GORDON BROWN pays tribute to the Queen he knew

As Prime Minister, I had more than 120 audiences with the Queen. She often knew more about the happenings of the day than I did. The magic of monarchy is that no one really knows what the monarch thinks. He was Chancellor for 10 years and had to brief the queen the night before every budget. He had some unpleasant news to tell her, like that the Royal Train was facing problems and that they couldn't afford to replace the royal yacht. Like other Prime Ministers before and after him, he was invited to visit her at Balmoral. It was there that he learned she was fastidious. 'Never complain, never explain' was her motto.