To Windsor for Garter Day, the first since 2019. With a strong voice and smiles for us all, the Queen presided over the investiture of three new Knights – Tony Blair, Baroness Amos and, as a Royal Lady of the Order, the Duchess of Cornwall – in the small Throne Room. After luncheon with the royal family in the Waterloo Chamber, we processed to St George’s Chapel for a service during which the new Knights were formally installed. It is a splendid pageant appreciated by the large crowd of onlookers who look with amazement at our outfits. We wear morning dress, garter star, a dark-blue velvet mantle, a rather heavy gold collar and a black velvet hat with a plume of white ostrich feathers. The British do like dressing up.
Although rarely used, the governor’s eyebrows remain part of the Bank of England’s armoury. Since I left in 2013, mine have been resting.

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