It was a 50th wedding anniversary fit for a queen - a sentimental trip down the aisle with her husband, a “people’s banquet” with her subjects, and a private ball for friends and royalty.

But Queen Elizabeth II made Thursday’s celebration even more meaningful with a personal tribute to Prince Philip’s constancy and a pledge that the embattled monarchy will heed public opinion and adapt to the 21st century.

Alluding to criticisms of the royal family as remote, the queen noted that assessing the public’s thinking is difficult, “obscured as it can be by deference, rhetoric or the conflicting currents of public opinion.”

“But read it we must. I have done my best, with Prince Philip’s constant love and help, to interpret it correctly through the years of our marriage and of my reign as your queen. And we shall, as a family, together try to do so in the future.”