HELPING CELEBRATE THE QUEEN'S 77TH BIRTHDAY GYLES BRANDRETH

ON THEIR SHARED PASSION FOR LITERATURE AND PASSING IT ON TO THE NEXT GENERATION

- ROSALIND POWELL

There were a few concerns, Gyles Brandreth admits, when he was invited to preside over the spectacular 21-gun salute at Edinburgh Castle in honour of the Queen's 77th birthday.

"Although I come from an army family, my wife Michèle was anxious," the 76-year-old author, awardwinning podcaster, TV presenter and friend of Her Majesty exclusively tells HELLO!. "She said: 'Oh God, you're going to be very near the guns, Gyles? The reason you're not in the army is because you'll pop a champagne cork and flinch."

"But the good news is, I did not duck. I stood firm," he adds proudly.

He did, however, feel upstaged by members of the 12th Royal Artillery regiment taking part.