'It's a job for life, Ma'am

ANITA Atkinson has today all planned. She will set off from her daughter Ruth's home in Islington, London, at approximately 6am in order to get a decent spot as close to Henry VIII's gate, the main entrance to Windsor Castle, as possible.

Anita, 49, will be wearing something in red, white and blue - but then practically all of her clothes are in these patriotic colours - and possibly a T-shirt, with the Queen's face on, of course.

The Queen is celebrating her 80th birthday today, and there's nowhere Anita would rather be than among other royal fans from across the world to mark the historic occasion. Even if it means standing around for hours.

Anita grew up near Billy Row, Crook, County Durham, in a home, like many, which contained a china cabinet. In her mum and dad's cabinet were cups and plates celebrating the young Queen Elizabeth's coronation. It was a generation which could still remember the abdication crisis of Edward VIII and the Queen Mother's fortitude and rapport with her public during the Second World War. But they weren't royal fanatics. Anita on the other hand...

"I've always been a fervent royalist - and I don't know why," she laughs. "Sometimes I think I must have been a royal soldier in a previous life."

Her own collection of royal memorabilia began on her 21st birthday. It happened to coincide with the Queen's Silver Jubilee when people turned up with limited edition pieces, including a double pack of Silver Jubilee playing cards which she still has in their plastic wrapping. Then, for every birthday and every Christmas, she received something royal related. Today, she has more than 5,000 pieces and a spot in the book of Guinness Word Records for having the largest collection of royal memorabilia. They spill out of every corner of her home in Fir Tree, Crook - bookmarks, pictures, lithographs, stickers, tea caddies, thimbles, teapots, tea caddies, even a Charles and Diana toilet seat. Her doorbell plays God Save the Queen.

'I'm looking for something in particular to celebrate the Queen's 80th birthday but I haven't got anywhere to put anything," she says.

Throughout her years of support she has seen the Royal family go through the worst and best of times. She has defended the family during some of its lowest ebbs - the Diana years, Camillagate, Andrew Morton's books. But there have been many highlights for Anita, among them the Queen's visit to Durham as part of her Silver Jubilee celebrations in 1977, when underhand goings-on meant a prime spot to see her.

"Me and my friends had some chalk and next to the ice rink in Durham we wrote NO PARKING on the road and we couldn't believe it because everyone took notice of it. When we went the next day we had a whole car full of people and just pulled into the space," she says. "It was great. We saw everything."

Another high was being invited to St James's Palace as part of the celebrations for the Queen Mother's 100th birthday where Anita was presented to the royal host.

"I was talking to her about Durham and Bowes Museum when suddenly like a bolt out of the blue it hit me," she says. "Both my grandfathers were miners and my dad was a bus driver and here I was talking to the Queen Mother."

Over the years, Anita has become a royal expert, giving talks to Women's Institute meetings around the region and interviews to the media. She believes the Queen is celebrating her 80th birthday at a time when royal family is enjoying a resurgence in its popularity.

"The monarchy is about continuity and the Queen personifies the nation," says Anita. "It's not just about a Queen sitting on a throne surrounded by servants, she has dedicated her whole life to this country, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

"The idea that she costs the taxpayer a fortune is a complete and utter myth. Money from the Crown estates goes to the Treasury which earns 14 times the amount of the civil list so who pays for whom? She's not a rich person either, she's asset rich but cash poor. If the Queen was so rich then why hasn't she had a Derby winner?

"The Queen has remained steadfast over 80 years. On the occasions she's done things, like upping her hemline or wearing more make-up, the public hasn't liked it. She's found her own style and stuck by it. She never shows her emotions in public and though she's been criticised for it, people have come to accept it in her. They never know what she's thinking and I believe that's a good thing. Her style is to run a little bit behind what the public are thinking at the time and then react."

But the Queen hasn't always reacted at the right time. She may prefer to move slowly, straying away from knee-jerk reactions, but she was heavily criticised for those characteristics when Princess Diana died in 1997. While her subjects took part in a collective outpouring of grief, she failed to appear. Anita concedes the Queen misjudged the moment.

"It was one of the real lows of her reign. She didn't really see that she had anything to do with Diana or that the country was calling for her," says Anita. "But what she was doing was being a grandmother to two motherless children."

The same public has also, periodically, called for the Queen to abdicate to make way for Prince Charles. Now when Charles becomes king, he will bring Camilla with him as Princess Consort or even Queen. Anita believes Camilla has helped bring much-needed stability to the House of Windsor.

"The Golden Jubilee was the turning point in the stability of the royal family and the wedding of Charles and Camilla. They look good together and Prince Charles seems really settled.

"He has been ready for years to be king. But I think people did lose faith in him during the 90s, although we didn't know the full story. He's been a really good Prince of Wales, speaking out about things which are passionate to him when the Queen isn't allowed to speak out. It's for these reasons he'll make a good king.

"But the Queen will never abdicate because she sees being Queen as a job for life. I don't think it will skip a generation either. William is just a young lad and he needs to have a life first. I think they've learned their lessons from Charles and Diana. The longer he has to be with Kate (Middleton) without the pressure of marriage, the better."

So, what about the future of the monarchy. Will we still have a royal family to write about in hundreds of years time? Are there more scandals around the corner?

Quite possibly, says Anita. "But with a constitutional monarchy, if we didn't have anything to write about I'd be really worried. I think they will just carry on evolving to survive, just like they have done for 1,000 years. One thing they will have learned is not to take anything for granted, in particular the public's love of them, but that's the same for every relationship, from your husband to your friends - you need to work at it."

But the Queen can always count on Anita for support. She may not be easy to spot, but she'll be the one wearing red, white and blue today Ma'am, waving her union jack flag and wondering what to buy to mark your birthday.