The loyal reader of The Bug may well have been wondering just what I have been doing since the tragic news broke almost one week ago about the death of our gracious sovereign, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

I must admit that, on hearing the news here in London and thereafter being wracked with unimaginable grief, I spent the first few days of the past week in bed with only my personal memories of our late Sovereign and my personal library of special royal editions of The Australian Women’s Weekly marking special royal occasions involving Her Majesty to give me comfort.

However, I snapped myself out of my despair if not my grief by asking myself a simple question: “What would Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other realms and territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, do if she were me in such circumstance?”

My answer to myself was, of course, so simple. She would stop moping and get out of bed and direct a servant or two to assist her to return to work.

So that’s what I have since done, although I have done so myself, not having household staff.

But little did I know what awaited me on my return to the offices of The Bug’s London bureau.

There in the foyer was a naked Duke of York, Prince Andrew (main picture) who, on seeing me, immediately explained what he was doing.

“If one cannot wear one’s uniform one will go naked, and one means it Tristan. Print that. One can quote one,” he said in a rather agitated voice.

It was immediately apparent to me that His ex-Royal Highness was intent on staging a one-person protest at being denied the opportunity to don one of his bespoke military uniforms for any of the ceremonies connected with Her Majesty’s funeral and events leading up to it.

I was able to soothe his anger and to settle him down before contacting my sources at Buckingham Palace to arrange for the Duke to be collected by royal household staff.

On watching the live TV coverage of him march fully dressed with his siblings behind the Queen’s coffin on its way from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall I was very relieved.

It was lucky for Prince Andrew that he had chosen me and The Bug’s offices to make his protest.

An unscrupulous royal correspondent from some of the more racy section of the media might have used the incident to embarrass the royal family at this most sensitive of times.