PRINCE Charles gave a warm, emotional and often witty speech in praise of his mother at the close of yesterday's Diamond Jubilee Concert, which marked a fitting end to celebrations for his mum's 60th year on the throne.
Just his opening word - "Mummy" - earned him rapturous cheers from the crowd as the Queen, dressed in a gold gown dotted with crystals, looked on, plainly delighted. Charles took his mother's hand and kissed it as the crowd went wild.
The pair, accompanied by the Duchess of Cornwall, had minutes earlier made their way down to the stage encircling the Queen Victoria Memorial, to a standing ovation.
Celebrities including Kylie Minogue and Cheryl Cole jostled to stand as close to the royal party as possible.
The Prince gently warmed his audience up by making a joke about the terrible weather that had greeted the royals during Sunday's river pageant on the Thames.
"If I may say so, thank God it turned out fine!" he said.
Prince Charles paid tribute to "Mummy" onstage at Buckingham Palace after a momentous concert featuring some of the world's leading musicians including "the Sirs", Paul McCartney, Tom Jones, Elton John and Cliff Richard.
The 86-year-old monarch arrived 90 minutes into the three-hour concert and was greeted by cheers from a sea of revellers waving red, white and blue Union Jacks.
The Queen smiled and waved to the crowd after reaching her seat but her appearance without the man who has been at her side for 60 years of duty brought a tinge of sadness to the moment.
With Prince Philip in hospital with a bladder infection, his son made a poignant reference to the Duke of Edinburgh, who was being treated just a few kilometres away.
"The only sad thing about tonight is that my father cannot be here with us because, unfortunately, he's been taken unwell," the Prince said.
He added - to tumultuous applause: "If we shout loud enough he might just be able to hear us in hospital."
Turning to his mother, Prince Charles paid tribute to "the life and service of a very special person", although he appeared to make a mistake when he referred to her being 26 when she rose to the throne. In fact she was 25.
Charles told the Queen: "A diamond jubilee is a unique and special event, some of us have had the joy of celebrating three jubilees with you, and I have the medals to prove it.
"And we're now celebrating the life and service of a very special person, over the last 60 years.
"I was three when my grandfather George VI died and suddenly, unexpectedly, you and my father's lives were irrevocably changed when you were only 26.
"So, as a nation, this is our opportunity to thank you and my father for always being there for us. For inspiring us with your selfless duty and service and for making us proud to be British."
At this point, there were huge cheers from the crowds and many members of the royal family applauded, including the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry.
The Prince went on to say how proud the jubilee celebrations had made the country at a time when so many were suffering from "hardship and difficulty" and paid tribute to the members of the public who lined the banks of the Thames on Sunday in wind and rain.
As he drew to a close, he led the audience in three cheers for the Queen, before kissing her hand and adding: "So, Your Majesty, we offer you our humble duty and with it, three resounding cheers for our Majesty The Queen!"
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