I HAD a very odd dream on Easter Sunday. Odd, firstly, because I could recall it afterwards so clearly. And odd, secondly, because I was having breakfast with the Queen.

Yes, Mrs Editor’s Chair and I were sitting opposite Her Majesty and Prince Philip, alone at a table in Windsor Castle.

The Queen was showing me some kind of precious piece of memorabilia and I was taking care not to smash it to pieces accidentally on the table.

Then we went outside into the gardens as part of some kind of a tour.

Prince Philip began showing us around, but the Queen hadn’t followed. When we asked why, we were told she wasn’t feeling well and that her husband would have to suffice.

But, at that, Mrs Editor’s Chair got very cross and started complaining to the Duke of Edinburgh that this wasn’t what we had paid for. Yes, this Royal meeting appeared to have been part of a special package.

I was appalled that my wife was giving a rollicking to the husband of our sovereign and began apologising to him and whispering to her to respect the Duke.

Now, like most of you, I have countless dreams every night and cannot normally remember a single bit of any of them.

So I was perplexed why this one remained so vivid, and began looking for a moral to the story.

Perhaps it’s that my sub-conscious is ashamed of me always shying away from confrontations and always apologising, even when I am in the right.

Or maybe it’s because I’ve always wanted to meet Her Majesty after years of reporting on her in a previous job in Windsor?

No, both explanations are too feeble.

Instead, I reckon it’s something to do with the rampant exploitation of our first family.

The Queen is this country’s most precious asset, and has been a wonderful monarch for decades.

But in my lifetime, the image of the Royal Family has been sadly tarnished.

Where the royals once earned our respect and awe, many have become figures of fun as their lives have been transformed into upmarket soap operas.

The Queen and Prince Philip have remained apart from most of the nonsense and have been brilliant public servants. But with palaces now charging admission, you can foresee a day when future Defenders of the Realm do demand appearance fees, and are at the beck and call of anyone rich enough to pay to meet them.

And indeed maybe one day you will be able to save up to have breakfast with a sovereign.

So maybe my dream was telling me to enjoy Friday’s Royal Wedding, and to celebrate it with more vigour than the old cynic inside of me had planned.

Because in William and Kate, I genuinely believe we have a future King and Queen who can safeguard the best traditions of the monarchy.

The reason so many people are excited by this marriage is that this bride and groom appear such worthy successors to our present Royal first couple.

So no, I won’t in reality be paying to have breakfast with the Queen and the Duke because it rightly wouldn’t be allowed.

But I’m happy to add, I doubt I’ll ever be sharing my cornflakes with William and Kate either.