Did I detect just a little extra oomph to the singing of the National Anthem? It certainly felt like it from where I was standing on Whitehall yesterday, especially when we got to the line: 'Long to reign over us'.
No one in history has attended the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph more times than the Queen. She laid her first wreath there 76 years ago as a princess. So, the fact that we had been told for many days that it was her 'firm intention' to be present, and were then told, with less than two hours to go, that she would not be coming, was a real worry.
The Queen would be the first to point out that Remembrance Sunday is all about the fallen, not the living.
The Duchess of Cambridge was pictured in attendance at the Remembrance Sunday ceremony in London this morning
Prince Charles lead the royal family at this year's Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, central London and laid a wreath on behalf of his mother the Queen after she was forced to miss the event due to a back injury
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge attend the service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph
However, it is also a day when the entire Forces family feels immense pride in seeing its Commander-in-Chief leading the national commemorations.
In the short statement from Buckingham Palace at 9.18am yesterday, we were told that the Queen was 'disappointed' not to attend but, with 'great regret', had taken the decision 'having sprained her back'.
Many among the tens of thousands of onlookers had not heard the news.
Shortly before 11am, I watched the mobile phones pop up above the crowd like meerkats, ready to capture the royal appearance on the central Foreign Office balcony. At which point, they saw just the Duke of Kent, 86, and Princess Alexandra, 84. Blank looks all round.
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Britain's Princess Alexandra took the Queen's place on the central balcony in Whitehall
The Queen would normally have appeared on the central balcony where the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra stood today. Members of the Royal Family (left to right) Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duchess of Cambridge and the Countess of Wessex on the balconies
Pictured: Prince Charles laid a wreath on behalf of the Queen at the Remembrance Sunday event as she was unable to attend
Pictured: Prince William, Duke of Cambridge lays a wreath as he attends the annual service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph
Pictured: Labour leader Keir Starmer, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Former Prime Ministers Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron attend the annual National Service of Remembrance in Whitehall, central London this morning
On the adjacent balcony to the north stood the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duchess of Cambridge and the Countess of Wessex. On the south side stood Princess Anne's husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. Down below, the Prince of Wales led the rest of the senior family out on parade (minus the two absentee dukes, Sussex and York).
But there was no sign of the Head of the Armed Forces. The Queen has missed this event six times during her reign. On four occasions, she was on a royal tour and attended a service of remembrance overseas (most recently in Durban in 1999).
The other two absences, in 1959 and 1963, were because she was expecting Princes Andrew and Edward.
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, left, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, right, stand on the balcony of the Foreign Office during the Remembrance service where the Queen would have been standing if she had attended
Pictured: a large crowd has gathered ahead of the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph, in Whitehall, London
Pictured: the annual Remembrance Sunday service was held at the Cenotaph, in Whitehall, London, this morning
Yet, on both those occasions, she still attended a service at the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor Great Park.
Yesterday was the first time she had not left home. However, an aide was adamant she had been glued to the BBC's coverage, as she had been the previous evening during the magnificent Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall.
In the end, both her doctors and her back were telling her that a 50-mile round-trip by car plus half an hour of standing up were not advisable. Once again, it was a reminder to the nation that our head of state is well into her tenth decade. Sensible precautions will continue to be required.
Over at the Palace, staff pointed out that the Queen will be resuming 'light duties' this week, including video audiences with new ambassadors. Her red boxes, full of state papers and briefing notes, continue to come and go. Plans for her Christmas broadcast remain unaltered (staff are finalising the location this week).
Certainly, the news that the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall were last night on their way to the Middle East, as planned, to celebrate the centenary of Jordan, was reassuring.
However, it meant that the wartime generation was yesterday led not by the monarch but by a handful of sprightly gents who, just like everyone else, were thrilled to see Whitehall full again after a two-year absence.
They included the oldest veteran present, Tim Farmiloe, 98, formerly
