Lorraine Kelly: The Queen isn't lovey-dovey but she's a loving mum of four

I think it started when a biography of Prince Charles claimed he was mostly brought up by his nannies.

A new insight into the life of the Queen, however, paints a very different story.

As she nears her 90th birthday, we have been inundated with new articles on Her Majesty.

This week royal experts turned their attention to her role as a mother, and it was fascinating.

For a start, it transpires she cooked the tea for her children, usually something like sausage and mash, and she was at her wits’ end with young Charles and Anne as they argued all the time.

No one really knows what goes on behind closed doors and it seems the Queen was a loving mum, even though she may not have been all that “lovey-dovey”.

I think that’s a generational thing. The Queen and her contemporaries, who grew up during and after the War, were less demonstrative and far more formal than we are today, but that didn’t mean they had any less love and affection for their children.

The Queen had to make a lot of overseas trips when her children were young, and she decided to leave them at home rather than disrupt their routine.

Years later when Princess Diana took Prince William to Australia when he was a baby, unfavourable comparisons where made.

This really is unfair because in the ’50s long-haul travelling, even for the Royals who would be going first class and having VIP treatment all the way, wasn’t geared up for little babies and children.

The duties and visits were incredibly formal and children would have been seen as a distraction.

Times have changed.

Now people want to see Prince William and Kate with their children, George and Charlotte, and the recent photos of them on their first holiday together in the French Alps went down a storm.

Interestingly, William and Kate have been accused of being “workshy” for not carrying out enough royal duties.

Again, this is probably only by comparison with the Queen, who shows little signs of slowing down and has been defined by her sense of duty all of her life.

She’s not a “touchy-feely” sort of person, but there is real warmth there.

When I received my OBE in Holyrood Palace in 2012, the Queen made everyone feel at ease, but there was also a real sense of occasion for all of us lucky enough to be a part of the ceremony

She is also a mum of four, and clearly someone who loves her children even although at times they have disappointed her.

The marriages of Prince Charles, Princess Anne and Prince Andrew have all ended in divorce.

She might not understand what makes them tick, but that applies to families everywhere.

This week she has been caught up in the row over whether or not Britain should stay in the EU but, characteristically, she won’t be making any comment.

I reckon she always gets the balance exactly right.

We have respect for her and for her position in a way that doesn’t apply to any other member of the Royal Family.

Tickets to street party to mark the Queen’s 90th birthday to cost £150