This week the nation celebrates the Queen’s 90th birthday. And here in Cheltenham my sense is that our town will mark the occasion with real enthusiasm. Just look at the town’s brilliant response to the ‘Clean for the Queen’ campaign. From Hesters Way to the Honeybourne line, platoons of litter-pickers swung into action to take on grot spots. Rubbish was cleared and hundreds of those signature purple rubbish bags were filled. But what lies behind that enthusiasm for marking the Queen’s birthday? Part of the answer may lie in Cheltenham’s history, which has a strong royal theme running through it. As we all know, King George III, Queen Charlotte and three of their daughters arrived here on 12 July 1788, in the hope that the spa waters would cure the ailing king. The original Skillicorne's Well, where the waters were drunk, became the Royal Well (later destroyed). And Well Walk, near to the library, forms part of the route the King took from Bayshill down to visit what is now Cheltenham Minster. We know too that Royal Crescent, built in 1802, was home for a period to the Duke of Gloucester, later William IV (although in his case it seems the principal attraction was not the spa waters, but rather the presence of one of his mistresses…) And of course the town boasts some fine royal statues, including that of William IV in Montpellier Gardens – erected to mark the birth of Cheltenham’s parliamentary representation following the Great Reform Act of 1832. But I believe our town’s enthusiasm is not actually principally about the past. It’s about the present. For many of us the Queen today personifies the nation itself. She represents core values that bring together people from all corners of the UK and all walks of life, and which we (rightly) continue to associate with our country: loyalty, steadfastness, and a sense of duty. The great theme of her life has been her commitment to the British people. And at a time of breakneck technological and social change, she has brought a calmness and continuity that feel more precious than ever. So let us wish the Queen a happy birthday, and celebrate this national occasion. Looking at the state of Cheltenham’s potholes, surely it’s time for a road-based theme for any future commemorations – I’m backing “Mend for the Monarch”!