UNLIKE Gilbert & Sullivan’s hapless policeman, a Lord Lieutenants’s lot is a happy one.

That is the abiding verdict of 81-year-old Sir Thomas Dunne, who wore the elegant uniform of Lord Lieutenant for Herefordshire on three occasions when he was required to escort the Queen on visits to the county. Under the former Hereford and Worcester county, he took charge of royal visits across the border too.

There have been six visits by the Queen to Herefordshire during her soon-to-be record-breaking 63-year reign.

The first, in 1957 when she became the first reigning monarch to visit for 300 years, her second visit in 1976, a year before Sir Thomas was first appointed Lord Lieutenant. Though the weight of responsibility in organising his first royal visit in 1987 was “terrifying”, he looks back with great fondness on his years as the Queen’s representative in Herefordshire.

At home in Leintwardine, he browses through seven enormous compilations of photographs and press cuttings amassed by himself and his wife, Henrietta.

He recalls the good fortune in having held the position during the Queen’s visits in 1987, 1996 and 2003, and in having the support of Lady Dunne, a “fantastic photographer”.

In Golden Jubilee year, Lady Dunne suggested a special gift from Lord Lieutenants from all four corners of the country. Cushions were crafted from England, stitched by Lady Dunne, from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and were received with delight by the Sovereign.

As with all Lord Lieutenants, Sir Thomas was appointed by the Queen, and thus charged with the business of organising royal visits.

“It is difficult to start with, “ admits Sir Thomas, a former High Sheriff. “There are meetings with those involved, and a Private Secretary comes down to look at the plans and then there are meetings with police.”

In 1987 he organised a royal visit to Bulmers’ ciderworks where the monarch met Bertram Bulmer.

Royal visits can be fraught with anxiety, even the smaller details presenting wobbles of panic. Though Sir Thomas can look back with pleasure at royal visits during his tenure, it’s little surprise that there were a few moments of unease. Such as a church service when it was realised that the Queen and Prince Philip had not been supplied with an order of service. “I’d never seen a clergyman shaking before,” says a smiling Sir Thomas. Another anxious time was the search for an elusive salmon – fit for a queen – from the River Wye.

“In 1996 the Mayor of Hereford, George Hyde had decided it would be a good idea to present the Queen with a salmon,” he says. “It was quite a worrying time as to when the fish would appear!” The story ended happily, the errant salmon duly handed to the Queen on the steps of Hereford Town Hall.

“I understand the salmon was eaten by the family that weekend,” Sir Thomas adds.

The Queen was in Hereford to unveil the prized Mappa Mundi, a momentous occasion attended by such luminaries as Lord Charteris, and J Paul Getty Jnr, a generous benefactor of the arts.

“Paul Getty, a tremendous bibliophile, was fascinated by the chained library at Hereford and felt it terribly important, and of course he had been approached by Lord Charteris, National Heritage Memorial Fund chairman.”

He recalls: “That atmosphere really got the cathedral going, you could almost feel it. The Queen has a marvellous smile, and you could tell she was enjoying herself that day.”

Two years after the harrowing foot and mouth outbreak, the Queen asked to meet local farmers in 2003, and The Mynde at Much Dewchurch was the chosen venue.

During this “very special day”, the Queen embarked on a lengthy walkabout among the crowds, an entourage of cars in anxious pursuit.

But the importance of the Queen’s visits to Herefordshire was perhaps summed up by one particular memory.

“One farmer was crying, so Henrietta went up to him to ask what was the matter,” said Sir Thomas. “The old boy said, ‘I thought my life was finished because of foot and mouth. But now I’ve met the Queen.”

• To commemorate the Queen becoming the country's longest serving monarch, the Hereford Times will next week be publishing eight pages of stories and pictures recalling her visits to Herefordshire.