As one of the Royal Mail’s top postmen, Ralph Lindsay spent 16 years hand-delivering mail to the monarch.
Thanked personally by the Queen for his years of dedicated service, he was even chosen to launch the Post Office’s ruby jubilee range of stamps.
A Perth postie man and boy, he died this week aged 79.
One of a family of five, Mr Lindsay was born and brought up in Perth and worked as a van driver after leaving school, before joining the Royal Mail at the age of 16.
His long service saw him chosen as one of a select band from Perth who would make the daily mail delivery to the Queen’s holiday home at Balmoral Castle while she was in residence.
His day would begin at 5am when he would collect the mail to be taken north, as well as picking up a sheaf of newspapers for Her Majesty’s perusal.
Under police escort, Mr Lindsay and a colleague would then head up to Balmoral to hand over the all-important messages of the day.
He and his partner would then spend the day ”on call” at the castle where they would carry out duties for the royal family including delivering local mail.
At the end of a sometimes less than gruelling shift, he would take the royal correspondence back to Glasgow where it would be distributed across the rest of the country.
His evening journey was also under police escort and treated with military precision because of the sometimes sensitive nature of the letters and parcels in his care.
Mr Lindsay’s widow, Irene, said it was the aspect of a postal career spanning almost half a century that he loved the most.
She said: ”He had been with the Post Office such a long time he was selected for the royal duty and had to be vetted for it in some way before he could begin.
”During the day at Balmoral, the Queen would have different postcards and letters and parcels which he would have to deliver across the estate.
”Basically they would be at her beck and call but he loved it because they got their meals there and the food was fantastic he ate like a king!
”If she had mail to be sent out, they would take that back with them to Glasgow down the motorway under police protection, which was very exciting.
”Only then would he be able to come home, so it was very long days but he loved every moment.”
One less enjoyable moment was when Mr Lindsay, driving the standard post van, almost caused a diplomatic incident as he shunned royal etiquette while turning into the castle driveway.
Irene said: ”He told a fantastic story about the day he almost crashed into the Queen. He was turning into the driveway with the van and the Queen was coming out in her Range Rover, just like you used to see on the TV all the time.
”They both stopped and she waved him on and he waved her on. As often happens, they both then went at the same time and had to slam on their brakes.
”There can’t have been any ill feeling because he got a beautiful card and photo from the Queen when he finished, with personal thanks from both the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, which he treasured.”
Another of Mr Lindsay’s great loves was St Johnstone Football Club, following them home and away.
Mr Lindsay had previously been married to Marian and had a daughter, Mandy and was a devoted grandfather to Greig and Kieran.