Captain Greybeard, the Daily Mirror’s cruise expert, believes he knows where to find Her Majesty this summer.

After studying the calendar for the Hebridean Princess for the summer season, he found a one week gap. Someone chartered the luxury cruise ship for seven days from 12th July to 19th July this year. He is convinced this is the Royal family.

He might well be right. The Queen certainly seemed to have enjoyed her trip on the cruise ship last year. Princess Anne turned 60 during the ten-day cruise and they also celebrated Prince Andrew’s 50th birthday. The cruise started at Stomoway (Isle of Lewis) and went on to Scrabster.

That was not the first experience the Queen had with the Hebridean Princess either. She also chartered the ship, with a passenger capacity of 50 to 60 passengers – when she celebrated her 80th birthday in 2006.

All Leisure Group, the company that operates the Hebridean Princess, is not giving anything away. Mike Deegan, the Operations Director, was completely mum. “We never comment on the identity of any individual or group of individuals that cruise as passengers in our vessel Hebridean Princess.”

Readers should not be put off by that comment. We heard similar comments last year when 60 cruise passengers who had already made reservations on the same ship hastily had to make alternative arrangements after the Royal party decided to charter the ship.