By Peter Hunt BBC royal correspondent

But she entered into the spirit of the moment with gusto.

Together with some French detectives, she heaved on a rope lassoed around the waist of a few photographers and yanked them out of the way of an oncoming Queen.

The emphasis of the trip was on Anglo-French co-operation

The setting was a Parisian street in a royal walkabout that was, at times, mildly chaotic.

The Duke of Edinburgh, temporarily detached from his wife, headed towards me as if to shake my hand.

He thought the better of it and popped into the local butchers instead.

The Queen and the small but appreciative crowd were oblivious to the minor skirmishes erupting in their midst between British and French photographers.

If they had been responsible for drawing up the Entente Cordiale it would never have seen the light of day.

Crackling radios

Little was left to chance on this state visit. At least 2,400 police officers were on duty.

They were in uniform, watching from rooftops, and undercover, mingling with the crowds.

Though, in Toulouse, their crackling police radios beneath their leather jackets did rather give the game away.

A sensory treat was laid on for the Queen on day one when she arrived at Gare du Nord station.

A woman who has grown used, during her reign, to freshly painted toilets was now probably wondering if all French railway stations carry the aroma of tropical fruit

Twenty minutes before La Reine was due, two officials sprinkled a liquid with the fragrance of melons along the tracks.

A woman who's grown used, during her reign, to freshly painted toilets was now probably wondering if all French railway stations carry the aroma of tropical fruit.

It was a visit with the usual royal mix of pomp and ceremony and walkabouts.

Some of the places she went to had interesting historical resonances.

Place de la Concorde, where she was formally welcomed by the French president Jacques Chirac, was also where Louis 16th and Marie Antoinette were guillotined.

Toulouse, where she witnessed an Anglo-French partnership in action at the aircraft manufacturers Airbus, was also significant.

The battle there in 1814 was the last time the two nations fought each other on French soil.

Practical benefits

After such a visit, there's an obvious and potentially brutal question.

What is the point?

On the surface, it was about highlighting the century-old Entente Cordiale, or friendly understanding, between Britain and France - colonial documents to sort out the spoils of two conquering nations.

The emphasis now was on the practical benefits of Anglo-French co-operation.

On two days, and in two speeches, the Queen referred to the Iraq War without ever letting such undiplomatic words pass her lips

But there was also an unusually political dimension to this state visit.

On two days, and in two speeches, the Queen referred to the Iraq War without ever letting such undiplomatic words pass her lips.

The divisive conflict last year strained relations between Britain and France.

The Queen was brought in to assist the process of kiss-and-make-up.

It helps that she appears popular in France, a republic which decapitated its monarchy more than two centuries ago.

And she did deliver all her speeches in French.

The average stereotypical Briton gets no further than "je suis" or lapsing into Franglais, or speaking very loudly and slowly in English.

Regal order

The diplomats who plan her programme know they have to be careful.

If the Queen had come to France and demanded closure and the two neighbours, divided by a channel, were still at loggerheads, it could have backfired.

If in doubt, a speech of pleasantries is the regal order of the day.

Looking to the future, her aides have been reminded once again by the success of this trip that the Queen can be a very useful diplomatic weapon, if used sparingly.