She and Prince Philip have been pressed into action to support the Labour Government’s efforts to help Turkey, a mainly Muslim and Asian country of 70 million, join the European Union.

Their State Visit here to the cities of Ankara, Istanbul and Bursa has received glowing and respectful coverage in the Turkish press and shown how the 82-year-old monarch and Philip, 87 next month, remain such a powerful draw on the world stage.

Yet it has not been without controversy. British diplomats insist that the plan to allow Turkey to join the EU within five to seven years has the full backing of politicians across the political spectrum in Britain.

But does it have the support of the British public? That seems highly unlikely. A poll last month across Europe found 59 per cent of the public opposed to Turkey joining the 27-nation EU bloc.

It is unlikely that the polls in Britain will be any more positive towards Turkey in the near future. After the British Government grossly underestimated the number of eastern Europeans who would flood into Britain after the EU expanded in 2004, the public remains suspicious of any efforts to enlarge the union further.

The French and German governments share those suspicions, voicing fears about the prospect of an Islamic nation, nine tenths of which lies in Asia and only one tenth in Europe, changing the political and cultural direction of the continent.

They worry about the EU’s borders stretching to Iraq, Iran and Syria, particularly as Turkey’s frontiers are so porous that 100,000 illegal immigrants cross into the country each year and Al Qaeda is active here.

Even more, they are concerned about the prospect of 70 million Turks winning the right to settle and work anywhere within the EU.

Against that, the British Government argues that Turkey is a vital strategic partner, a NATO member with a moderate, model leadership, demonstrating how Muslim countries can shun fundamentalism and lean towards the West.

Britain, which shares $12 billion a year trade with Turkey, believes that the country is modernising and developing so quickly that within 20 years it will be one of the top 10 economies in the world.

The Foreign Office argues that it is vital that we get Turkey into the EU to keep the country onside and prove a loyal friend to it now to tap into the trading opportunities and stop it turning eastwards. “We don’t want it turning into another Pakistan,” one senior diplomat said earlier this week.

Mr Brown’s administration argues that restrictions on movements of Turks for a couple of years while the economy becomes richer from its membership of the EU would prevent mass migration.

But it is uncertain that its argument would wash with the British public, particularly since a million eastern Europeans have come to Britain in the past few years against a Government estimate of only 13,000 per year.

That influx, while providing us with cheap Polish plumbers and other labour, has placed huge strains on schools and other services in some parts of the country.

Turkey will need a unanimous decision by the EU to become part of the club. It seems doubtful that will happen.