As our monarch heads towards her Diamond Jubilee celebrations over the next two weeks, I thought it appropriate to share a very special moment in my life when I had the great privilege of having tea with HRH the Queen at Holyroode Palace in Edinburgh.
The meeting occurred in October 1997 when I found myself acting as spokesperson for group of female journalists at half term just after Diana, Princess of Wales had tragically died.
I was working at the time as interim PR director for The Prince’s Trust during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, CHOGM, in Edinburgh and had been asked to go along to Holyroode with a press contingent to represent the charity. We didn’t really know what to expect, except that we had been briefed that we would be meeting various members of the Royal family and the usual protocol of bowing and curtseying had been abandoned. The impression given was that this was to be an informal gathering and really rather unusual.
In fact the appearance of Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth, at the opening of the CHOGM was indeed a novelty. The monarch had never appeared at a CHOGM before, and it marked the beginning of a renewed interest in the Commonwealth from the monarchy. There was also a need for the Royal family to be seen to connect with their subjects following the public outcry of grief at Diana’s untimely death. It was time to move on.
So, there I was – meeting the Queen! We were first formally presented to her Majesty along with the Princess Royal and the Duke of Edinburgh and then ushered into the panelled library for afternoon tea and Dundee cake! We had been advised that the Royal party would be joining us but were not prepared for the complete informality of the next stage!
The women of the party had congregated and those of us with children were discussing the complexities around half-term childcare and work arrangements. Suddenly a familiar voice joined our conversation stating, that ‘Of course, it’s the same for Charles now that he’s a single parent’. A stunned silence followed as we realised that the Queen had joined our group of working mums – without gloves or handbag, cup of tea in hand! Never liking a pregnant pause I quickly filled with, ‘Oh yes, your Majesty. Just how is the Prince managing?’, following which everybody else relaxed and we continued to chat with the Queen for another 20 minutes!
Lynne Parker
For more information and great pics of the Queen and her family, like these, visit the official Diamond Jubilee website HERE.
