London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 29, 2025

Dropped cheese and ‘alarming speed’: politicians and royal staff remember Queen

Dropped cheese and ‘alarming speed’: politicians and royal staff remember Queen

As respects were paid tat Westminster, many told stories of their humorous encounters with the Queen


Former prime ministers, current MPs and peers have shared stories about their humorous encounters with Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.

In parliament on Friday, MPs shared their personal experiences of meeting the Queen.

Theresa May recalled a picnic at Balmoral, detailing how she employed the three-second rule with some cheese she dropped on the ground.

“I had a split-second decision to make,” May said, admitting she returned the cheese to the table.

MPs burst out laughing when she added: “I turned round to see that my every move had been watched very carefully by Her Majesty the Queen. I looked at her.

“She looked at me and she just smiled. And the cheese remained on the table.”




May’s successor, Boris Johnson, who was replaced as prime minister on Tuesday, told the Commons of the Queen’s “humility” and “refusal to be grand”.

He said: “Unlike us politicians, with our outriders and our armour-plated convoys, I can tell you as a direct eyewitness that she drove herself in her own car with no detectives and no bodyguard, bouncing at alarming speed over the Scottish landscape to the total amazement of the ramblers and the tourists we encountered.”

As peers paid their respects at Westminster, the former Labour cabinet minister Lord Blunkett recalled how the Queen came to his aid after he ended up facing the wrong way as he knelt during a royal audience.

The peer, who is blind, recounted how the incident occurred during his induction as a member of the privy council, which advises the monarch, and how she had helped “shift me round”.

Blunkett, who has a guide dog, spoke about how he had been “quite nervous” before the ceremony 25 years ago.

He said: “Dogs aren’t very good at showing you where to kneel on cushions. They are brilliant at all kinds of other things but that isn’t one of them.

“So I left the dog with [then Labour cabinet colleague] Jack Straw and I moved across the room and I did manage to hit the cushion, but facing the wrong way.

“Her Majesty in a gracious and careful and never patronising way managed to gently – by touching my arm – shift me round so that I could just brush her hand.”

Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, recalled sitting next to the Queen at a lunch in Kingston, south-west London, during her golden jubilee celebrations in 2002.

The MP for Kingston and Surbiton said: “I was initially confused by a silver cylinder beside her place setting.

“I wondered to myself what treasures it might hold. I had my suspicions when, as dessert was served, her beloved corgis were let in, and nestled themselves round her feet.

“The Queen lifted up the lid of the cylinder, plucked out some digestive biscuits, and began sneaking them to her grateful dogs.”


During the Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations in June, the former protection officer Richard Griffin recounted a story about two American tourists failing to recognise the Queen after they met her walking in the grounds of Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire.

During the interview with Sky News, which has been recirculating on social media after the monarch’s death, Griffin said: “There were two hikers coming towards us and the Queen would always stop and say hello.

“It was two Americans on a walking holiday and it was clear they hadn’t recognised her, which was fine.

“The American man asked her if she lived in the area, to which she replied that she did indeed have a house nearby.

“She said that she lived in London but had a house just over the hill, and he asked how often she had been coming up here.

“She said she’d been coming up for more than 80 years and you could see the cogs were ticking. He said: ‘Well if you’ve been coming up here for 80 years, you must have met the Queen?’

“As quick as a flash, she said: ‘Well I haven’t but Dick here meets her regularly.’”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
×