QUEEN OF QUIPS
Has one heard the one about the Typhoon jets?
CONVENTION dictates that the Queen steers clear of politics but she had Moscow firmly in her sights on her first engagement outside of Windsor Castle this year. Watching a flypast of Typhoon jets to mark the Royal Australian Air Force’s centenary yesterday, she quipped: “Are they being sent off to chase the Russians?”
The monarch was chatting to an Australian serviceman at the Air Forces Memorial in Runnymede, Surrey, who replied: “That’s correct, Ma’am, it’s a lot of fun for us.” “Hmm,” replied Her Majesty. The Queen was clearly in good spirits at her first event since Harry and Meghan’s explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey and her first official outing since the Cenotaph service on Remembrance Sunday. Or perhaps she was simply in tune with the nation as it enjoys returning to welcome freedoms as the lockdown eases. Her Majesty, 94, chose spring colours, a lime-green hat and matching jacket, an outfit she also wore before lockdown at Royal Ascot in 2019. On the jacket, was wore a brooch presented on her first tour Down Under in 1954 as she spoke to RAAF personnel.
She said: “As one of the oldest air forces, it is fitting to pay tribute to the efficiency, skill and sacrifice of the men and women who have served in Australia and overseas during the past 100 years.”
The Queen knows the memorial well, having opened it in 1953 a few miles from Windsor Castle. She joked again: “You’ve got a good day for it. It’s a very windy spot normally.”
She voiced concern to High Commissioner George Brandis QC about the number of Australians stuck in the UK due to Covid.
After he told her of efforts being made to get his fellow Aussies home, the Queen replied with a wry smile: “There are worse places to be stuck.”
Partnership
Mr Brandis saluted the RAAF and his nation’s partnership with the UK, saying: “The Royal Australian Air Force has, over 100 eventful years, grown to be one of the most accomplished. From its first major combat operations during the Second World War, its personnel have been engaged almost continuously. On most of those occasions, the RAAF has worked in close partnership with the RAF.”
Despite the promising signs of normality, there will be no gathering of the Royal Family at Windsor for the Easter Sunday church service.
Instead, the Queen will continue to perform her duties via video calls while Prince Philip, 99, continues his recovery following recent stay in hospital for illness and heart issues.
THE QUEEN’S characteristic dry wit was on display as she appeared at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Air Forces Memorial to mark the centenary of the Royal Australian Air Force.
“Are they being sent off to chase the Russians?” she asked an airman after a flypast. A gentle reminder that, with almost seven decades on the throne, her interest in international relations is undiminished.