Everyone’s talking about . . .

THE QUEEN’S TWO-BAR FIRE

Why is it news?

IT’S a hot story! When the Queen welcomed Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia to Buckingham Palace on Wednesday, he would have spotted her two-bar electric fire (circled below) . . . and felt a little humbled.

Would he get the irony?

AS LEADER of a country with the world’s biggest oil reserves, he might have been surprised by Her Majesty’s frugality.

Where is it from?

UNDOUBTEDLY, it dates back to before the advent of online shopping, but if you want to buy one today, they are on sale from Amazon for £28.06 with guaranteed next-day delivery.

Made in Britain?

AFRAID not. It’s from China, according to Warm lite Heating, based in Stoke-on-Trent, whose name is on the heater. It’s white, with two heat settings, a carry handle and an ‘anti-tip feature’.

How does it work?

IT SWITCHES off if tipped over.

It looks dangerous . . .

ONE suspects Prince George and Princess Charlotte are kept well away from the naked bars when visiting Great-Granny.

Why not a real fire?

BECAUSE the Queen is, above all, practical. Her meeting with the Crown Prince was not going to take long — so it was far easier just to switch her Warm lite on and orf. Remember, she was brought up in wartime Britain, when central heating was the last thing on people’s minds.

It’s a bit incongruous . . .

ADMITTEDLY, the heater occupies a central position in the Audience Room (rubbing shoulders with a £5 million Gainsborough portrait and a £2 million Canaletto), but it speaks volumes about the Queen’s take on waste — and her family is famously hardy when it comes to the cold. Guests to Balmoral often complain about the draughts.

Are Warm lite pleased?

THEY are thrilled but, taking their lead from Her Maj, they don’t want to make a fuss. ‘We still have some in stock,’ says a customer service person, ‘but they seem to have run out of them in Asda.’