Queen even makes me nervous, admits Harry
IT’S only natural for most people to feel a tad nervous when meeting the Queen, but it seems even those close to her sometimes get the jitters.
Despite being close family, her grandson Prince Harry has revealed that he still panics when he sees Her Majesty around Buckingham Palace.
In a candid documentary on Royal Family life, the Duke of Sussex tells visitors he gets nervous when he spots her approaching.
‘You guys have spent way more time in Buckingham Palace than I ever have – and you’ve only been here two weeks,’ he is filmed telling a group of hospitality professionals from the Caribbean.
He adds: ‘Have you bumped into the Queen yet? If you suddenly bump into her in the corridor, don’t panic. I know you will. We all do!’
Claudine Jeffrey, one of the group from Antigua, says in the documentary: ‘It’s a fun place to work. I say it’s an adventure every day because every day it is always something different. You never find that you are doing the same thing.
‘To find myself in Buckingham Palace – it is beyond my wildest imaginations.’
The two-part ITV series, Queen Of The World, is due to air later this month. Viewers will see footage which ITV boasts will offer ‘a unique insight into Her Majesty The Queen’s role as a figure on the global stage and the baton she is passing to the younger members of the Royal Family’.
IN the world of Highland cattle she is regarded, one might say, as the reigning champion.
The Queen has been proudly raising Highland cows at her Balmoral estate for 65 years – and has repeatedly won prizes across the country for the quality of her livestock.
But this year, Her Majesty’s animals have been conspicuous by their absence, as none of them has appeared at any of this year’s Highland shows.
And now, The Scottish Mail on Sunday can reveal why: the Queen is afraid that her beloved herd might become infected by disease.
The stockman responsible for the royal herd yesterday revealed that the queen’s cows have been kept away from the shows amid health fears – as she feels the risks of mingling with other livestock is simply too great this year.
Dochy Ormiston said: ‘We have not entered any shows this year. We are a closed herd and we are very frightened over its health status’. The Queen founded the Balmoral fold of Highland cattle in 1953 and is considered one of the country’s top Highland breeders, with more than 50 animals on the estate.
Winning prizes with individual cows and bulls attracts prestige, prize money and can increase the value of an animal enormously.
The monarch, who is patron of the Highland Cattle Society (HCS), has been a regular prize winner with her cattle. Former HCS president Angus MacKay said it was ‘a bit sad’ that the monarch’s cattle were missing from this year’s show.
He added: ‘I can understand why. She is extremely knowledgeable about the breed and about her own fold and how it developed. She would have certainly been involved in the decision not to show them.
‘The way to maintain such a fold like Balmoral is to have a closed herd and if you show your animals they risk being exposed to animals of lesser health quality.’
Mr MacKay, 69, an official HCS field officer with nearly 50 years’ experience of Highland cattle, added: ‘Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis [a respiratory disease] is especially a problem. Another problem with maintaining a high health herd is that after each show your animals have to be isolated from the main fold for three weeks, and then re-tested by a vet before being allowed to return to the herd.’
One of the most famous royal bulls, named Coirneal, won the overall champion at Oban’s annual Highland cattle show in 2016, and was later sold for 7,000 guineas.
The Queen also claimed the top spot at the Royal Highland Show in 2014. She won £75.
Although a group of cattle is generally called a herd, a group of Highland cattle is known as a ‘fold’. This is because in winter, the cattle were kept in open shelters made of stone called folds to protect them from the weather at night.