‘Are they being sent to chase off the Russians?’
What Her Majesty asked jet fighter controller at air forces service
THE Queen was on sparkling form yesterday as she asked an airman about being sent to ‘chase the Russians’ at her first public engagement of the year outside Windsor.
She paid tribute to the Royal Australian Air Force on its centenary during a service at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede, Surrey.
The Queen, 94, wore a lime green and ivory dress and jacket by Angela Kelly with matching hat, and the wattle brooch presented to her during her 1954 tour of Australia, but did not wear a face covering.
She quizzed Squadron Leader Matthew Sander about his job as a fighter controller for Typhoon jets and asked if they had been ‘sent off to chase the Russians’. He replied: ‘ That’s correct, Ma’am, it’s a lot of fun for us!’
The ceremony began with a flypast by the Red Arrows, but with white smoke only instead of the familiar red, white and blue.
As they do not normally perform at this time of year, their smoke pods are being serviced. Afterwards the Queen was shown the names of some of the 1,383 Australian war dead who are commemorated on a panel at the memorial and was promised a present – two RAAF dog jackets for her new corgis, to be delivered once they have been made.
‘That’s very kind,’ she said. ‘I look forward to it.’
Of her first public engagement beyond the walls of Windsor Castle since November’s Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph, the Queen – who had her first Covid-19 vaccination in January – said: ‘I’m delighted to be here.’
Prince Philip, 99, is continuing to recover at home after undergoing heart surgery at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London.