I went too far during lunch at the Palace!
I AM a big royalist, so it was always a huge moment for me when Her Majesty popped into Lord’s. Needless to say, she dealt with her duties with her usual equanimity.
For an England captain invited to introduce his players to the Queen on the outfield, the etiquette was simple. She would enter through the Long Room and be presented to you by the MCC secretary. You nod, take her down the line, and try to remember the names.
Keith Fletcher, one of my predecessors, was never great in that regard, and might have made up a few, but I think I got away with it.
There have been plenty of stories about who said what to her during the line-ups. The Australia fast bowler Dennis Lillee reportedly asked her for an autograph, while England off-spinner Pat Pocock requested tickets for the FA Cup final.
During my leadership, everyone seemed on their best behaviour.
If you weren’t in the field, you might have an audience with her in the committee room. Prince
Philip was the cricketer in the family, and the Queen didn’t come to Lord’s every year. But she was always impeccable.
Once, I was lucky enough to be invited to the Palace. The Queen used to do these intimate lunches for seven or eight guests, and it was all very relaxed. She played a full part in conversation. We had people from every walk of life and you discussed all things under the sun.
She was very interested in everyone, and always well briefed. There was a jockey present, and we discussed helmets — for riding and batting. I remember taking it a little bit too far with the gory details about what happens if one gets hit without one. The general agreement was, ‘Well, let’s move on from there. It sounds as though it’s much better to wear one…’
One year, I arrived in Barbados and was met by a message inviting me to drinks and dinner on the Royal Yacht Britannia. I was not exactly prepared, and had to borrow a dinner suit, some size-nine black shoes, and try to look the part. I presented myself at the docks in Bridgetown, among the great and good of Barbados, including Clyde Walcott and Everton Weekes, with the ladies wearing gloves up to their elbows and beyond.
I walked up the gangplank, where the welcoming party was Her Majesty and Prince Philip. Her first words were, ‘Oh, what are you doing here?’ The implication, I like to think, was that it was someone she recognised.