San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Mingling with queen a commoner’s dream
It was a royal summons, and it came in the mail one winter’s day. There was a crown at the top and the queen’s initials: “The Master of the Household is commanded by Her Majesty …”
It was an invitation to a reception given by Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh on board the royal yacht Britannia in San Diego at the beginning of a royal visit to California in February 1983.
The queen does not give interviews, I was told, but she and Prince Philip usually invite reporters for a reception at the start of a royal tour. It would be informal, off the record.
One does not turn down a royal invitation, so I flew to San Diego, wearing my only presentable lounge suit. After all these years, it remains my only brush with royalty.
In the years since and especially after her death, we have all seen the queen, on television, in films, and on the Netflix series “The Crown,” a smash hit in this country. But no actress, not even the great Helen Mirren, was able to convey the queen’s warmth and charm.
They made her appear formal, a bit aloof. She was different in person.
There must have been a hundred invited guests on the royal yacht that morning. We stood in a long line, and each of us were introduced to the queen and to Prince Philip. She held out her hand. “Pleased to meet you,” she said, or something like that. The same for Philip. The line moved quickly. Royalty is good at these small ceremonies. When everyone had gone through the line, we stood in clumps on the stern deck, watching and waiting for what might come next.
A servant offered the queen refreshment on a silver tray. She declined with a little nod, looked at the guests, and then to my immense astonishment the queen walked directly up to me.
She asked where I was from, asked about San Francisco. She said she and Philip were looking forward to coming here. She seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say, as if we were friends having a chat. She encouraged conversation.
I asked about her voyage up the coast from Mexico on the royal yacht. “I shouldn’t say this, given my position, but I don’t much enjoy sea travel,” she said.
The queen actually smiled and laughed at something I said. I don’t remember what it was, but what I do remember was that she had the rare ability to make an ordinary person feel interesting and important.
She had grace, style and intense blue eyes.
After San Diego, the queen and Philip visited President Ronald Reagan at his ranch near Santa Barbara, then moved on to San Francisco.
They stayed at the St. Francis Hotel on Union Square, had dinner at the famous Trader Vic’s restaurant, and the next night a banquet with Reagan at the de Young Museum.
I saw Queen Elizabeth twice more, but only from a great distance.
On one occasion she was aboard the Brittania, by then briefly docked on the Embarcadero in San Francisco. Toward the end of the evening, she and Prince Philip appeared at the rail, he in his admiral’s uniform, the queen wearing a diamond tiara. She made some brief remarks thanking the people of San Francisco for their hospitality. Then the queen waved. The diamonds she wore caught the spotlight, and glittered just so. She knew exactly how to play the role.
Actors could never match it. She was part of a history we will never see again.