Oct 22 2003



BURRELL tells of his most bizarre encounter with the Queen

_______________



I COULD not believe the regal sight before me. The Queen, in her sitting room at Buckingham Palace, looked up and caught me staring. "Why are you smiling, Paul?" she inquired, a hint of amusement in her voice.



"If you could only see what I can see, Your Majesty," I replied. We both grinned. It was late at night and there the Queen sat in a smart silk dress at her desk near the window - wearing the Imperial State Crown and her pink mule slippers.



It was an incredible sight: the Queen of England looking both majestic and motherly, a picture of state without ceremony. I had caught her by surprise when I entered the room to say goodnight after ensuring her nine corgis were comfortable in their nearby beds.



The Queen, wearing her half-moon spectacles, sat at her desk where a flexible table-lamp's lowered arm cast bright light onto the red dispatch boxes and papers she was working on.



In the half-light, a thousand facets flashed back from the crown. This was the eve of the State Opening of Parliament and the Queen, as every year, needed to get used to the weight of the crown - the equivalent of two bags of sugar - on her head.



As she smiled at me, I asked: "Will there be anything else, Your Majesty?" "No, thank you, Paul," she said. Then she carried on with her paperwork.



I bowed. "Goodnight, Your Majesty." I never again saw the Queen wearing her crown in private.