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Queen calls Chinese officials 'very rude': Five times Elizabeth II has dropped the mask of neutrality
The Queen might be constitutionally obliged to remain neutral at all times but there have, of course, been numerous occasions her political views have slipped out
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Your support makes all the difference.The Queen has been caught off guard a number of times before, but this time, she has been caught on camera. During a garden party at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday, Elizabeth II’s cameraman captured her candidly chinwagging about the Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first state visit to Britain last year.
Twizzling her plastic bubble-gum pink umbrella, Her Majesty revealed she thought the Chinese officials were “very rude” to the British ambassador during their visit in October.
It goes without saying that the Queen is not supposed to voice her opinions on such matters, and if she does, they are not supposed to be recorded on camera. Constitutional convention dictates the Queen remains neutral at all times and others must keep their meetings with her confidential.
Dubbed “Elizabeth the silent”, the longest reigning monarch in history appears to be devoid of partisan opinions, ostensibly at least. To put this into context, she has never given a press interview, does not vote in the general election, and might keep a diary, but we won’t see it for years to come.
Of course, it is not always as simple as this and there have been a number of occasions the Queen has accidently let her political views slip out. A mere mortal, Her Royal Highness has her own views, incentives, and interests.
Here are those incidents where she has given us a glimpse of her political views:
Turkey
According to author and broadcaster Joan Smith, the Queen was not so keen for Turkey to enter the European Union. “I was present when the Queen made a comment that was both reactionary and unconstitutional,” alleges Smith. The commentator claims that she heard the comments on Turkey at a Christmas party at Downing Street.
“The Queen turned to another person in the group and said: 'The EU is getting awfully big with 28 countries.’ They said that, actually, it was 27, 'but we are hoping Turkey will come in soon’, to which the Queen said, 'Oh, we don’t want Turkey to come in for a long time.’”
Scottish referendum
That the Queen wanted Scotland to remain in Britain is something of an open secret. During the tense final days of the Scottish referendum campaign, the Queen made an unusual intervention into the political domain. Speaking on her Balmoral estate in Scotland, she said, “Well, I hope people will think very carefully about the future.”
In the aftermath of the news that Scotland would be remaining in the UK, David Cameron also broke public convention and told the then New York mayor Michael Bloomberg that the Queen had “purred down the line” after he informed her of the referendum result. Of course, Cameron was forced to apologise, telling The Andrew Marr Show he felt “extremely sorry and very embarrassed”.
Bombing Libya
The Queen was reportedly apprehensive about Britain’s decision to allow America to utilise British airbases for a bombing raid on Libya back in Spring of 1986, according to Ben Pimlott's book, The Queen: A Biography of Elizabeth II. Esteemed historian and winner of the Whitbread, Pimlott, also described the Queen as “in her own way, a bit of a leftie”.
Abu Hamza
According to Frank Gardner, the BBC's Special Correspondent, the Queen was less than pleased about the delay in arresting Hamza. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, Gardner recounted a private conversation he’d had with her about the radical Islamist cleric. He said she was upset there had been no way to arrest Hamza and had spoken to the home secretary about the issue. The BBC also apologised for “breach of confidence”.
Nicknamed “Hook” by the tabloids, Hamza could normally be glimpsed in the same corner outside Finsbury Park Mosque in North London. He has since been sentenced to a life in prison in the US without the possibility of parole.
Colonial Days
Speaking in Philadelphia in July 1976 during the bicentennial celebrations of American independence, the Queen revealed why she thought Britain had lost its American colonial outposts. In her own words, “We lost the American colonies because we lacked the statesmanship to know the right time and the manner of yielding what is impossible to keep”.
A version of this article originally appeared on Wednesday 20 April
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