The Queen 'joked about her own death with Nick Clegg' during private meeting in Downing Street
Monarch had been visiting Number 10 as part of Diamond Jubilee celebrations
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Your support makes all the difference.The Queen reportedly openly joked about her own death while speaking to former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg in Downing Street.
Former Lib Dem Treasury minister David Laws' memoirs revealed the rather bizarre turn of events in which Mr Clegg informed the Monarch of proposals to grant female royals equal succession rights.
“Well, Ma’am," Mr Clegg reportedly said, “I am not sure that you are going to approve. We are just legislating to change the rules on the Royal succession. For the first time ever in the history of the British monarchy, a first-born girl will succeed to the throne before a later-born boy.”
Responding to his comments, the Queen allegedly replied: “Good grief, Mr Clegg, by then, I’ll be dead!”
The Queen had been visiting Downing Street as part of her Diamond Jubilee celebrations and was said to have hit it off with the former Lib Dem leader.
The revelation was among those featuring in Laws’ memoirs, published in The Mail on Sunday.
He also recounted a standout moment where the Queen’s distinctly dry wit came to the fore during a photo taken with her and the entire cabinet office.
“Eventually, and on time of course, the Queen arrived, and in a hushed room she walked down the two rows of Ministers – facing each other – gently shaking our hands,” he wrote.
“Only when she came to George Osborne did she stop briefly. ‘Ma’am,’ said David Cameron, ‘you will know the Chancellor of the Exchequer – our 'money man'.
“‘Oh yes,’ said the Queen. ‘I think the last time we met we were looking at all those gold bars in the vaults of the Bank of England? Such a pity that so few of them are still ours.’”
Immersed in a sea of senior ministers for the photo shoot, the Queen is understood to have then quipped “you can all smile, you know”, breaking the awkward silence and prompting much of the Cabinet office to erupt into laughter.
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