They had no idea who was standing in front of them. The British channel Sky News has rebroadcast the interview with a former bodyguard of Queen Elizabeth II, who died on Thursday September 8, who said that American tourists had not recognized the sovereign during a chance meeting in the vicinity. from Balmoral (Scotland), a few years ago.
>>> Death of Queen Elizabeth II: follow our live
The interview dates back to June 2022, during Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee. It was officer Richard Griffin, a former member of the British royal family’s protective services, who then shared this unique story. He remembered having accompanied the queen for a picnic in the middle of nature, not far from Balmoral Castle, the favorite residence of Elizabeth II.
“Normally, you don’t meet anyone on these picnic spots, did he declare. But two hikers were heading our way, and the queen stopped to say hello, as usual.” The walkers, identified as Americans, then had a discussion with the sovereign, without ever recognizing her.
After asking her where she lived (“in London, but I have a holiday home in these hills” had mischievously replied Elizabeth II), the two walkers had asked how long their interlocutor had been frequenting this Scottish region. “Oh, I’ve been coming since I was little, so it must be well over 80 years old”she smiled. “So you must have seen the queen?”the couple had inquired. “Not particularly, but Dick (bodyguard Richard Griffin) meet regularly”had replied Elizabeth II.
Still without having recognized one of the most famous women in the world, the tourists then handed a camera to the queen so that she could take a picture of them with her bodyguard. “We exchanged places, they took a photo with the queen (…) and we said goodbye”said Richard Griffin. “We didn’t tell them anything”, he assured, all smiles. Queen Elizabeth II would then have confided that she would have liked to be able “to be a fly on the wall” when these tourists, once back in the United States, would show their surprising vacation photos to their friends.