I have three encounters:
-- literally bumped into Prince Edward at a summer ball, him running one way, me the other, him holding a bowl of strawberries, and we had a head on collision with us both ending up on the ground, legs in the air, me in a ballgown, no dignity left, covered in strawberries.
-- lived opposite a theatre where Prince Philiip and Prince Charles used to go frequently, and they always walked past my window, no bodyguards, just the two of them walking, both wearing the same raincoats, both with hands behind back.
-- Princess Anne came to visit a sports centre where I lived as a kid. We all lined up to shake her hand, thinking it funny to have one hand behind our backs on which we had giant furry gorilla hands - the idea being we would all stick our monkey hands out for her to shake as she walked past. In fact, as she approached us, she looked so beautiful and had such a lovely smile, that we all felt ashamed and threw the furry hands away, and shook hands with her properly.
That's it for me. Have never seen the Queen and never saw Princess Di. I did go to Kensington Palace on the day she died, which was an incredible experience. Even bus and taxi drivers (and you know what they're like in London) were stopping to let people cross the road. Skinheads mixed with little old ladies mixed with Rastafarians and everyone felt connected, none of the usual differences. In that sense it was magic, although a horrible thing to have caused it.
Sarah
At 2:30 PM +0000 02/05/2003, Lucy Hone wrote:
"Air Hellair, high chomming awf yoo too come, We yewsed to come hyah kemping wen may relatives were friendly with your leaders and it was wen yew all lieved in tents end hed those lovely camels... Indeed my husband and I hev still got some of the seddles thet were givin to us... Now I think yew should just give us back this bit of the desert end let us jolly nice people hev all the oil and ges. It will stop you from faiting end fainally put those ex-colonials from the Unated States in their places....HWAH HWAH HWAH HWAH "
