Even the Queen gets stuck in traffic, as was demonstrated Wednesday by her late arrival to the first official engagement of her Golden Jubilee. A slow-moving tractor and a learner driver impeded the path of the Queen’s car, causing her to miss the first part of a fly-by in her honour at the Royal Air Force Marham near the Sandringham residence.
The Canberra reconnaissance plane and four Tornado fighter bombers had already soared across the Norfolk sky when Queen Elizabeth II arrived, greeted by hundreds of flag-waving children. “(The delay) was only a matter of two minutes or so,” explained a spokeswoman for the Royal Air Force. “The pilots in the fly-over flew past, turned around and made another pass, this time seen by the Queen.”
The Queen, who reportedly has never before been late to an official engagement, was unavoidably delayed when her Rolls Royce became stuck behind a tractor travelling on a narrow country road for two miles. And just when the royal car was able to pass the farm vehicle, the Queen found herself slowed behind 19-year-old student driver Sarah Proctor.
“There was nothing we could do,” said a royal aide. “It was just one of those things.”
Learner driver Sarah says she was observing the proper speed and there was no place to pass on the rural roadway. “It wasn’t my fault,” she insists. “If they had flashed me I would have pulled over.”
Photo: © Alphapress.com
