Theresa May pays tribute to Queen with an anecdote about eating cheese

Theresa May paid tribute to the Queen with an anecdote on how she once dropped cheese in the presence of the monarch.

The former prime minister shared how she attended a picnic with the late head of state in the vast estate of her Scottish residence Balmoral.

< p>'I remember a picnic at Balmoral, which was held in one of the two areas of the estate,' she told MPs to the Commons. "The baskets came from the castle, and we all scrambled to get the food and drinks on the table.

"I picked up some cheese, put it on a plate and put it on a plate. transferred to the table. The cheese fell on the ground. I had a decision to make in a split second."

Pausing as other MPs in the chamber burst into laughter, the ex-Prime Minister added: "I picked up the cheese, put it on the plate and put it on the table. I turned to see that my every move had been watched very carefully by Her Majesty The Queen.

“I watched her. She looked at me and she just smiled. And the cheese stayed on the table."

RecommendedQueen's death - last: King Charles will address the nation in his first speech as monarch

In a glowing tribute, Ms May said the Queen was 'simply the most remarkable person I have ever met'.

"In every nation of the world, for so many people , meeting Queen Elizabeth simply made their day and for many will be the memory of a lifetime," she said.< /p>

"Of course, for those of us who have had the honor to be one of his Prime Ministers, these meetings were more s frequent with the weekly audiences.

“It was not meetings with a high and powerful monarch, but a conversation with a woman of nce experience and knowledge and immense wisdom. It was also the only meeting I went to, and I knew she wouldn't be briefed on the media.

MPs paid tribute to the late monarch in the Commons on Friday, with dedications set to continue. late in the evening, before resuming in a rare Saturday sitting.

Former Tory MP Boris Johnson revealed he was 'moved to tears' during a special interview on the queen after the BBC film crew asked her to talk about her in the past tense.

"I'm afraid I've choked up and can't go on. I'm not really not easily moved to tears, but I was so overwhelmed with sadness that I had to ask them to leave,” Mr Johnson said.

Liz Truss said the Queen was “the one of the greatest leaders the world has ever known" and hailed her as "a champion of freedom and democracy in the world".

Praising her "sheer humanity", the new Prime Minister said: "She reinvented the monarchy in modern times. She was a champion of freedom and democracy around the world. She was ready to have fun - whether it was on a mission with 007 or taking tea with Paddington Bear."

Referring to a new "Carolean era" as she closed her speech, Ms Truss said Charles "has already made a profound contribution through his work on conservation, education and his tireless diplomacy - we owe him our loyalty and devotion."

Recommended