The controversy over US President Trump’s behaviour with Britain’s Queen Elizabeth revived memories of how a group of Indian journalists behaved with her more than two decades ago.
The journalists had been invited to have tea with her and her husband in the lawns of the British Deputy High Commissioner’s residence in New Delhi, in 1997.
Before the royal couple arrived, we were nervously informed that the normal practice was to bow or courtesy when each of us was introduced, and that one normally waited before holding out one’s hand to shake the queen’s until she did so first.
We all nodded, but journalists were not easily trained in obsequious court practices. When we were introduced, nobody bowed, and almost nobody remembered to wait for her to hold out her hand. Each one instinctively held out a hand as soon as the introduction was made.
Tense Summer
It was a tense time for the British royals and their diplomats. The visit had not gone well at all. In fact, that was why the reporters who were covering the visit had been invited to have tea with her – to win us over, as it were.
It was the late summer of 1997, and the visit had been planned to take the focus off the horror of Princess Diana’s awful death a couple of months earlier.
British public opinion had turned angrily against the royal family in the weeks after Diana’s death. So the managers of royalty had decided to try and divert attention by rekindling images of the Raj.
Once they were in India, though, the visit had been a disaster. It was widely reported that the queen had remarked to prime minister IK Gujral that Delhi was ‘so dirty.’
Much more public anger had ensued when her husband questioned the plaque at the Jallianwala memorial in Amritsar. He observed that he had heard that the number of people killed had been smaller than the plaque stated.
Understated Poise
To her great credit, the queen did not show any hint of annoyance. She carried on politely shaking each guest’s hand.
The Duke of Edinbugh was slightly less self-possessed. He asked a gangly young reporter which paper he worked for. Looking quizzical, the young man pointed to his chest and replied: “It says, TV 18,” emphasising `TV.’ Each guest had a card with his or her name and the news organisation represented, pinned on their chest.
Once the introductions were over, tea was served on the lawns. Half a dozen Indian journalists gathered around the Queen to chat. The chief of bureau of a major Hindi daily turned to her and asked: “Your majesty, may I ask you a question?”
“Yes,” she replied, dragging out the word a little.
“Madam, do you think the monarchy will last the next century?” he asked. His tone was entirely civil and conversational, as if he were asking whether she thought it might rain the next day.
The import of the question was not lost on anyone, though. Questions had been raised about the value of the monarchy in the aftermath of Diana’s death.
The Googly
Silence suddenly fell over the garden. Nobody moved, though all the British journalists there seemed to swivel just a centimetre or two, without quite turning their heads. All ears were cocked.
A couple of plane-loads of British journalists had come to New Delhi to cover that royal visit, but none of them were in the group with the Queen. It is an outstanding measure of her poise and long years of experience that she did not wince.
“Well,” she replied after a moment’s pause, in a voice that stretched and rose just slightly as she said: “It is an island.”
That was all she said. Before any of the gathered journalists could make out what that meant, or could respond, she had turned on her heel and walked quietly away.
The little tea party was over – perhaps a little earlier than the hosts at the High Commission might have planned.
The Queen had acted with dignity and poise. So had the Indian journalists – sticking by their vocation. They were at work, representing the public at large, seeking information and the opinions of those in positions of authority and influence.
What might or might not be expected of a head of state is another matter.
(This is an opinion piece and the views expressed are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)
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