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The Queen’s response to hearing where the crown jewels were hidden during WW2 is delightful

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PHOTO: Getty Images
PHOTO: Getty Images

Cape Town - Queen Elizabeth’s response to an interviewer telling her that the crown jewels had been hidden underneath Windsor Castle in a biscuit tin to keep them safe from the Nazis has gone viral.

When told by royal commentator, Alistair Bruce, that a librarian had removed the stones out of the jewels and buried them in a Bath Oliver biscuit tin, the wry 91-year-old quipped: “You think they were at Windsor? Hmm, did he remember where he put them? He might have died in the middle.”

She then added: “We were told nothing – we were only children then. We didn’t know anything, all the pictures disappeared everything disappeared and one was never told anything. It was a secret, I suppose.” 

In a rare TV appearance, the 91-year-old was interviewed for the documentary, The Coronation, which recently aired in the UK to mark the 65th anniversary of her coronation, MailOnline reports.

Twitter immediately exploded with viewers commenting on her reaction. “You need better stories than jewels in a biscuit tin to impress the Queen,” tweeted one.

Another user, Matt W, added: “Queen being told of the jewels being hidden in a biscuit tin during the war ‘Oh... did he tell anyone? What if he'd died?' She is genuinely wonderful in The Coronation.”

The gems, including the Black Prince’s Ruby from the Imperial State Crown, were placed in the tin and buried under a sally port – a secret exit used in an emergency. 

The Queen jokingly added that you cannot look down when wearing the 1.28 kg Imperial State Crown, as your neck would “break”, News.com.au reports.

In more fascinating anecdotes from her coronation on 2 June 1953, she reveals that the ride through the streets of London and from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey was “horrible’’ due to the poor suspension in the solid-gold, horse-drawn carriage, and that her ceremonial gowns were so heavy she got stuck and could not move forwards when they dragged against the pile of the carpet in the Abbey.

Sources: MailOnline, News.com.au, VanityFair

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