My favorite moment I read about the Queen was when she received the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.
Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles recounts that he had a private audience with the Queen when he was appointed ambassador to Saudi Arabia in 2003.
At that time, Abdullah was still (theoretically) the crown prince, although he had effectively ruled for several years.
During the meeting, the queen happily recounted the story of Abdullah's first visit to Balmoral , her castle in Scotland . It all began quite innocently, with an offer to visit the property.
After lunch, the Queen asked her royal guest if he would like a tour of the property. At the request of his Foreign Minister, the urbane Prince Abdullah, initially hesitant, agreed.
The royal Land Rovers were parked in front of the castle. As instructed, the Crown Prince climbed into the front seat of the lead Land Rover, his interpreter in the back seat.
But then, a surprising twist!
The queen herself was Abdullah's driver.
To his surprise, the Queen climbed into the driver's seat, started the SUV, and drove off. Women—still—were not allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia, and Abdullah was not used to being driven by a woman, much less a queen.
And she wasn't just driving, she was DRIVING Abdullah, and leaving his nerves in tatters.
His nervousness increased further when the Queen, a former Army driver in wartime, sped along the narrow roads of the Scottish estate in the Land Rover, talking the whole time. Through his interpreter, the Crown Prince pleaded with the Queen to slow down and concentrate on the road ahead.
That's right: Queen Elizabeth basically spent an afternoon using her military-grade driving skills to confuse the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.