Nuneaton MP recalls forgotten pen meeting with Queen
- Published
The Nuneaton MP said seeing the Queen pet one of her corgis in the palace was 'lovely to see'
An MP has recalled how he forgot to bring a pen to a meeting with the Queen to sign Parliamentary documentation.
Marcus Jones said it was part of a ceremony in which he received the wand of office when made vice chamberlain to the royal household.
With no pen to hand, the Queen invited the member for Nuneaton through Buckingham Palace so they could find one, he explained.
He said on the way she stopped to pet a corgi - a moment "lovely to see".
The paperwork was completed and Mr Jones said they then spent a few moments chatting which helped him understand how she had touched so many lives over the years.
The Conservative added he was anxious before the ceremony at the palace in 2020 as he had to experience a formal exchanging of wands with his predecessor.
"I was really, really nervous, but it went really well," he said.
"I was then sent back into the room to see her majesty with what's called a Humble Address, which she is supposed to sign and then take back to the House of Commons and then read out in the [chamber].
"So I went back into the room. I handed her majesty the Humble Address and she looked at me and said 'I don't have a pen'.
"I then went about searching my jacket and said to her majesty 'well I don't have a pen either'."
"Quick as a flash she said to me 'come with me' and all of a sudden we're walking up this very long corridor and I'm trailing behind her majesty Queen Elizabeth II."
The Queen attended the State Opening of Parliament in 2021
Mr Jones said: "En route we stop off and she gives one of the corgis some fuss, which was lovely to see.
"We then get into the Queen's study and the number of papers and red boxes and so on and so forth - and this was only before the first lockdown so it wasn't that long ago - so you could just see the volume of work at her age she was still doing.
"Once she signed the Humble Address she then preceded to ask me about my wife and my family and we spent a few minutes together and I could see from that how she touched so many people's lives, when she met them on visits and so on.
"Over the last few days we've heard so many stories where people have come into contact with Queen Elizabeth and it seems whoever you were, she'd got time for you and she was interested in who you were and what you did."
He also recalled how in his role, in keeping with tradition, he was "held captive" at the palace for the State Opening of Parliament.
"[We] waved her majesty Queen Elizabeth off. I was kept in a room and I was only released once her majesty came back safe and sound."
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