Queen's smile would light up room, says former assistant

Squadron Leader Adam Fox-Edwards said the Queen had a "remarkable personality"

A man who served the Queen for a year said she had a "radiant smile that would light up a room".

Squadron Leader Adam Fox-Edwards was the assistant to the master of the household in 1997, while on secondment from the Royal Air Force.

He said when he left, she gave him a signed photograph of her and the Duke of Edinburgh and some cufflinks, some of his "most treasured possessions".

Sqn Ldr Fox-Edwards, from Devon, said she had a "remarkable personality".

'Encyclopaedic memory'

He said she was "very approachable" and she made you feel "at your ease, knowing that the first time you met her you will be feeling uncomfortable and anxious".

"I sat next to her at lunch at Windsor and she couldn't have been more hospitable.

Sqn Ldr Fox-Edwards said when he left, the Queen gave him a signed photograph of her and the Duke of Edinburgh

"Her radiant smile that would light up a room, which you don't see when she's on formal duties, launching a ship or opening a building, or something when she's in a formal role."

Sqn Ldr Fox-Edwards, from Bratton Clovelly, also said she had an "encyclopaedic memory" and "you'd refer to some event or some people and she would remember the detail".

'Honour to have served'

He said: "I was seconded from the RAF from my job as a pilot and I joined the Royal Household and organised the Queen's Golden Wedding celebrations 25 years ago, this year."

The former RAF Tornado pilot said there were five events he helped organise and the last one was a grand ball at Windsor Castle that had recently reopened after the fire that devastated it.

"This was the first event that was held there. The building was fantastic.

"And the Queen was dancing. And I was lucky enough to be dancing on the dancefloor and near the Queen, and she danced with her handbag, even on the dance floor, even within her own house, and of course we now know what was in that handbag, in case of emergencies at the time."

Sqn Ldr Fox-Edwards was making reference to a recent TV sketch the Queen appeared in with Paddington Bear for her Platinum Jubilee, in which Her Majesty could be seen opening her handbag to reveal a marmalade sandwich "for later".

He added she had a "remarkable personality that came through and it was an honour to have served her".