They will be aware that the way in which the security arrangements around this visit were made for Xi Jinping were a lot more vigorous and a lot more demanding than on previous visits. Though reporters standing near the queen didn’t overhear her remarks, the camera footage caught the full conversation.
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The officer recalls Chinese officials walking out of a meeting with Barbara Woodward, Britains envoy to China, in which the Chinese told the British the trip was off. They walked out on both of us, ” D’Orsi said.
The Queen: “Yes, I did”.
The undercover agent was said to be posing as an interpreter and tried to hop on as the Queen and president travelled along The Mall to Buckingham Palace.
Robin Brant, a BBC correspondent in the country, tweeted: “Chinese censors are blocking @BBCWorld reports about HMTQ comments that Xi Jinping officials were “very rude” during a year ago state visit”.
The Queen called the behavior both “rude” and “extraordinary”.
A spokeswoman from the Chinese Embassy in the United Kingdom branded the state visit a success, but made no direct mention of the monarch. The Royal garden parties are often filmed by a cameraman assigned to Buckingham Palace news coverage.
At the time, both sides declared that the visit was “very successful”.
Lord Chamberlain: Can I present Commander Lucy D’Orsi, who was gold commander during the Chinese state visit. “She must have known what was going on”, said Ingrid Seward, author of “The Queen’s Speech”.
Buckingham Palace refused to comment on the monarch’s private conversations.
So much for the “golden era” of UK-China relations.
The BBC reported that in China, items about the queen’s remarks were censored from its news bulletins.
When asked for clarification about what happened past year, both British and Chinese officials said the visit had been successful.
The officer tells the queen it had been a “testing time”.
The queen gave Xi and his wife a personal tour of the Royal Collection at the palace.
Two unguarded remarks in one day from the highest-ranking officials in the country?
At another palace reception Tuesday, cameras recorded Cameron talking about an anti-corruption summit in London, which he will chair.
In the 80s, Prince Philip warned some British students in China that they’d get “slitty eyes” if they stayed there too long.
In a leaked journal, Charles also described Xi’s predecessors as “appalling old waxworks”.
A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace said: “The Chinese state visit was extremely successful and all parties worked closely to ensure it proceeded smoothly”. Two reporters standing nearby did not hear her comments, but they were clearly audible on the recording. Queen Elizabeth’s declaration is unusual because she generally doesn’t speak out on foreign and political matters.
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Buhari told the anti-corruption conference Wednesday that he was taking a a “zero tolerance” approach to corruption in his country, which he said was a “hydra-headed monster” that was “endemic and systematic”.
