It had been so often foretold as to seem an anticlimax. But finally — and not quite as in the movie starring Helen Mirren — Gordon Brown got his “Queen moment” today when he took over from Tony Blair as prime minister of Britain. ...
For the Queen, there was, perhaps, a hint of déjà vu: Mr. Brown is the 11th prime minister to hold office since her reign began in 1952. And, as with all the others, the details of the encounter were kept secret — save for one assertion from Buckingham Palace: the movie “The Queen” got it wrong.
Technically, the moment when the Queen first greets a new prime minister is called “Kissing Hands” — and that’s what happened in the movie, when Mr. Blair, played by the actor Michael Sheen, physically knelt to kiss the hand of the monarch, played by Ms. Mirren, as he took office in 1997.
But a spokesperson for Buckingham Palace said shortly before Mr. Brown’s encounter today that “there will be no kneeling or kissing of hands — that is not something that has happened in modern-day politics.” ...
“In fact, the actual kissing of hands will take place later, in Council,” the website continues, referring to the Privy Council, the time-honored assembly of the Queen and her close advisors, including cabinet ministers.
Except that these days, there is no actual hand-kissing then, either. “It’s just a meeting,” the spokesperson said, citing royal rules to insist on anonymity....
The actual details, along with the Queen, are secreted in Dick Cheney's safe.
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