Prince Edward’s ex-girlfriend has revealed details of her first meeting with the royal family ahead of the publication of her memoir.
Ruthie Henshall, 59, admitted she broke royal protocol seconds after meeting the late Queen Elizabeth II and called it a mess.
Speaking to a magazine, she claimed that despite her father’s careful coaching on royal etiquette, her nerves got the better of her when the moment came.
speaks to Your ahead of the book’s release, the actress and singer praised the late monarch, saying: “The Queen in particular was lovely.”
Henshall added: “I remember my father telling me that if you ever met the Queen you bowed and called her Madam.”
But things unexpectedly went off plan. Instead of bowing or refusing, she instinctively grabbed the monarch’s hand.
“When I met her, I forgot to squeeze and grabbed her hand and said, ‘I’m really glad to meet you, really glad to meet you,'” she recalled.
“Here I was, this choir girl dating her youngest son, it must have been her worst nightmare.”
Despite her concerns about how she might be perceived, Henshall said the late monarch appeared gracious and welcoming during their meetings.
“I genuinely fell in love with him,” she admitted.
The memoir promises to offer readers an unusual window into the Duke of Edinburgh’s life before royal responsibilities became his primary focus, along with glimpses of the late Queen away from the public eye.
Their courtship represented one of the most significant relationships in Edward’s life before his marriage in 1999 to Sophie, now the Duchess of Edinburgh.
The two began dating in 1988 after crossing paths while both working with composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.
