She may be 95, but it seems the Queen feels too young at heart to accept the main award for “Oldie of the Year”.
The monarch believes “you are as old as you feel” and thinks she does not meet the “relevant criteria” for the trophy so has declined it, according to an aide.
Her Majesty has sent a message back to the organisers of the prizes with her “warmest best wishes”, and saying she “hopes you will find a more worthy recipient”.
The awards chairman, author and broadcaster Gyles Brandreth, had written to her private secretary Sir Edward Young to ask if she would accept the accolade.
But in a letter published in the November issue of the Oldie magazine, her assistant private secretary Tom Laing-Baker wrote: “Her Majesty believes you are as old as you feel, as such The Queen does not believe she meets the relevant criteria to be able to accept, and hopes you will find a more worthy recipient.”
Photo – File photo of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II. EPA-EFE/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA
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