The subtle way the Queen showed she liked Scott Morrison
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his wife Jenny headed over to the U.K to visit Queen Elizabeth II this week – and there was a subtle signal that Her Majesty was enjoying herself, especially as the meeting with the Morrisons ran over time as they chatted about horse racing and the drought.
The telling sign is the placement of the Queen's handbag.
The position of her handbag in the Audience Room at Buckingham Palace sends a signal to the Queen’s lady-in-waiting who is standing just metres away.
If the Queen places her bag on the chair, it means she’s happy to keep chatting away.
As you can see, the bag is on the chair.
This was a very good sign for Scott and his wife Jenny, as things can get pretty dicey quickly if the bag is elsewhere.
If the bag is placed on the table, or worse, the floor, the lady-in-waiting knows to cut the meeting short or rush over and end the meeting completely.
According to The Australian, the bag being placed on the table means that visitors get a very quick five-minute window with the Queen.
After Scott and Jenny bowed and curtsied, and shook hands with the Queen, she asked if they had just arrived in the country.
“We have, from the Solomon Islands,” the Australian prime minister said.
His response took the Queen by surprise, who seemed to have thought they had travelled from Australia.
“Oh really,” she said, eyes widening.
Trying to explain what he meant, Mr Morrison added: “On the way.”
The Queen appeared to be even more confused.
“Oh,” the monarch said, before smiling, letting out a single chuckle of amusement.
It was only after Scott explained that he had an important meeting with the Solomon Island’s new prime minister that the Queen understood.
“Oh, was it? Oh, right,” she smiled, understanding him.
Mr Morrison said the Solomon Islands government asked to pass their regards to her, laughing in relief that the confusion had ended.
“Oh, that’s very kind of them, that’s very nice,” she said, before inviting them to sit with her.
The meeting with the Queen was set to be 20 minutes but stretched close to half an hour.
The Morrisons impressed the Queen with their gift of Andrew Rule’s book Winx: The Authorised Biography, which had been signed by the champion racehorse’s trainers and owners. This went down well with the Queen, who has a keen interest in racing.
She also inquired about the drought in Australia, which has been a longstanding concern of the Queen's.