London: In a rare diplomatic gaffe, Queen Elizabeth II was caught in a video describing Chinese officials as "very rude to the ambassador" in a conversation with a senior police officer at a Buckingham Palace event celebrating her birthday.
Her comments were aired on Wednesday, just hours after British Prime Minister David Cameron was overheard describing Nigeria and Afghanistan as "possibly the two most corrupt countries in the world”.
The comments were unusual because the 90-year-old monarch has been careful to steer clear of politics during her long reign.
The incident, recorded by the palace's official cameraman, captured police Commander Lucy D'Orsi telling the queen that arranging the state visit by Chinese President Xi in October had been a "testing time". To which, the queen, dressed in a pink coat and hat with white gloves, replied: "Oh, bad luck".
Watch the video here:
