Downing Street was forced to issue a grovelling apology after a birthday telegram from Prime Minister John Major to the Queen Mother was sent with an incorrect address, newly-released government documents have revealed.
A Royal Protocol Faux Pas
The diplomatic incident occurred in 1994, when a message marking the Queen Mother's 94th birthday was dispatched from Number 10. The files, released to the National Archives in Kew, west London, show the error prompted an immediate complaint from the royal household.
The Queen Mother's private secretary, Captain Sir Alastair Aird, telephoned Downing Street to demand an explanation for why the official greeting had been "incorrectly addressed". The precise nature of the addressing error is not detailed in the papers, but it was clearly a significant breach of protocol.
Downing Street Points Finger at BT
In response, Roderic Lyne, an official from Mr Major's private office, conducted an investigation and wrote back to apologise profusely. However, in his letter, he insisted that Downing Street staff were blameless.
Lyne claimed the team were "sticklers for the correct form" and suggested the fault lay with British Telecom (BT). He argued the message was correct when it left government hands, but was wrongly addressed during transmission.
"I am so sorry that this happened," Lyne wrote. "Perhaps the solution would be for us to abandon telegrams, which seem in any case to be going out of fashion."
Gracious Response Despite the Error
Despite the administrative blunder, the Queen Mother responded with characteristic grace. She sent her own telegram to the Prime Minister and his wife, Norma, to thank them for their wishes.
Her message read: "I was very touched by your kind message of good wishes on my birthday and send you both my warm thanks." The Queen Mother died in 2002 at the age of 101.
The revelation comes as part of the regular release of government records under the 20-year rule, though files relating to the Royal Family are often withheld. The release of these papers follows a recent Cabinet Office admission of an "administrative error" after documents concerning the Duke of York were mistakenly released unredacted.
