Love Your Weekend star Alan Titchmarsh once opened up a hilarious yet embarrassing encounter with the late Queen that is the inspiration behind what will be on his headstone.
Alan, 75, met Queen Elizabeth II a number of times over the years, being awarded an MBE in 2000. But it was in 2004 when he received the Victoria Medal of Honour that stands out for Alan.
He recalled the experience when giving a talk at the Cheltenham Literature Festival in 2014.
Love Your Weekend star Alan Titchmarsh on encounter with the Queen
He said: “When I got up to the Queen she asked me ‘Are you busy?’ I was slightly disappointed by the generality of the question but I told her about Gardeners’ World and Ground Force, which I was working on then.
“She chatted and then the hand came out for the handshake.”
Alan explained how the monarch reaching out her hand was a signal that their conversation was over.
But the late Queen left Alan shocked with the comment that she made following their handshake.
He said: “As I shook her hand she said ‘Well you give a lot of ladies a lot of pleasure.'”
Alan Titchmarsh news
Alan then discussed how the interaction gave him the idea for his headstone.
“I said to my wife ‘You know I’d rather be buried than cremated,'” he explained. “She said ‘What brought that on?’ I told her that I wanted a headstone which said ‘Alan Titchmarsh MBE 1949-whenever. He gave a lot of ladies a lot of pleasure – Elizabeth R.'”
Alan’s friendship with the royal family has continued since the shocking moment. He even enjoyed dinner with the now King Charles the night before Queen Elizabeth II’s death.
He told the Sunday Telegraph upon the late monarch’s sad passing in September 2022 how he had enjoyed dinner with the then Prince of Wales and other guests at Dumfries House in Cumnock.
Alan said: “Because I stood by the door, he shook my hand last of all and said ‘Come and see us soon for tea.’
“I thanked him and he left the room as Duke of Rothesay, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall and assorted other titles, unaware that he was doing so for the very last time. He was happy; it had been a good day.”
Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh airs Sunday (May 19) from 9.30am on ITV1 and ITVX.
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