Her majesty is saucy

The one thing I wasn't expecting to learn from Robert Hardman's beautifully photographed volume A Year with the Queen is that Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, is, not to put too fine a point on it, saucy.

I came to this conclusion after reading about the Queen's portrait session with famed American photographer Annie Leibovitz.  Liebovitz was getting publicity shots for the Queen's 2007 state visit to the U.S., and had thought about requesting several wardrobe changes.  However, after donning her first outfit, the complicated Order of the Garter get-up, the Queen got wind of Annie's plan to ask her for a few wardrobe changes, and succinctly informed her press secretary that she'd had enough, and she wasn't changing anything.

I was amused by that.  You tell 'em, your majesty!  But saucy tidbits aside, this is also a great read for anyone who's interested in the British monarchy and how they spend their time.