‘Are They Being Sent Off To Chase The Russians?'

Queen’s quip to serviceman as she is seen out for first time this year at the Air Forces Memorial

- Richard Palmer

CONVENTION dictates that the Queen steers clear of politics but she had Moscow firmly in her sights on her first engagement outside of Windsor Castle this year.

Watching a flypast of Typhoon jets to mark the Royal Australian Air Force’s centenary yesterday, she quipped: “Are they being sent off to chase the Russians?”

The monarch was chatting to an Australian serviceman at the Air Forces Memorial in Runnymede, Surrey, who replied: “That’s correct, Ma’am, it’s a lot of fun for us.”