'HARRY WAS RUDE... & CAMILLA PULLED A GUN ON ME!'

Valentine Low shares what it's really like on a royal tour

- Kerry Parnell

There are not many who can claim the queen pulled a gun on them, but Valentine Low got closer to the royals than most. As royal correspondent for the UK's The Times, he travelled all over the world on royal tours. Now, the author of Power And The Palace reveals which Windsors are the friendliest and which are not.

“Royal tours are not as glamorous as people think,” Valentine, 66, tells Woman's Day. They're exhausting, he says - especially if you're accompanying the King. “You have to scrabble to keep up with his amazing schedule,” as the energetic monarch, “packs in an awful lot to his trips and famously doesn’t have lunch.”

Despite being invited, royal reporters are kept at a distance, “behind a rope or metal barrier”, he says - and heaven help anyone who calls out a question. “Charles gets very antsy if you do. I saw a TV reporter once shout out and he was quite withering,” says Valentine. The friendliest is Camilla, he reveals, “She'll always come and say hello. She will catch your eye and there would be a light in her eye.”

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