Queen Elizabeth once gave a brilliant response to an Australian cricket legend after she was asked for an autograph during a match. World-famous fast bowler Dennis Lillee met the late monarch in 1977, ahead of the Centenary Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The retired cricket star broke protocol and asked the late Queen for an autograph, but she was forced to reject his request with a brilliant response. According to Mr Lillee himself, the monarch said she “couldn’t do it in front of all the people at the ground and watching on television”, but she later surprised him with a thoughtful gift instead.
It is generally against royal protocol for members of the Royal Family to sign autographs due to the risk of forgery.
In his autobiography Menace, Mr Lillee described the moment and wrote: “It happened during the Melbourne Centenary Test and her reply was to the effect that she couldn’t do it in front of all the people at the ground and watching on television because she would be stopped and asked wherever she went.
“I asked because she was the ultimate hero to me, she was ‘our’ Queen. I had thought about it and took something out for her to sign. I understood her explanation and forgot all about it until a week or so […]”
But it appeared that the monarch had a surprise in store for the cricket legend as just a week later he was suprised with a heartfelt gift.
He wrote: “[…]An aide-de-camp from the Palace got in touch and asked me for my address as the Queen wanted to send me a signed photograph. You could have picked me up off the floor and the picture takes pride of place in my house, the only memorabilia displayed apart from a few things in my office.
“It’s a picture of me being introduced to the Queen at the very moment I was asking for her autograph, and it’s signed ‘Elizabeth R, 1977’.”
Mr Lillee added: “You can imagine how chuffed I was. I had probably embarrassed her and all the cricket officials but, at the time, I could not see the reason not to ask.
“People asked me for my autograph and I signed; at least, that was my logic. Maybe I was getting to know why the hierarchy didn’t like me so much.”
The two met again during the Test match in 1981 with Mr Lillee saying: “From that occasion, there is a jolly picture of us having a laugh but I can reveal it was not over the autograph incident.”