WHEN the Queen carries out official engagements, she always looks immaculate – and it appears she goes the extra mile in other ways too.
U2’s Bono was left baffled during her 2011 visit to Ireland – the first by a British monarch in a hundred years – when she started speaking Irish Gaelic.
Bono was baffled when the Queen spoke Irish Gaelic in 2011 during a visit to his native country
The Dublin-born singer, now 59, made the revelation at a 2012 reception Her Majesty attended to mark her Diamond Jubilee at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.
Of his shock the year before, Bono recalled: “The Queen spoke Gaelic.
“I can’t even speak Gaelic!”
During the address at the event, he also spoke of her “extraordinary magic when she visited his country.
Bono is likely to be referring to the moment the Queen, now 93, uttered a few words of his country’s native language at the start of her speech during the state dinner in Dublin Castle.
She said “A achtrain agus a chairde” which means “president and friends”.
According to The Guardian, Mary McAleese, the Irish president who was sitting next to her, could be heard mouthing “wow”.
Irish Gaelic is a Celtic language, like Scottish Gaelic, Manx Gaelic, Welsh and Cornish.
The monarch’s use of the language at a state dinner at Dublin Castle made Mary McAleese (pictured), the Irish president, mouth “wow”
It is spoken by 138,000 people as a first language and another million as a second language.
While Bono has had a string of famous hits, it is a song by ABBA that is believed to be the Queen’s favourite.
Chris Evans claimed on his BBC Radio 2 Show in 2008 that the monarch is a fan of Dancing Queen.
According to the DJ, the Queen surprised guests at a Windsor Castle dinner by getting up for a twirl when Dancing Queen started playing.
She then caused even more shock when she admitted it was her favourite tune.
Her Majesty reportedly said: “I always try to dance when this song comes on because I am the Queen and I like to dance.”
The hit song was released by the Swedish pop group in 1976 – when the Queen was 50 – and reached number one in the UK.
In other royal news, we told you how Kate Middleton said that Prince William doesn’t want any more kids.
We also revealed that Prince Harry’s staff were “apprehensive” when he met Meghan Markle as she was “opposite to the quiet life he craved”.
And the Duke and Duchess of Sussex could get a book deal worth more than Obamas’ 49m for “unfiltered” story.
