When the barefoot Queen appeared dressed in elegant gold in the majestic setting of an Abu Dhabi mosque in yesterday’s papers, another Royal PR coup seemed assured.
She was the first visiting head of state to visit the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, the largest in the United Arab Emirates, which she was visiting for the first time in 31 years.
But as she further cemented ties between the nations today at the unveiling of the model for the futuristic new national museum, designed by Lord Foster, things went slightly awry.
And seasoned Royal observers won’t be all that surprised by the source of a slightly embarrassing scene.
During the event the Queen was joined by the Duke of Edinburgh and the Duke of York and all three royals went on a walkabout meeting hundreds of British expats who were waving union and UAE flags.
Philip appeared to be in an irascible mood and when asked by a group of people if he would shake their hands, he said 'I've got to get back to work' and walked away.
Further along the line of waving crowds, Jack Morgan, 11, who has lived in the UAE for the last 18 months with his parents, stuck out his hand and asked the royal for a shake. The Duke replied 'why?' but eventually relented.
Philip asked many in the crowd where they were from and when they replied he joked with them saying: 'Are you running away from something?'.
Happily many of the ex-pats saw the funny side.
Andrew Ledger, a retired Lieutenant-Colonel from the Queen's Royal Hussars, greeted the Duke, who is his former unit's Colonel-in-Chief, and was also asked by the royal if he had fled to the Gulf but laughed it off, saying 'that's just like him'.
And the unveiling of the Zayed National Museum, which will feature five 'steel feathers', some up to 125 metres high, ensured the visit will go down as a success.
Fly-by: The Royals watched a display the UAE and Royal Air Force
What's all that noise? William Hague, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Sheikh Hamden Bin Mohamed Bin Rashed Al Maktoum and Prince Andrew attend a military display
It will be built on Saadiyat Island off the Abu Dhabi coast.
Lord Foster said after speaking to the Monarch at the unveiling in Abu Dhabi: 'She was very gracious and very complimentary.
'I think this is of great significance, the national museum is absolutely central to both the culture and heritage of the United Arab Emirates.'
As the UAE's first major national cultural institution, the museum will serve as a memorial to the nation's founding father Sheikh Zayed, celebrating the state's history, wildlife and people, and is expected to be completed in 2014.
Presents: President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan (R) presents gifts to the Queen as Prince Philip looks on
UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan (L) welcomes the Queen as she attends a meeting in Abu Dhabi
Source:Dailymail