Struth! British Empire rides on Queen’s tummy

IN his continuing search for the more weird, wacky and wondrous in the world of travel, David Ellis says it’s been revealed how Queen Elizabeth, who travels on average 80,000km a year and has done so for the past 60 years, manages to avoid that bane of travellers, the dreaded Delhi Belly.

And it’s not as a member of the British House of Parliament once claimed when he said: “The bedrock of her success has been the constitution. Not our Constitution, but hers.”

Neither can it be put down to Her Majesty continuing the ancient royal tradition of having some lackey actually taste all meals offered to her on her travels for fear of poisoning – either accidental or otherwise.

Rather it’s all more logical, as the Father of the House of Commons, Sir Peter Tapsell told Members last week. “I once asked a Royal Courtier how the Queen coped with her hectic travel schedule without falling ill.

“His answer was simple: when away from home, Her Majesty never eats salads, shellfish or watermelon.”