Olympics: Queen takes gold for political nous

As London's Olympic bid staggers on to certain defeat, some of its more enthusiastic cheer leaders should consider themselves lucky not to have been hauled to the Tower. Certainly, that would have been the fate urged upon them by the great Ian Wooldridge of the Daily Mail had he not been sunning himself in Australia when the Queen was taken to task for suggesting to an East London schoolgirl that Paris would probably win the prize.

As London's Olympic bid staggers on to certain defeat, some of its more enthusiastic cheer leaders should consider themselves lucky not to have been hauled to the Tower. Certainly, that would have been the fate urged upon them by the great Ian Wooldridge of the Daily Mail had he not been sunning himself in Australia when the Queen was taken to task for suggesting to an East London schoolgirl that Paris would probably win the prize.

The Queen suggested that despite the economic benefits that would come with a successful bid, not all Londoners were utterly gung-ho about the project.

She might have added that in life you tend to get what you deserve. London's bid springs from a chaotic traffic system and a virtually non-existent sports infrastructure. Instead, Her Majesty simply provided some hard evidence that she is a lot closer to her people than some politicians might believe.