Queen Elizabeth generally shies away from ostentatious shows of wealth, but she couldn’t help grinning as she inspected her gold bullion reserves yesterday.
The monarch and her husband the Duke of Edinburgh visited the Bank of England’s underground vault, which contains gold bars worth an estimated $240 billion.
Though the fortune does not personally belong to the Queen, the bank is the official financial institution of the British government, of which Her Majesty is the head.
The Queen also signed a million pound note for the Bank’s guest book, and took obvious pleasure in viewing a similar note she signed in 1937 as an 11-year-old princess.
On seeing her girlish signature, the Queen remarked: “It hasn’t improved much you know.”
Elizabeth and Philip seemed to enjoy themselves during the visit, but comments the monarch made while in the vault have sparked international controversy.
The Queen — who usually remains apolitical — appeared to blame Gordon Brown’s Labour government for the 2008 British economic crisis.
“People had got a bit lax, had they?” the Queen was heard saying.
She then went on to criticise the Financial Services Authority, saying it “didn’t have any teeth”.
The Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority played down the significance of the remarks, saying they were “very grateful” for the Queen’s visit and interest.
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