A new royal book, Power and the Palace by Valentine Low, has resurfaced a "cringe" moment between a former Prime Minister and the late Queen - and you can now watch it below. In the latest episode of season 5 of A Right Royal Podcast, hosts Andrea Caamano and HELLO!’s royal editor Emily Nash are joined by the bestselling author, who opens up about the relationship between the government and the royal family over the years.
While discussing which of the 14 prime ministers the late Queen Elizabeth II preferred, the conversation turned to the more "challenging" relationships - including Tony Blair. "I think she might have raised the odd eyebrow with Blair, and of course with Blair, you have the famous Millennium Dome Auld Lang Syne," Val recalled - a recollection which prompted Emily to admit "she was cringing" when she reread it.
Val continued: "The Millennium Eve, bringing in the new millennium, and Blair is sitting next to the Queen at the evening ends singing Auld Lang Syne, which shouldn't have taken anyone by surprise, it was in the program. They get up and of course the mythology has it that Blair grabbed the Queen's hand. That's not what happens. You watch the video, it's quite clear. She raises her hands and he's wondering, ‘Oh my God, what do I do?’ because to grab her by the hand is awful and to not grab her by the hand is awful. There's no good outcome here... and perplexingly the Queen doesn't cross her arms."
Apparently those who witnessed the scene weren't the only ones who found it cringeworthy. Val said: "What I always love about that is when Tony Blair got home that night with Sherie - right, Cherie says rightly, 'Well, that evening was rather fun, wasn't it?' And Tony says, 'Well, darling, all I can say is I'm very glad these millenniums don't come around more than once in a lifetime'."
Elsewhere in the episode, Val revealed other royal secrets, such as the fact that the late Queen was a "Remainer," what happened when he discovered one of Queen Camilla's best-guarded secrets, and what really took place at Balmoral after the late Queen did the washing up herself. You can listen to the episode in full by clicking on the Spotify embed below.