Loose WomenpanellistJanet Street Porterhas shared that she once attended an “extraordinary lunch” with the lateQueen Elizabeth II , former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and modelKate Moss .
The broadcaster and journalist says that in 2004 she was invited to the Queen’s first ever all women luncheon.
She said that the invitation arrived while she was filming in Wales, but she quickly made the journey back to London as she “wasn’t going to miss that for the world.”
The event was held for women of achievement, and among the other attendees were Cherie Blair,JK Rowling , Vivienne Westwood, andCharlotte Church .
At the time of the eventThe Guardianreported: “About 180 women were invited to the first event of its kind in royal circles, where the phrase ‘girl power’ has entered the lexicon.”
Speaking today’s Loose Women, Janet described the event as “extraordinary.”
She added: “The role call of women that were at that lunch would have fazed anyone. The Queen met everyone and was gracious with everyone.”
Janet adds that as everyone lined up to greet Her Majesty, there was some debate among some of the politicians present as to whether they would curtsy, as is expected when one meets the monarch, or if they would break protocol.
“Of course everybody curtsied,” the broadcaster finishes, revealing that those present ultimately decided to go for the traditional greeting rather than making a statement.
According to The Guardian, the morning prior to the event the Queen andPrincess Royalhad visited a building site meeting female trainee carpenters and plumbers.
The paper also reported that speaking about the event Glasgow University sociologist Barbara Littlewood said the Queen had assembled an "interesting collection" of women.
She added: "It is an attempt to make the monarchy seem kind of hip and relevant, but sometimes we're just grateful for crumbs."
Janet discussed this event on today’s Loose Women, which returned today followingfour days off airin the wake of the Queen’s death.
Following the sad news that Her Majesty had passed away, the ITV chat show was cancelled to make room in the schedule for ITV news specials and longer episodes ofThis Morning .
It was the second time this month that Loose Women viewers missed out on the programme as it was also cut short when ITV reacted to the news of a new Prime Minister.
And it wasn’t just Loose Women that was axed this week, TV staples includingEastEnders ,Coronation StreetandEmmerdale , were also taken off air as round-the-clock news coverage of the royals replaced these popular soaps.
This year’sNational Television Awardsand the start of the 2022 series ofStrictly Come Dancing's have also officially been postponed.
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