Yes, I remember that. She picked up the phone (presumably after having been informed that M. Jean Chrétien was on the line) and intoned, briskly but with lively and friendly interest, “Prime Minister!” and began to inquire incisively about the purpose of the call and to offer any help she could give.
A separatist radio host, live on air, managed to get though Buckingham Palace security with a clever Chrétien impression, asking to speak to her. The host’s aim was to show us in Québec how indifferent she was to our wants or needs or problems.
Instead, she could not have seemed more present or interested in what he (the supposed Prime Minister) had to say, so his whole scheme backfired, live on air for all his listeners to hear.
I later sent her a short letter, (the only one I’ve ever sent a well-known person) expressing my admiration that she didn’t show disinterest or disdain for Canada, but couldn’t have sounded more interested in doing whatever she could to resolve the (supposed) Prime Minister’s problem.
A few weeks later, I received a handwritten letter from a Lady in Waiting on Buckingham Palace notepaper, complete with official envelope with royal crest. It stated that Her Majesty the Queen commanded her to reply to me with her thanks for being so kind to write as I did.
