King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (nee Bowes Lyon)

[Constantinople]

I dont think she has been to Australia 9 times.  Or where  you referring to a seance or 9?

[Lindelle]

I never said she was in Australia 9 times.

[Constantinople]

and which 9 times were you with her?  Were they lunches with her or did you simply see her in a crowd of people?

[grandduchessella]

she dropped a gold pencil that she had been marking her betting cards with and the interesting thing was that she ordered everyone to get down of their hands and knees to look for it.  .

No I don't buy it, QEQM was known for grace & good manners. 

Could it be that she asked people to look for a valuable item that, at age 90-91 she might not have been able to get down on her hands and knees to crawl around for herself? I would think that anybody would be glad to help out a very elderly woman in such a situation--royal or not.

[Constantinople]

Well just to make this clear, it was the day she opened the Queen Mother Stand and not everyone was that happy to crawl around, especially as a few of the guests were about her age.  It wasn't me who found the pencil.

[Constantinople]

And no it definitely wasnt a request.  She was in panic.  I think the pencil had sentimental value.

[Margot]

If it had a propellor mechanism then it may have been some old Faberge 'pencil' rather than just a 'run of the mill' wood and lead gold painted pencil that we minions may have had in our pencil cases when at school or latterly at the races. I think I would have been a tad upset too if I dropped a Faberge pencil after quaffing a bit too much booze at Luncheon, and no doubt would have asked for help to find it too!

[Constantinople]

it wasn't a Faberge pencil and it wasnt an ordinary pencil.  It was a gold pencil with leads, probably solid gold.

[Constantinople]

here is an example of a Faberge penciil and it was nothing like this

http://www.christies.com/Lotfinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=5307028

[Margot]

it wasn't a Faberge pencil and it wasnt an ordinary pencil.  It was a gold pencil with leads, probably solid gold.

I wonder how you could sharpen such a pencil if it were made of solid gold? Unless it was a run of the mill normal HB pencil inside some swanky gold pencil holder....now that would be decadent! Like hiding a Parker pen in a Conway Stewart gold casing!

[Constantinople]

It  was a mechanical pencil and I assume if you tried to sharpen it people would have looked at  you askance.  Faberge did make a holder for the type of pencils that  you sharpen (like Faber Castell) and it was gold with jewells.  The pencil looked a bit like a Cartier.  Like this in fact except that it was all gold. http://www.penboutique.com/p-375-cartier-diabolo-black-composite-with-gold-plated-trim-mechanical-pencil-07mm.aspx

[Margot]

So it did have a propellor type clicking mechanism as I initially suspected which would explain the gold casing! Then fair dues asking for help to find it!

[Constantinople]

When you say propeller I think of airplaines.  It was a mechanical pencil if that helps.  Well if you want to interpret what she uttered as a request, the fair dues to you too but noone there interpretted it that way.

[Adagietto]

A royal command, and quite right too; it would have been good to see everyone scrambling around. The story of the gold pencil will surely deserve a footnote in the next edition of her official biography.

[Constantinople]

You might say imperial as she was the last Empress of India