Downing Street was forced to issue a grovelling apology after prime minister John Major’s birthday telegram to the Queen Mother was addressed in an “improper manner”, newly-released government files have revealed.
The Queen Mother’s private secretary Captain Sir Alastair Aird telephoned No 10 demanding an explanation as to why the 1994 birthday greeting had been “incorrectly addressed”, papers released to the National Archives in Kew, west London, show.
It is not clear from the files what it was about the way had the telegram had been presented that caused such outrage in the royal household.
After investigating what had happened, Roderic Lyne in the No 10 private office wrote back, apologising for the error but insisting that Downing Street staff were not to blame.
He wrote: “The message itself, as it left our hands, was entirely correct. However, in transmitting it, it appears that British Telecom most unfortunately addressed the telegram in the improper manner which you described.
“I am so sorry that this happened. Our own staff are sticklers for the correct form, as you would imagine.
“Perhaps the solution would be for us to abandon telegrams which seem in any case to be going out of fashion.”
Despite the faux pas, the Queen Mother still telegrammed Mr Major and his wife, Norma, to thank them.
“I was very touched by your kind message of good wishes on my birthday and send you both my warm thanks,” she said.
The annual release of government papers to the archives in Kew under the 20-year rule also sparked controversy after it emerged that official papers which refer to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have been withheld.
The version originally made available to journalists under embargo, so they could prepare stories in advance, included minutes of a meeting where officials discussed the travel plans of various royals – including the Duke of York as he then still was.
However the minutes were subsequently redacted from the file before it was made available to the public.
The Cabinet Office, which is responsible for transferring the files to the National Archives, blamed an “administrative error” as they had never been intended for release.
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