There’s a grim mood in parliament today. Across the House, MPs are queuing up to pay tribute to Her Majesty with Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer delivering two noticeably excellent speeches. But some light relief on this dark day has been offered by recollections of the Queen’s sense of humour and ability to make people feel at ease, no matter their background. And it was Theresa May who got one of the few laughs of the day when she recalled staying with the royal family at Balmoral. She told the House of a picnic she had with the late monarch:

The hampers came from the castle and we all mucked in to put the food and drink out on the table. I picked up some cheese, put it on a plate and was transferring it to the table. The cheese fell on the floor. I had a split-second decision to make. I picked up the cheese, put it on the plate and put it on the table. And I turned around to see that my every move had been watched very carefully by Her Majesty the Queen. I looked at her, she looked at me and she just smiled. And the cheese remained on it.

How we will miss her.