Late Queen Elizabeth refused to open airport terminal after relative was barred from taking guns on plane, royal cousin claims
Lord Ivar Mountbatten, Queen Elizabeth II's third cousin once removed, was on his way to Balmoral for a shooting weekend when he was told he couldn't bring his firearms on the aircraft.
The 62-year-old told the then monarch about the incident at Bristol Airport and how he tried to negotiate with the 'sweet check-in lady' and her 'pig-headed' manager without any success.
He claimed the late Queen said she had been asked to open their new terminal and told him "I don't think I will now".
The 62-year-old told the then monarch about the incident at Bristol Airport and how he tried to negotiate with the 'sweet check-in lady' and her 'pig-headed' manager
'We were going for a shooting weekend at Balmoral,' Lord Ivar told the Rosebud podcast.
'And so we were flying from Bristol Airport, and we turned up at Bristol Airport, and I had my guns in tow.
'And we go and check in, and the sweet check-in lady sort of says, "Oh, you're going to Aberdeen".
'And I said, "Yes, I've got some guns".
'And she sort of looks and says, "Oh dear, I'm terribly sorry. You won't be able to take the guns on this flight".
'So I said, "Well, why is that?".
'And she said, "Well, unfortunately, the hold is accessible from the cabin and therefore, they won't be secure".
'So I thought, "Oh dear, this is a bit of a bore".
'And I said, "Well, actually, hopefully, that won't be a problem. Can I speak to the pilot?".
'Because it's clearly the pilot's discretion.
'What we can do is we can break the guns.
'So the barrels can go in the hold and the stock can go in the cockpit, which is lockable, of course.
'So, and she said, "Oh, I'm not sure about that, but let me get my manager".
'So, the manager comes out and she wasn't having any of this and she was being a bit pig-headed.
'And she said, "No, we can't do that".
'She said, "You'll have to leave them in the car".
'And I said, "I can't leave firearms in the car. That's highly illegal".
'So she said, "Well, didn't you make a reservation for your guns?".
'And I said, "No, I've never made reservations for my guns. I've always just turned up. It's never been a problem".
'She said, "Well, not from Bristol you haven't, maybe from Heathrow. You'll just have to fly from Heathrow".
'So I thought she was being a bit of a bore.
'So I said, no, I decided I was going to pull rank at this point.
'I said, "Well, I'm terribly sorry. I'm going to Balmoral for the weekend. I can't fly from Heathrow. The Queen's sending me a car and she's expecting me for tea".
'Over to you. Anyways, that sort of focused her mind a bit.
'But she still wasn't letting me speak to the pilot.
'So she came up with a solution that we would leave them with the police in the police armory at Bristol Airport.
'So it was fine.
'So we got on the flight and we turn up at Balmoral, ushered into the drawing room and immediately go in to tea.
'I'm sitting on the right hand side of the Queen and I'm kind of irritated by this story.
'So I repeat it to Her Majesty.
'And I could see that she was getting rather irritated as well.
'So she turns to her equerry. I think it was Simon at the time.
'She said, "Simon, I would like Lord Ivar's guns to be up here tomorrow morning. Please see to it".
'Whereupon she turns back to me and she looks at me over her glasses with a glint in her eye and she says, "They want me to open their new terminal".
'She says, "I don't think I will now".'
When he was asked whether the late Queen opened the terminal, he responded: 'No. And so every time I go back to Bristol Airport now, it was opened by the Princess Royal and I have a quiet laugh to myself.
'But anyway, you know, that was sort of rather funny.
'It's rather, yeah, to be able to sort of say, "I don't think I'm going to open the terminal now". It was wonderful.'
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