Back in September, when I left home to study in England for the year, the last thing my mom said to me before I got on the plane was, "Say hi to the Queen for me!"

I laughed and told her I would. I figured I had as much of a chance to see the Queen of England as meeting David Beckham or Harry Potter (just pretend he's not fictional). The strange thing is, I actually did see her!

Her Majesty visited Oxford last December to open the newly renovated Ashmolean Museum. At the time I was lucky enough to be studying in the Radcliffe Camera, next door to Brasenose College where she was honored with a plaque and a luncheon.

I had actually forgotten that she was in town to open the museum that day. I was just on my way to the library to write a paper when I noticed a squad of police officers trying to keep a crowd behind a barricade. I asked one of the library attendants what was going on and he looked at me like I was from another planet or something. "The Queen's here!" he said. Of course. How could I not know that the monarch was having lunch next door?


I went inside the library and took a seat by one of the windows so that I could catch a glimpse of the Queen as she left the building next door. Outside I could see a crowd of about fifty people behind a barricade, huddled together in the rain under a mass of umbrellas.

After about an hour or so, I could hear everyone in the library rushing toward the window behind me. The Queen was done with her lunch and she was about to get into her car. It was a pretty strange scene in the library considering how quiet it usually is. Most times if you so much as whisper to a friend or if you happen to knock over a couple of books, you get quite a dirty stare. But today was different. Today, the Queen was here. Everyone was chatting excitedly and clambering for a good view. Being on the short side, I was jumping and craning my neck to see over everyone else. Fortunately, one of the librarians pushed a giant staircase on wheels in my direction and told me to climb up for a better view. I felt like Zacchaeus, the short guy who had to climb a tree in order to see Jesus above the crowds!

Sure enough, through the barred windows I was able to see Her Majesty. She graciously paused for a minute to wave to the crowd. People in the library started banging on the windows and yelling to catch her attention. She actually did glance our way and everyone cheered. I whipped out my cell phone and took a quick picture. I should have posted this earlier, but my phone doesn't always cooperate when I ask it to send pictures.

That's the Queen with her cute little blue hat getting into her purple limo.