Queen takes 'no offence' over adverts, says palace

QUEEN ELIZABETH took “no offence” at being inadvertently demoted in Fáilte Ireland radio adverts broadcast on Monday, Buckingham Palace has said.

The adverts, on RTÉ Radio One and other stations, referred to the Queen as “Her Royal Highness”, not “Her Majesty”.

The tourism body admitted the wrong tapes had been sent out. The error has been rectified and the adverts now refer to the visit of “Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II”. A similar error on the Discover Ireland website has been corrected.

A palace spokesman confirmed the Queen’s formal title was Her Majesty, while the Royal Highness prefix was reserved for princes and princesses, but admitted there was “regular confusion” on the issue. Alex Connolly, a spokesman for Fáilte Ireland, was “very happy that no offence was taken as none was intended”. He said next week’s visit was “very important for this country and for tourism”.

The ads, which also refer to the scheduled visit of US president Barack Obama, are part of a Fáilte Ireland marketing campaign designed to promote Ireland during the “Month of Welcomes”.