Queen Elizabeth has seemingly teased a pair of rugby players about their weight.
The 91-year-old monarch met with England rugby stars Billy and Mako Vunipola – who are of Tongan descent but raised in the UK – during a reception for the Commonwealth in Buckingham Palace on Wednesday (14.02.18), and joked with the surly males when she questioned the widely held view that today’s rugby stars are tougher and fitter than ever before.
Mako – who was part of the England team that beat Wales at the weekend in a Six Nations match – said: "She was saying that apparently rugby is getting a lot tougher now, everyone’s fitter but she can’t see it."
Whilst his brother Billy – who has been forced to miss out on the Six Nations tournament due to a broken forearm – quipped: "I think she was calling us fat – which is fair enough."
Despite the dig from the royal, the sports stars were "honoured" to be invited to the event, and Billy added to the Daily Express newspaper: "It’s a massive honour that we are here and a privilege, something we will probably brag to our mum about."
The reception was held to celebrate migration within the Commonwealth, and the rugby stars were invited as they have heritage in Tonga – which is one of the 53 member states of the union – but were raised in the UK.
Amongst the guests, celebrity chef Monica Galetti from New Zealand was also present.
The event marks the start of a series of major Commonwealth events this year, which are set to culminate in a heads of government meeting for global leaders in London this April.
At the meeting, leaders are expected to discuss who should take over as head of the Commonwealth once Queen Elizabeth passes away, as the role is not hereditary so will not automatically be given to Prince Charles, who is next in line to the throne.
Queen Elizabeth teases rugby players
