One story that I think says it all is the one about Queen Elizabeth II meeting Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin at a reception in Buckingham Palace. Gagarin, a simple man unaccustomed to the elaborate protocol of court, was offered tea with lemon as a refreshment.
After having drank the tea, Gagarin fished out the lemon with his spoon and… ate it. The members of court and diplomats there gathered were aghast — such “bad manners”, eating lemon slices after having consumed the tea. Queen Elizabeth, however, did not bat an eye. Noting Gagarin’s discomfort she, too, took out the lemon and ate it, with a smile.
The Queen had a way of putting people at ease. She wasn’t as rigid, stern and strict as people often make her out to be — she was remarkably human, and sensitive to her surroundings. She adhered to strict principle but was unafraid of breaking or bending rules when she saw fit.