THE Queen meets thousands of people every year and has a handy trick for remembering important facts about individuals.

Children’s book author Julia Donaldson, who was appointed CBE in the last Queen’s honours list for services to children's literature, revealed Her Majesty’s clever secret.

Julia, whose bestsellers include The Gruffalo, Stick Man and Room on the Broom said: “I was told the Queen goes through the potted biographies with a yellow marker and just two words get highlighted.

“So when you get called up, the equerry shows her the words.

"I did my little curtsey and she said ‘Oh, so you're a writer… you're very popular…’

“I went off thinking 'writer/ popular…' those must have been my two words."

By memorising just two words about each person, the Queen is about to speak knowledgeably to those getting their gongs at the 25 investitures held each year.

Julia said she felt “full of admiration” for the 93-year-old monarch managing to be so thoughtful with the people she encounters.

The author added: “She does this with some 75 people every session and she's on her feet the whole time."

According to Adam Helliker, author of a forthcoming book on the Royal Family, the Queen gets “irritated” when people shy away from her when she enters a room.

He told Fabulous Digital: “Ever wondered what the Queen feels like when she enters a room filled with people, knowing they're all nervous about meeting her?

“Well, an RAF officer who served as an equerry discloses: ‘One summer day she asked me to join her on a walk at Balmoral.

“'She talked about how irritating it was to go into a party and as she put it, watch people peel away, like the water parting as the bow of a ship ploughed through it.

"'She said she always felt it would be lovely to just slip into a party, wandering around incognito, talking to anyone she felt like.

"But the thing that most irritated her was the 'inevitable hush' that always greeted her when they saw her walking in.’”

It’s not just royal fans that get star-struck and shy when they meet the Queen, 93, as Prince Harry, 34, has admitted he gets intimidated when he bumps into his grandma.

In the ITV documentary Queen of the World, Harry said to some Caribbean scholars visiting Buckingham Palace: “Have you bumped into the Queen yet?

“If you suddenly bump into her in the corridor, don’t panic. I know you will. We all do!”

Perhaps people need not worry, as the Queen is said to be rather shy herself.

The Daily Mail’s Richard Kay said of Prince Philip: “He is trying to say the right thing, sometimes it doesn’t come out quite right.

“He’s always taken the view that his role is an ice-breaker. The Queen is actually remarkably shy.”

And if you do encounter Her Majesty, you might want to put down your phone.

Although the Queen has always tried to embrace modern technology, she is said to loathe mobiles when she is out in public.

She is said to have told former US ambassador Matthew Barzun that she finds it “strange” to see the backs of phones and “misses eye contact".

MORE ON THE ROYAL FAMILY

We shared how Meghan Markle’s new Smart Works clothing range will launch next Thursday – but it’s only on sale for two weeks.

And The Queen is astonished and very impressed by ‘Hurricane’ Meghan Markle’s work ethic, royal author claims.

And Meghan is reportedly writing her first kids book believed to be about her beloved rescue dogs.

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