Blue language from the Queen

Jan 20, 2006, 14:56 GMT

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II stunned rocker Ray Davies by telling him: 'I hope they catch the b*****ds who shot you!'

Kinks singer Ray - who was gunned down by a mugger in New Orleans last year - says he was amazed by the queen's outburst.

He said: 'I could hardly believe what I'd heard. I had to wash my ears out afterwards.'

Ray, 61, was at Buckingham Palace to pick up a CBE just two months after the shooting.

The London-born star said: 'I was shocked.'

He says the queen blurted out the 'b' word after saying something about 'the violent times we live in'.

Ray almost died in the street shooting last January.

He was in a serious condition in a Louisiana hospital for three weeks after the bullet broke a bone in his leg.

And, after two major operations, the star was still using a walking stick as he arrived to collect his gong.

Ray says he was flattered and impressed that the queen knew all about his ordeal.

He said: 'She must be remarkably well-briefed. But I suppose that is what she was brought up to do and she does it so well.'

Last night, Buckingham Palace sources said they were shocked that such language was being attributed to the queen.

A senior aide said: 'I have never heard the queen swear in all the time I have been working for her. I think it is highly unlikely that she would ever speak in this manner.'

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