Oct 21, 2009, 11:01 GMT
Britain's Queen Elizabeth's hair colour has been praised by a top hair stylist.
Vidal Sassoon admitted he was in awe of the 83-year-old monarch's silvery locks after receiving a CBE - Commander of the British Empire - from her at Buckingham Palace yesterday (20.10.09).
He said: "Actually it was very difficult (to see). She was leaning over. It's a beautiful colour. I didn't see the style. It truly looked very nice.
"She didn't ask me to stay behind and give her a quick trim."
The 81-year-old stylist said he was accepting the honour of behalf of the whole UK hair care industry.
Discussing the day, he said: "It was lovely. The queen couldn't have been nicer. She said 'You've been doing what you've been doing for a long time.'
''I said, 'It's been 67 years.' I think she mumbled, 'Good Lord.' ''
Vidal spent six years in an orphanage as a child after his father left the family.
He became an apprentice hairdresser as a teenager, but left the UK to fight in Israel's War of Independence in 1948.
He is famed for his five-point bob haircut, and for the academies he has set up to teach the craft.
He told Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper: "'I started out in the East End of London on the Whitechapel Road. It was war time - 1942 and I was an apprentice.
"I've had the most extraordinary adventure - a kid from the East End.
"I've had so many star quality clients but when a working girl comes in and she's saved five shillings to have a great hair cut once a month, I treat her like a princess."
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