Royal visit at Ipswich train station

  

COMMUTERS at Ipswich train station could not believe their eyes when the Queen and Prince Philip unexpectedly graced Suffolk.

But there was none of the usual pomp and circumstance of a royal visit and the pair rubbed shoulders with other passengers as they bustled their way to the end of the platform and into the car park before disappearing into the town in a Land Rover driven by Prince Philip.

They travelled to Ipswich on a packed commuter train, while sipping tea and sampling biscuits in a First Class carriage.

When the royal couple left the train at Ipswich station, shocked passengers and staff on the platform could hardly believe their eyes - one was overhead saying: “I'm sure that lady is on the television”.

Others scrambled for their mobile phones to capture the surreal moment on camera so their friends would believe them.

The Queen, dressed in a green two-piece suit, arrived at Ipswich station at 6pm on the 5pm service from London Liverpool Street.

Buckingham Palace would not discuss her plans, only saying the Queen's weekends were “spent privately.”

It emerged last night police and rail operator One had been told about her travelling plans just 24 hours earlier but had been sworn to secrecy for security reasons.

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