By — Larisa Epatko Larisa Epatko Leave a comment 0comments Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/driving-king-anecdote-goes-viral Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter When Queen Elizabeth took King Abdullah for a drive in her Land Rover World Jan 23, 2015 12:25 PM EDT After the death of Saudi King Abdullah on Thursday, speculation soon began about whether his younger brother and successor Salman will allow more reforms, such as permitting Saudi women to drive. A related anecdote from former British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Sherard Cowper-Coles then went viral on Twitter. It’s an excerpt from his book, “Ever the Diplomat: Confessions of a Foreign Office Mandarin.” In it, he describes a story told to him about Abdullah, who was then crown price of Saudi Arabia, and some discomfort he experienced while visiting Buckingham Palace: Sherard Cowper-Coles’ anecdote about #KingAbdullah and the Queen at Balmoral in 1998 (reminded by @Doylech): pic.twitter.com/SO9GSp2RR9 — Shashank Joshi (@shashj) January 23, 2015 In addition to raising Corgis, the queen is no stranger to driving, going back to World War II: Princess Elizabeth, in 1945, standing by an Auxiliary Territorial Service first aid truck wearing an officer’s uniform. Photo by Keystone/Getty Images By — Larisa Epatko Larisa Epatko Larisa Epatko produced multimedia web features and broadcast reports with a focus on foreign affairs for the PBS NewsHour. She has reported in places such as Jordan, Pakistan, Iraq, Haiti, Sudan, Western Sahara, Guantanamo Bay, China, Vietnam, South Korea, Turkey, Germany and Ireland. @NewsHourWorld
After the death of Saudi King Abdullah on Thursday, speculation soon began about whether his younger brother and successor Salman will allow more reforms, such as permitting Saudi women to drive. A related anecdote from former British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Sherard Cowper-Coles then went viral on Twitter. It’s an excerpt from his book, “Ever the Diplomat: Confessions of a Foreign Office Mandarin.” In it, he describes a story told to him about Abdullah, who was then crown price of Saudi Arabia, and some discomfort he experienced while visiting Buckingham Palace: Sherard Cowper-Coles’ anecdote about #KingAbdullah and the Queen at Balmoral in 1998 (reminded by @Doylech): pic.twitter.com/SO9GSp2RR9 — Shashank Joshi (@shashj) January 23, 2015 In addition to raising Corgis, the queen is no stranger to driving, going back to World War II: Princess Elizabeth, in 1945, standing by an Auxiliary Territorial Service first aid truck wearing an officer’s uniform. Photo by Keystone/Getty Images