LONDON, March 27 (UPI) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit to Britain was marred by a faux pas at a state banquet with Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Officials at Buckingham Palace directed Brown to a seat when he should have opened the banquet with Sarkozy and the queen, The Daily Mail reported. Sarkozy could be seen pointing out the prime minister to his wife, Carla Bruni, while the queen looked for him.
"Has the prime minister got lost?" the queen was overheard asking.
Brown's staff put blame for the mix-up squarely on the royal entourage.
"I think the palace has been making clear that the prime minister did what he was told to do by palace officials," a spokesman said. "It is best to talk to them."
The palace, apparently, preferred a dignified silence.
Technically, the queen, like Sarkozy, is a head of state while Brown is the head of her government.
