Vetoshkin, not Gagarin, ate the tea lemon at Elizabeth II's reception in 1961

On the well-worn anecdote about how at Queen Elizabeth II's reception in 1961 Yury Gagarin, having drunk a cup of tea with lemon, fished out the slice of lemon and ate it, there is one clarification. Such an incident did indeed occur, but the man in question was Captain-Lieutenant Vetoshkin, who took the piece of lemon out with his fingers and ate the flesh, leaving the rind. And what, pray, is so remarkable about that? I, too, eat my lemon whenever I feel like it, even with Elizabeth II seated beside me. Usually, however, the passage is rounded off by saying that the Queen, not in the least disconcerted, resolved to follow Vetoshkin's example and likewise took the lemon from her cup and ate it. It is hard to judge the reliability of this story, but it is reproduced from the recollections of the Soviet officers who sat at the same table

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

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Frederic Leighton

Frederic Leighton. “Daedalus and Icarus”, 1869 Daedalus warns his son not to climb too high: the heat of the sun may melt the wax, but Icarus is already gazing into the distance, and the lamentations of a foolish old man interest him not in the least

Vetoshkin, not Gagarin, ate the tea lemon at Elizabeth II's reception in 1961

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

Frederic Leighton

Attempts to resolve the problems of many years of uncontrolled mass migration

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