When Frederick Chiluba, president of Zambia during the 1990s, visited Britain, he was granted the honour of a state banquet. Chiluba realised as he sat down next to the Queen that his wife Vera, who was from humble origins, would be baffled by the extensive array of cutlery in her place setting. Thinking quickly, Chiluba asked the Queen if he might be permitted to say grace in Bemba, the language of his people. Of course, replied the monarch. So while everyone assumed he was saying ‘For what we are about to receive…’, Chiluba actually said: ‘Listen, Vera – the round spoon is for the soup, the funny-shaped knife is for the fish, and the spoon at the top is for the pudding.’
According to Spectator magazine. Whether or not true, it is a lively story
