George Skelton: Unexpected humor and 'a spot of gin': Queen Elizabeth II's Sacramento visit remembered

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The tale about Queen Elizabeth II sipping gin in California's state Capitol needs some fleshing out. And here it is:

It was the late Ronald Reagan aide Mike Deaver's tale. He told it to me shortly after Her Majesty toured storm-battered California in the winter of 1983.

The story was off the record back then. But now all the main players have died: The queen, Prince Philip, Gov. George Deukmejian, President Reagan, First Lady Nancy Reagan and Deaver. Nothing's off the record forever.

So I reported Deaver's tale in my previous column