While Buckingham Palace is busy preparing the celebrations marking the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II's reign this year, organisers of her Diamond Jubilee are recalling their interactions with the monarch ahead of the event.

In a meeting ahead of the functions back in 2012, the British monarch had left the organisers stumped by asking some very simple logistical questions. "Take That" star Gary Barlow and other organisers thought they were well-prepared when they went to present the Queen with the plans for a pop-concert outside the palace, but were soon left speechless.

Speaking on the "Graham Norton Show" in the run-up to the event, Barlow recalled how the Queen grilled him with several awkward questions when he met with her to get her approval for the concert plans, reports The Mirror. He explained, "Only a couple of weeks ago I got the job of presenting the whole plan of the concert to her and I'd learnt everything about the gig. There's not a question she can throw at me that I'm going to falter on."

However, the Queen soon quizzed him about the minor and finer things about the event. Barlow recalled, "And she said, 'So all the equipment, how long is that going to take to dismantle? At this point, I'm guessing so I say, 'About six or seven hours'. And she said, "So, the concert finished at half ten at night, which means you will be doing that all night at the front of the palace where my family lives."

The monarch went on to pose another simple but unexpected question that Barlow did not know how to answer. He recalled, "At this point, I say, 'Moving on Your Majesty, this is the royal box, this is where you will be sitting. And she said, 'How am I going to get there?' It was something else I didn't know the answer to!"

Fortunately, the Queen's questions made him more prepared for the event and the concert that featured performances by Sir Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, and Sir Tom Jones went off without any trouble. Prince Charles paid an emotional tribute to his mother in a speech at the end of the programme, which was followed by a spectacular fireworks display.

The Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June this year would also have a concert, named "Platinum Party at the Palace" to celebrate the monarch, but it is not confirmed yet who all will be performing in front of her

Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh
3 June 2012: The Queen chats to Prince Philip on the Spirit of Chartwell during the Diamond Jubilee River Pageant – an armada of 1,000 boats on the River Thames John Stillwell
Queen Elizabeth II British Royal Family