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Now that's what you call a brave ticket collector.

A fussy inspector apparently asked the Queen to see her train ticket on her way to say farewell to HMS Ark Royal yesterday.

Her Majesty had shunned a royal motorcade to hop aboard the 10am Waterloo to Portsmouth service.

But she was no doubt stunned when her ticket was requested as the South West Trains worker reached her first class carriage.

Captain Jerry Kyd, Ark Royal's commanding officer who greeted her arrival, confided: "The Queen's just been asked for her ticket."

The monarch's train was five minutes late to the Naval Base after someone apparently ran across the tracks. Dressed in pink, she took a royal salute in front of Royal Navy officers before going aboard the aircraft carrier for lunch.

The event was to mark the Ark Royal's 25th anniversary but Capt Kyd revealed it was an emotional day for the Queen and the ship's company, as the carrier has close royal links and is being taken out of service early due to defence review cuts. He said: "It was the Queen Mother who launched the Ark Royal in 1981 and she had a very close connection with it.

"She was our sponsor and last visited about 10 years ago, in her last official engagement before she died. Following the announcement that Ark Royal is going to be taken out of service early, this event had added poignancy." The warship's retirement will leave the navy unable to launch fixed-wing aircraft from a carrier.

The Queen, who last inspected the ship at an international fleet review in Nova Scotia in June, finally left Portsmouth at 4pm.

Let's hope the same ticket collector wasn't still on duty...