Charlotte Church apologises for royal comments

Charlotte Church has apologised for making unflattering comments about the Queen, saying she was "foolish" to make the flippant remarks.

The singer and TV presenter - who was a judge on the BBC1 show Over The Rainbow last year - had claimed in a magazine interview that the Queen "had no idea what is going on" - and said she never recognised her despite having met her several times.

However in a new statement she said she was "deeply sorry" for any offence caused.

"I am deeply sorry if my comments about Her Majesty the Queen caused offence," Charlotte said.

"I am honoured to have met her and have an enormous amount of respect for her and what she does. After seeing those words in print, I realised how foolish I was to make such flippant remarks to a journalist.

"I find it difficult to remember even making them. My only defence is that I never expected a respected publication to sensationalise my words out of context like this."

The comments appeared in an interview Charlotte did for men's magazine Esquire.

She is reported to have said, "I've met her about seven times and she never remembers me. When you get close to her you realise she's an old woman and has no idea what's going on.

"I feel really sorry for her. She probably doesn't want to be wheeled out at every Royal Variety Performance to watch scantily clad dancers and s***** comedians."