Miss Van Outen, 23, took the items during a royal reception on Monday for a select group of young Britons.

Denise Van Outen: sent the Queen a stuffed camel

The co-host of Channel Four's Big Breakfast later found her exploits splashed across several tabloid newspapers on Wednesday.

During the show's regular review of the papers she told viewers: "I am really sorry. It was just a bit of fun."

She said she had sent back the ashtray and tissue box holder with an apology to the Queen.

Van Outen said she also sent her a stuffed camel she bought in Tunisia with a note saying: "Sorry, Ma'am. I didn't mean to give you the hump."

'Borrowed' items

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: "The vast majority of guests don't take anything away as a souvenir.

"We get nearly 50,000 visitors a year and if they all took souvenirs there wouldn't be much left."

The spokeswoman said: "We will leave it to others to judge the rights and wrongs of what she has done."

Co-presenter Johnny Vaughan teased her throughout Wednesday's programme but she insisted she had "borrowed" the items and not stolen them.