Queen meets foul-mouthed parrot

Sunny the parrot has a colourful vocabulary

The Queen has met a foul-mouthed parrot during her visit to Portsmouth Naval Base.

Sunny, who lives on board the warship HMS Lancaster, is infamous throughout the fleet for her vocabulary of four-letter words.

The foul-mouthed bird gave up her home, the ward-room, to accommodate the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

Despite their meeting, it is not clear whether the Queen had the chance to speak to Sunny.

A spokeswoman for the Queen said that only the royal party were allowed in the ward-room so it was not known if any conversation passed with the infamous African grey parrot.

The Queen later took a royal salute and met members of the crew and their families before lunch.

Sunny, who was brought on board to boost morale, has a reputation for squawking expletives.

Her vulgar vocabulary has reportedly caused a few red faces during previous official engagements aboard the warship.