Condi Tickles the Ivories for the Queen

Of all the items we might have expected would rank high on outgoing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s wish list of things she’d like to do before leaving office, playing Brahms in a private concert for Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II wouldn’t have been one of them. However, that’s exactly what Rice just did.

Telegraph:

The stateswoman—who is a concert level pianist—was allowed to use a music room at the palace after expressing a wish to play for the Queen before leaving office at the end of the Bush administration in January.

The Queen listened to part of the performance, and afterward presented Miss Rice with an audio recording of the recital as a gift.

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AP photo / Akira Suemori

Jolly good: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice smiles during a news conference with Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband after their meeting in London on Monday.