In the wake of her recent successful stay at Windsor Castle, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy has been talking about her impressions of the Queen and the British Monarchy.

“It was terribly scary but also an incredible adventure,” she said. “It was like arriving on another planet. Never in my life did I think I would meet the Queen of England.”

She told of her amazement that the Queen personally showed her to the apartment where she would be staying at Windsor Castle, and said, “Here’s your bathroom.”

The French First Lady admits she took a crash course in Royal protocol before the visit. “I asked for advice from the protocol section of the Elysee, but also from the British Ambassador’s wife. I tried to imagine how to do the curtsy.”

The Royals were “a real family,” she declared. “One really feels it when one is with them. And for me it was an absolute honour.”

Carla seems to have hit it off with the Duke of Edinburgh. He played the perfect host as the Queen and the President chatted in French.

“Prince Philip is a person with whom it seemed to me very easy to follow protocol.” He also had “impeccable French”. The Duke had explained “everything that was going on, what we saw, the right thing to do. … He’s a fantastic guide.”

The British public and press were very taken with her too.