The British monarch is said to be a fan of the popular smartphones, ever since her son, Prince Andrew, introduced her to them a few years ago. Company co-founder Mike Lazaridis presented queen with the most current model, the BlackBerry Bold 9700, personalized with an image of area school children offering her flowers.

Elizabeth was also given a rare glimpse inside the Waterloo, Ontario factory where the devices are made. The site was described in pool reports as a cavernous, white room dotted with spotless workstations and large automated machines.