The royal prerogative: no roast bat, thank you

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II sat down to a South Seas feast featuring roast bat, boiled banana, and stewed blackbird complete with beak and feet when she was guest of honor in Funafuti.

The Queen, wearing a crown of flowers, put on her spectacles and stared hard at the huge green-matting plate piled a foot high with Tuvaluan delicacies. After careful inspection, she selected a small piece of chicken and a banana and sipped the milk from an open coconut at her side.

The Queen, accompanied by her husband, Prince Philip, is on a South Sea island cruise.