No action against Gemma Gibbons after tweeting photo of Buckingham Palace toilet

Friday, October 26, 2012
7:30 AM

A photo of Queen Elizabeth’s toilet has been published online.

Gibbons' photo of the royal toilets

Olympic silver medalist Gemma Gibbons broke royal protocol by tweeting a photo of the royal lavatories during a lavish Buckingham Palace reception to congratulate successful Paralympians and Olympians on their performances during the London 2012 Games.

The judo star tweeted: “Met the queen today, she has very posh toilets! #howtheroyalspee (sic).”

Gemma joked that she was worried about being “banged up” in the Tower of London for her sneaky photo, as guests were instructed not to use mobile phones at the palace.

She told MailOnline.co.uk: “I was delighted to have received an invitation to the palace and even managed to exchange a few words with the Queen. I couldn’t believe what [the toilets] were like when I saw them.

“There was carpet in them for a start. I have never seen anything so posh. I just took one look at them and thought ‘oh, what the hell’ and took a picture.

“I tweeted it without thinking, really, and I really hope that I’m not in trouble. It was such a lovely event that I wouldn’t want to end up in the Tower.”

However, a palace official insisted there was no problem and were glad the Olympians had enjoyed their visit - “wherever they might be in the palace”.

The Queen and her husband Prince Philip had welcomed senior figures including Prime Minister David Cameron to the Palace’s 18th Century Room before the arrival of the athletes, who were quick to express their delight at the glittering reception.

Double bronze medalist Rebecca Adlington later wrote: “Had an amazing time tonight at Buckingham Palace with all the medalists from the Olympics + Paralympics! So nice to see everyone again (sic)!”