In a rare public intervention into politics, Britain's Queen

Elizabeth II met with Prime Minister Tony Blair and either --

depending which news reports you believe -- strongly expressed her

concern about global warming, or smacked him upside the head for not

pushing the U.S. to join Kyoto. While the queen regularly visits

Downing Street to discuss politics, it is almost unheard of for the

substance of those conversations to become public. It's a leak few

believe could be accidental, particularly with the U.S. election fast

approaching. The queen will also take the unusual step of opening a

high-profile conference on climate change this week in Berlin. The

queen's interest in global warming -- which allegedly emerged from

her observations of the impact of climate shifts on her country

estates -- is not entirely out of character. The royal family has

long been a champion of environmental causes, and even Buckingham

Palace has been retrofitted to be more energy efficient.