Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip resisted the temptation to sip the perfect pint of Guinness on a visit to the Irish brewery yesterday.

The royal couple were given a tour of the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, as part of the queen's historic first state visit to the Irish Republic.


Queen Elizabeth contemplates if she should take a sip of the pint while on her tour Guinness Storehouse Gravity Bar in Dublin, on the second day of the her four-day visit to Ireland yesterday

Master brewer Fergal Murray then took the royal couple through the stages of pouring a perfect pint of the stout.

Prince Philip, who is known to like a pint of bitter, seemed in his element and asked if it was made with water from Dublin's River Liffey.

"No! Pure and pristine from the hills!", Murray replied.

Media watching a live feed roared on the Queen, shouting "Go on!", then "Oh!" as if the monarch had missed a penalty in the football World Cup final as she walked away from the bar.

Her husband lingered as if he might have a sip, reviving the excitement. However, he seemed caught in the age-old dilemma of a fresh pint on the bar and the wife leaving, and stuck with duty.