French President Nicolas Sarkozy has revealed that Britain's Queen Elizabeth gets "bored" being the monarch.

Sarkozy revealed how she made the shock confession during a private conversation at a black-tie banquet at Windsor Castle, which was held in honour of his first state visit to Britain in 2008.

Tee-total Sarkozy explained he plucked up the courage to speak to the Queen who sat next to him after mistaking a gin and tonic for a glass of water.

He told France's L'Express magazine, "I was very thirsty, I took a glass. I thought it was water, but it was gin. You know I haven't drunk a drop of alcohol in 40 years."

A spokesman at Buckingham Palace said, "We never comment on private conversations."

Sarkozy confided to being overawed by the lavish royal welcome laid on for him and his then new wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.