THE “Green Queen” is to use her visit to Germany this week to emphasise her credentials as the world’s most environmentally friendly monarch.

Buckingham Palace advisers have let it be known that the Queen has lectured Tony Blair and her own household on the dangers of climate change, which she hopes to discuss at a forum in Berlin on Wednesday.

In a surprise break with protocol, trusted aides revealed how during their weekly meetings at the Palace, the Queen told Mr Blair of her concerns about the White House’s obdurate stance on global warming.Usually their conversations remain secret, but at the weekend royal aides suggested that the Queen asked Downing Street to lobby Washington after observing the damaging effects of climate change on her estates at Sandringham and Balmoral.

To underline her own efforts to transform the Royal Household into a model of environmental efficiency, Palace aides say that the Queen is planning to build a £900,000 hydro-electric plant on the River Thames to power Windsor Castle.

If the local council gives final approval, then this scheme will generate enough electricity to power the 900-year-old castle without burning fossil fuels.

The timing of these leaks — and efforts by some of her advisers to repackage the Queen as an eco-warrior — appears deliberate.

During her state visit this week the Queen will open the Climate Change Conference in Berlin and then join Gerhard Schröder, the German Chancellor, at a forum for young people to voice their worries about climate change.

The summit is scheduled for the day after the US presidential election, and the result will dictate the tone for future negotiations on climate change. The Bush Administration remains hostile to ratifying the Kyoto Protocol to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. One royal observer said: “The Queen will most certainly not want to be accused of trying to influence the outcome of the US election.

“It so happens this Berlin summit is scheduled for this week and both she and the Duke of Edinburgh are very concerned about the environment and have been for a very long time.” The Queen has apparently been briefed by experts, and has been sent studies by the likes of Sir David King, the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, who has described climate change as a greater threat than terrorism, and John Schellnhuber, research director of the Tyndall Centre which carries out pioneering work on global warming. Professor Schellnhuber is due to be appointed CBE from the Queen this week for his work.

One of those involved in talks at the Palace said: “From her own observations on the climate she has become worried like the rest of us. She has made it clear she wants to raise the importance of the issue.”

The Palace says that there has been a long and impressive list of royal “green” initiatives. These include using energy-saving light bulbs and recycling all glass and paper generated by the Palace. A number of the royal Bentleys run on eco-friendly fuel — including the Duke of Edinburgh’s own vehicle. All windows at Buckingham Palace were double-glazed nearly ten years ago and energy-efficient film has been fitted to all the windows to reduce heat loss.

“Lights are always switched off throughout the Palace and the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are firmly behind this,” an official said.

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