Royals Queen Elizabeth Owns a Fake Hand-Waving Machine — and She's 'Thrilled' by It When the monarch visited Australia years ago, a group of students gave her a waving machine as a gag gift — something she has treasured ever since By Simon Perry Simon Perry Simon Perry is a writer and correspondent at PEOPLE. He has more than 25 years’ experience at PEOPLE covering the royals, human interest and celebrity. People Editorial Guidelines Published on September 28, 2018 12:43PM EDT Photo: Tim Graham/Getty Images When Meghan Markle undertakes her first extensive foreign tour alongside Prince Harry next month, she will be doing a lot of royal waving! As it turns out, Queen Elizabeth has a handy gadget that the couple could pack along with them as they head to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga. When the monarch visited Australia years ago, a group of students gave her a waving machine as a gag gift — something she has treasured ever since. The Queen’s daughter, Princess Anne, 68, revealed the funny gift to Robert Hardman in his book, Queen of the World (which accompanies the upcoming HBO documentary of the same name). “They gave her a stuffed glove on a wooden lever so that you could tweak the end of the lever and this hand went to and fro,” Anne said. “I think they thought it was rather cheeky but Her Majesty was thrilled.” Samir Hussein/WireImage The Queen has visited Australia on official business more than a dozen times since she ascended to the throne in 1952. Exactly What Meghan Markle Should Pack for Her Tour of Australia and New Zealand It’s not known if the Queen ever used what Hardman calls the “inspired invention.” It was likely taken back to the Queen’s summer home, Balmoral, in Scotland, where it has continued to amuse the royal family. Royal walkabouts also result in lots of hand-shaking. And no-nonsense Anne has her own way of dealing with it: She decided not to bother at all. Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage? Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more! HBO/ITV “The theory was that you couldn’t shake hands with everybody, so don’t start. So I kind of stick with that, but I noticed others don’t,” she reveals in the documentary, which premieres on HBO on October 1.