The Queen has come face to face with a Harry Potter goblin, but did not flinch for a second.
The macabre creation was the work of a talented student who had been inspired by the teenage wizard movies.
In JK Rowling's popular books the goblins run Gringotts Wizarding Bank and it was as if a staff member had appeared at East Surrey College's Gatton Point campus in Redhill which the Queen was officially opening.
It was designed by 18-year-old student Naomi Shand who had spent a week preparing her special effects make-up. Beneath the prosthetic nose, ears and chin and layers of make-up and false hair was fellow student Hatty Lovender, 17, who had been worked on for three and a half hours.
When the Queen walked into the make-up studio where the students were working, a gothic fairy, a traditional fairy, an alien and the goblin were all having the finishing touches applied to their faces.
The Queen peered at the models who were a riot of colour, fairy wings and large false ears. At the end of the line was Miss Shand, busily working on her goblin and the Queen asked her how long it had taken to make up her colleague.
The student, who only started her one-year theatrical make-up and prosthetic NVQ last month, said later: "I started working at 11am and finished at 2.30pm. We've had a few assignments to do and my last one was quite pretty so I wanted to do something completely different.
"I think it worked well and it seemed to impress the Queen."
Earlier, the Queen celebrated the 50th anniversary of the dedication of Guildford Cathedral at a service of thanksgiving for the religious building.
In 1961 the monarch and Duke of Edinburgh were present at the ceremony that saw the place of worship formally consecrated. The royal couple returned to the cathedral in Surrey to celebrate the building with its community and meet local groups, clergy and schoolchildren from the area.