Australian soldier Ben Roberts-Smith meets Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace

ONE of Australia's most decorated soldiers met the Queen and was pleased to find her a "lovely lady" and "easy to talk to".

Ben Robert-Smith Queen

ONE of Australia's most decorated soldiers has met with the Queen at Buckingham Palace for a one-on-one private audience during which the monarch asked for intimate details of the war in Afghanistan.

Australian Army Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith received the Victoria Cross for Australia in January after his efforts during an operation in Afghanistan in June 2010, when he killed three insurgents who were attacking his patrol.

After the 33-year-old's meeting in the palace's private apartments overnight, Corp Roberts-Smith said that the "lovely" Queen had shown interest in what happened on the day his patrol was targeted.

"We talked mainly about Afghanistan and obviously a great opportunity for me to tell her about what everyone else in my (patrol) did that day, so I got to explain to her a bit of what everyone did as opposed to just myself," he told reporters inside the palace grounds.

"Obviously she speaks to quite a lot of soldiers, so she was interested in Afghanistan and she has a good grasp of what's happening there. I think that her reaction was, she was just glad that we all came home."

A father to twin baby girls, Corp Roberts-Smith said the remainder of the conversation was "personal", and declined to share details.

"She is everything that everyone says she is. She's very, just a lovely lady," the soldier said of the 85-year-old Queen, who was dressed in bright blue for the meeting.

"She made me very comfortable, it was easy to talk to her and ... it's very humbling, it's very surreal, I just found it to be a great opportunity to talk to her about what my mates and what the other lads are doing in Afghanistan, as in the other Australians."

As proof that his visit was a true royal experience, Corp Roberts-Smith said he even passed some of the Queen's dogs en route to the meeting.

"We actually walked past the corgis in the hallway. It's true what they say, they certainly have the run of the place," he laughed.

Of his gallantry in Afghanistan, Corp Roberts-Smith said he has a vivid recollection of events.

"That day for me is as clear as ever," he said.

"At the time it was just something that needed to be done. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to move forward and neutralise that position and I think the most important thing I took away from it was that that day we took everyone home and we had a win."

Corp Roberts-Smith said the Queen "obviously recognises that Australian soldiers are very good at what they do" and that she is happy with progress in Afghanistan.

The Special Air Service Regiment member will embark on a tour of France over coming days, visiting battlefields where Australian soldiers have died, and speaking with school children about the legacy of war.