Crossword Genius

Queen and socialist strayed (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

erred

'strayed' is the definition.
('err' can be a synonym of 'stray')

'queen and socialist' is the wordplay.
'queen' becomes 'er' (abbreviation for Elizabeth Regina).
'and' says to put letters next to each other.
'socialist' becomes 'red' (red is a kind of socialist).
'er'+'red'='ERRED'

(Other definitions for erred that I've seen before include "Sinned" , "Made mistake, was incorrect" , "was inaccurate" , "slipped up" , "Gone astray!" .)

I've seen this clue in The Mirror.
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