Retired queen has surprising tale to tell (6)
I believe the answer is:
relate
'tell' is the definition.
(as in to tell or relate a story)
'retired queen has surprising tale' is the wordplay.
'retired' is a reversal indicator.
'queen' becomes 'er' (abbreviation for Elizabeth Regina).
'has' indicates putting letters inside.
'surprising' indicates an anagram.
'er' reversed gives 're'.
'tale' with letters rearranged gives 'elat'.
're' enclosing 'elat' is 'RELATE'.
'to' is the link.
(Other definitions for relate that I've seen before include "link" , "Tell in Tralee" , "Marriage Guidance - report" , "Recount" , "Narrate, tell in detail" .)