I must admit to never trying a Buckfast queen, so have no opinions about
 
their disposition.  I have always used Italians, purchased from Shuman
Apiaries in Jessup, Georgia, USA.  They have always been excellent
queens,  rarely superceding, with excellent brood patterns and a rapid
spring buildup.  All summer I work them with only a bee veil and have
only rarely gotten more than a couple stings in several hours work a
day.  Even after removing supers for the honey harvest, I (barehanded,
and wearing only a short sleeved shirt) tip up the upper brood chamber
to insert Apistan strips and terramycin patties, brushing bees out of
the way with my fingers without getting stung.  (I must admit that I did
 
get a bad sting under my fingernail when crushing one bee out of my
sight, but you can hardly blame the bee for that!)
 
I know - Italians are considered an old-fashioned bee.  I guess I must
be old-fashioned myself, because I can't see any reason to try anything
different.  After all, I have always averaged about 150 lbs. of honey
per colony per year (Michigan average=70 lbs.), and that using queen
excluders over every brood nest (did someone say they are "honey
excluders"?)
 
Ted Fischer
Dexter, Michigan USA