Cornflakes, corgis & gin: a day in the life of The Queen
To celebrate Her Majesty’s official birthday, we wanted to find out what it’s like to be Queen for a day. When you live in a palace housing 500 clocks, what is a normal routine and how do you “unwind” at the end of the day? Something like this…
Her Majesty's morning starts at 7.30am with a cup of tea in bed, served from a silver teapot (of course), while she listens to Radio 4’s Today program. The corgis get a plate of biscuits.
Perhaps there’s just enough time to squeeze in a few pages of the latest paperback. HM is an avid reader and you can expect to find crime thrillers from the likes of PD James, Agatha Christie and Dick Francis on her nightstand.
You can save up to 54% on tickets to see Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap” when it comes to the Opera House in Manchester later this month.
Breakfast is usually cornflakes, served at 8.30am, and taken with the Duke of Edinburgh (whose nicknames for her include “cabbage” and “sausage”, FYI) in their private dining room overlooking the palace garden.
For a fit-for-a-queen alternative to cornflakes, check out our deal on a 3-course brunch with prosecco at the luxurious 5-star Dukes hotel in St James’s.
When she’s on a foreign tour, Her Majesty’s luggage can weigh more than four tons, including a plentiful supply of still Malvern water - she’s said to suffer withdrawal symptoms when deprived - and Twinings Earl Grey tea.
When she’s on one of her regular walkabouts, she always carries her own handbag containing a lipstick, a handkerchief, a mirror and a copy of the day’s programme. One of her ladies-in-waiting has the “Brown Bag” holding all the necessary emergency essentials (including sweeteners and a moist, lavender-scented cloth. Obviously).
Before lunchtime it’s gin o’clock. The Queen’s alcohol intake famously never varies. She takes a gin and Dubonnet before lunch, wine with lunch and a dry Martini and a glass of champagne in the evening. This means that by lunchtime on Wednesday, Her Majesty has already consumed the weekly recommended alcohol intake for a woman. Bottoms up!
Psssst! We’ve negotiated a great deal on a tour of the Lakes Distillery - including tastings of their gin, whisky and vodka - which was officially opened by Princess Anne in summer 2015.
In her downtime, you might find The Queen walking her dogs or cheering on one of her racing horses (as of 2013 her horses had won over 1,600 races, though a win at the Epsom Derby has always eluded her).
Fancy a day at the races yourself? You can save up to 44% on tickets to Royal Ascot this June.
The Queen’s taste in TV is similar to her taste in books. In the evening you might find her settling down to watch an episode of “Midsomer Murders”, “New Tricks” or “The Last Detective”.
Then it’s time for bed… alone, wearing a Liberty print knee-length nightie if you believe Michael Fagan (the infamous Palace intruder).
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