A Day in the Life of Queen Elizabeth II

[Music] queen of Elizabeth II was a stickler for order and so routine was a part of Her Majesty's day-to-day life she Rose at around 8:00 a.m. and would be greeted by a piper who played at 9:00 a.m. on the Terrace beneath her apartment at Buckingham Palace when her longtime attendant and Confidant Margaret McDonald which she fondly called Bobo was in service she would awaken the queen bringing in a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits handed over by the footman the Queen's corgis were the first creatures to gr her ANS they who would also beg to be given biscuits Earl Gray was the Queen's favorite Brew she would have milk but no sugar and a few biscuits ahead of her proper breakfast the cup and saucer were bone china and there was also a linen napkin bearing the Royal Cipher when Margaret McDonald was no longer in service a maid would serve the queen putting the morning tray on a bedside table she would open the curtains and switch on the radio the Queen's preference was BBC Radio 4's today program mean meanwhile along the corridor in his suite the Queen's husband Prince philli would prefer to shower and drink black coffee the queen would take a bath and after she dressed her hairdresser would brush and arrange her hair in its familiar style the queen would then eat breakfast usually cornflakes or Special K cereal partnered with fresh or dried fruit she also liked toast with light Marmalade breakfast was served at 9:00 a.m. in the Queen's first floor dining room overlooking the palace Garden she would have breakfast from Tupperware containers a thick white napkin embroidered with her emblem was folded on the table next to the containers along with a cup and saucer for Earl gry tea honey and maple syrup and Silver Spoons for the two types of light and dark marmalade each item had its exact position all brought by a tail coated footman who followed detailed plans on where to put things the queen would read the morning paper particularly The Daily Telegraph the racing post and when it was still in printing circul ation the Sporting Life she also scanned all the morning papers and would receive a batch of press cuttings each day after breakfast the queen would proceed to her chip Andale desk in her sitting room which was stuffed with family photographs MOS and knicknacks two inkwells were on her desk one contained Black Ink which the queen used to sign official documents the other green for personal letters she always used black blotting paper so that no one could see what she had written her St stationer was kept in a leather folder bearing the Royal Crest nearby was a bowl of water for her pet corgis they would be brought to her after their morning walk they would always be within Her Majesty's sight Queen Elizabeth II worked until lunch at 1: p.m. reading up to 300 letters delivered in a white wicker basket these letters would contain everyday human concerns from a desperate mother to an adoring child eager to receive her signed photograph every letter except from those cranks would get a reply usually answered by a staff or by a lady in waiting the queen met separately two of her staff including her private secretary they would bring in the daily quota of official paperwork coming not only from Great Britain but also from other Commonwealth realm like Canada Australia and New Zealand where the queen also reigned as head of state the queen liked to be informed with state affairs while her ceremonial duties prevented her from Al ing any decision passed by the government or the parliament she wanted to be sure that she knew exactly what she's putting her name into wherever she was the queen received from government ministers and from her representatives in the Commonwealth and foreign countries official documents sent up to her by the private secretaries in the famous red boxes all of these papers had to be read and where necessary approved and signed in the mornings the queen would often give audiences to foreign diplomats military Chiefs English Bishops and judges which would last between 10 and 20 minutes on investure days the queen moved to the Palace Ballroom for 11 a.m. to present the honors in the hourong ceremony in later years the Prince of Wales Princess Anne and the Duke of Cambridge took over these duties Royal away days took the queen often accompanied by Prince philli before his retirement out of London sometimes they would spend overnight on the Royal Train especially when they travel to a city or region if the queen did not have any engagement at midday she enjoyed A light meal with Prince Phillip or one of her children or grandchildren occasionally a lady in waiting was invited there was a time when the queen and Prince philli used to invite a dozen guests from a wide variety of backgrounds to an informal lunch after lunch if time permitted she would stroll in the palace garden with her dogs usually alone and undisturbed sometimes the queen traveled to a nearby event or in summer hosted a garden party at least three Garden parties would take place at Buckingham Palace and a fourth at the palace of Holly Roode house in Scotland when the queen went out on public engagements she prepared by reading background notes about whom she was meeting and what she would be doing when in London she liked to be back in her Palace Suite by 5:00 p.m. for high tea sandwiches scones and her favorite Dundee cake were served the corgis and doggus would eat the crumbs and were sometimes treated to scon with jam and clotted cream for the queen Jam would go on first and then scone after tea the queen returned to her desk to work again on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. the queen would hold an audience with the Prime Minister this would be done after the prime minister's questions in the House of Commons earlier in the day this varied if either the queen or the Prime Minister were away the day was changed or they spoke on the telephone the weekly meeting only took place when Parliament was in session and their discussions remained strictly confidential as head of state the queen maintained close contact with the Prime Minister and with other ministers of the crown she acted as host to the heads of state of Commonwealth and other countries when they visited Britain and received other notable visitors from overseas at about 7:30 p.m. a report of the day's parliamentary proceedings written by one of the government's whips arrived and the queen always read this the same evening the Queen's Day ended before dinner which was served at 8:15 p.m. when Prince philli was at home they would chat about their respective day's work when there were no guests and no public engagements dinner was a relaxing one for the queen and her husband who preferred to change into comfortable clothes the queen was not overly interested in food but she liked lamb roast beef mutton Grouse and salmon she also enjoyed a gin and dubonet cocktail and occasionally drank wine with dinner she would take a polite sip of wine if offered it or for a toast soberly malvin mineral water was also a royal favorite there were nights when she was out for evening engagements but more often she spent part of the evening on her official dispatch boxes she developed a form of speed reading to scan the sheer volume of pages she received on some lazy nights she would enjoy comedy shows documentaries or environmental programs on TV she also did jigsaw puzzles crosswords and Scrabble like all British monarchs the queen kept a diary and she religiously wrote a page every day and by 11:00 p.m. Queen Elizabeth II would retire to bed calling it a day [Music]

Channel: Royal Splendour

Views: 1,256

Keywords: Queen Elizabeth II, British Royal family, Queen Elizabeth, Royal Family, House of Windsor, King Charles III, Buckingham Palace, United Kingdom, Great Britain, London

Id: lKy4WV7QRNY

Length: 9min 7sec (547 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 11 2024