A minute-by-minute glimpse into the Queen's daily routine - One's jolly busy day

the time is 7:30 a.m. and Buckingham Palace is starting to stir the police sergeant sitting outside the Queen's bedroom is approaching the end of his overnight shift he used to go off duty at 6:30 a.m. but after an intruder entered the bedroom at about 7:00 one morning in 1982 when no one was on guard the extra hour was added Her Majesty's personal maid walks towards him carrying the morning tray for her royal mistress on in our pots of Earl Grey tea and hot water both in solid silver cold milk but no sugar the cup and saucer are bone china and there is also a fine linen napkin draped across the tray embossed with the royal cypher ela second are the maid gives a light tap on the door which bears the name the Queen on a white card in a plain brass holder Prince Phillip set of rooms just a few yards along the corridor are workmen like and functional complete with a well-equipped barbershop that features a padded and fully adjustable barbershop chair wash basin and a machine for heated towels one of London's leading barbers comes in once a week to trim the Royal ox though the Duke prefers to shave himself but since his retirement from public duties he spends most of his time these days at wood farm on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk so the Queen usually spends her working week alone in London the maid enters the Queen's bedroom and walks quietly across to the bedside table with its family photographs and telephone complete with panic button the one which was spectacularly ignored on that morning when intruder Michael Fagan became the only man apart from her husband to see the Queen asleep in bed the color scheme of the room is pale green the Queen's favorite shade her maid switches on the Roberts radio which is tuned to BBC Radio 4 as the Queen likes to wake up to the sound of John Humphrys and his colleagues grilling unfortunate politicians on the Today programme then while Her Majesty is enjoying her first cup of tea her maid will go into the adjoining bathroom to draw the bath which has to be exactly the right temperature tested with a wooden cased thermometer and no more than seven inches of water while the Queen is in her bath one of her three dressers under the supervision of Angela Kelly the Queen's personal assistant and cure of her wardrobe lays out the first outfit of the day in the adjacent dressing room with its floor-to-ceiling mirrors and walk-in wardrobes mrs. Kelly knows exactly what is needed as she is given the Queen's daily program the evening before depending on the day's engagements the Queen may have to change as many as five times but she rarely makes her own choice that is what she pays her dressers to do she says once the Queen has dressed her hairdresser brushes and arranges her hair in the style that hasn't changed in decades breakfast is served promptly at 8:30 a.m. in the Queen's own private dining room a footman has brought the food to a hot plate a silver muffin dish with the food on top and hot water underneath and then he leaves the room so the Queen can eat in peace meanwhile a lone Piper from one of the Scottish regiments prepares to march up and down on a terrace below the Queen loves the music of the bagpipes and every morning she listens to some of her favorite tunes by 9:30 a.m. the Queen will be at her desk in her sitting room come office ready for two solid hours of paperwork the room is comfortable rather than luxurious with armchairs and sofas upholstered in country house style chintz the desk is Chippendale and the Queen brought it with her when she moved from Clarence House in 1952 a heavy crystal double inkwell contains the black ink the Queen uses to sign official documents and the special green color she likes for personal letters she rarely uses a ballpoint pen insisting on her favorite old fountain pen there's also a pristine sheet of blotting paper replaced every day and black in color so no one can read what she has written by holding it up to a mirror this is very much a working desk as a former Paige says it may appear cluttered and untidy to the average eye but the Queen knows where everything is and hates it if anything is moved without her permission her press secretary will have prepared a digest of the day's news from the early morning radio and television bulletins once she has read this and any other papers she presses a button on the console in front of her the first person she calls is her private secretary he is waiting in his office on the ground floor and when he hears the words would you like to come up he knows it's time to start the day's work Carrie a small wicker basket containing the documents the Queen has to read and initial he enters the room gives a brief neck bow and says your majesty thereafter he addresses her as ma'am the Queen's mailbox normally runs to scores of items every day so she has mastered the knack of scanning or speed reading if guests are expected at the palace the housekeeper is summoned so that domestic arrangements for their comfort can be discussed later in the morning the duty lady in waiting is called to the sitting room the Queen shows her some of the letters she has received which require a personal reply those from children and the elderly get special attention and the lady in waiting writes the letters and signs them on behalf of the Queen personal friends who write to her majesty put their initials in the lower left-hand corner of the envelope and when the staff see these they know not to open them for the Queen likes to open her personal mail herself official guests such as incoming or outgoing foreign emissaries coming to present their credentials or take their leave have an audience at noon this takes place in the audience room also part of the Queen suite and lasts for around 10 minutes lunch is usually eaten alone unless one of her four children is in the palace Prince Andrew's sometimes joins his mother after being invited formally through the Queen's page Her Majesty prefers light meals but although the dishes may be simple they are superbly presented every sprout carrot or potato exactly matching its neighbour and shape and size and during the day she doesn't drink alcohol sticking instead to her favorite still Malvern water the royal chef also sends a list to Her Majesty's page containing three suggestions for every meal during the coming week it is returned when she has indicated what she wants and all menus continue to be written in French having been the official language at court since Queen Victoria's reign when her French head chef insisted on French cuisine and the menus handwritten in that language immediately after lunch the Queen likes to walk in the gardens household staff know to keep well out of the way at this time she doesn't welcome company or want to see anyone else in the gardens then she relaxes for half an hour with this sporting life and racing post the bible's of a racing fraternity if she is at the palace in the morning and there are engagements in the afternoon they will be in the London area when the Queen is ready to leave for them her page phones her personal police officer in his office on the ground floor to warn him to be waiting at the garden door with the car door open as Her Majesty walks downstairs she only occasionally uses the ancient lifts a small knot of people materializes and wait to see her off these are her private secretary and several of the household they will also be there when she returns all afternoon engagements are scheduled to finish before 4:30 p.m. so that the Queen can be back at the palace in time for tea at 5:00 it's an a moveable feast and the meal she enjoys the most tiny sandwiches without crusts cut to a precise size warm scones with cream and strawberry jam and always her favorite Dundee fruit cake the ritual never changes and neither does the fair after tea Her Majesty returns to her office for another hour if there is no evening engagement the Queen retires to her own rooms just after 6:00 to rest before dinner the exception is Tuesday evening when the Prime Minister arrives for their weekly audience at 6:30 p.m. it needs to be an hour earlier but when Prince Charles and Princess Anne were children the Queen liked to spend that time with them so she teams the appointment to half-past six and it has remained so ever since as the meeting is official it takes place in the audience room on the northwest corner of the palace between the Royal closet and the Queen's dining room and lasts for no more than half an hour dinner for the Queen is the most relaxed meal of the day sometimes eaten off a tray she likes to remain in her private quarters reading or watching television in the sitting room next door to her office frequently she spends part of the evening working on her boxes the official despatch cases which contain correspondents from government departments in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth every evening a report on the day's proceedings in Parliament is delivered to her written by the vice Chamberlain of the household a senior MP and is unvaried by the Queen before she retires Her Majesty is not a late-night person she is usually tucked in by 11:00 p.m. but likes to read in bed her favorite relaxation is to read the latest Dick Francis racing novel and she has sent the first copy of every first edition always in hardback the tradition continues now that dicks son felix has taken over riding his father's bestsellers so often the last lights seen shining out of the north side of the palace are those in her rooms they are easy to identify they are the only ones with ow windows overlooking Constitution Hill and tomorrow she will do it all again you

Channel: Daily News

Views: 2,090,143

Rating: 4.6043983 out of 5

Keywords: the Queen, minute-by-minute, glimpse, the Queen's daily routine, daily routine, jolly busy day

Id: 27aO7eAL3TE

Length: 10min 2sec (602 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 15 2018