The Queen by Andrew Morton

Author:Andrew Morton [MORTON, ANDREW]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2023-04-25T00:00:00+00:00

9

Then Along Came Diana

The queen was hardworking, prudent, and abstemious. She weighed around 112 pounds, ate sparingly, and enjoyed good British fare: Welsh lamb, Scottish salmon, game from Sandringham, and freshly churned butter from the dairy at Windsor. Excess was never on the menu—either for herself or the monarchy.

She explained her rigorous dietary routine to President Jimmy Carter when he visited Buckingham Palace in May 1977. As he recalled: “She pointed out that her waist had to be watched very closely because she had [to wear] seven different tunics during the course of a year and that she couldn’t afford to change the costumes and had to wear the same size for a number of years.”1

The queen, who was one of the world’s wealthiest women, meant of course that she couldn’t afford the time and upheaval to have these elaborate costumes altered every year.

It was not only her formal regalia that caused her to watch her weight. As the most traveled monarch in history, she recognized that planning for her visits took place months, sometimes years, in advance. She might be being fitted for gowns and dresses that would not see light of day for many months. Hence the careful diet to avoid unnecessary alterations. If her wardrobe was a metaphor for her reign—steady, unchanging, and predictable—so was her daily routine. It had the cozy familiarity of a well-worn shoe, a shoe that a member of her staff would first break in.

At eight in the morning her personal maid would arrive with a calling tray with a pot of Earl Grey tea. Her bath was run to a depth of seven inches and a temperature of seventy-two degrees Fahrenheit—tested by thermometer. Her clothes were laid out, her hairdresser was waiting, and her personal piper would play beneath her windows at nine o’clock sharp.2 So her day would continue: a modest breakfast of cereal, a ten o’clock meeting with her private secretary, matters of state discussed, correspondence considered, especially those memos and letters in the famous red boxes. Even late into her reign, when most people her age have retired, the queen is kept busy with the nation’s business. This may have included a greeting or farewell to an ambassador, an investiture, or a lunch with charity and business heads.

If she is off duty, she eats a light lunch, finds time to walk her dogs, and settles down to afternoon tea at five o’clock during which members of her staff or her family may join her. It’s here where she picks up the latest chatter about the doings of her family and the Upstairs, Downstairs staff. “A good gossip is a wonderful tonic,” she once remarked.3 When she was kept up to date with all the “scandal” by a loyal cohort led by her dresser Bobo MacDonald. In her day, Princess Diana was a regular visitor and often brought William and Harry along to see “Gan Gan.”

At six o’clock a drinks tray appears, then at eight fifteen it’s dinnertime. This regularity has always meant that everyone knows where they stand, from the footman to the chef.

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