Forget choosing between queen and country — the queen had to choose between gin and country.
While the British royal family has a lot of guidelines around food and drink, there is
nothing prohibiting its members from enjoying alcoholic beverages — even on a daily basis.
On the contrary, the family has a long history of indulging in wine, beer, and liquors.
Although she passed away back in 2002, the Queen Mother's reputation for being a dedicated
drinker lives on.
In 2006, her former equerry, Major Colin Burgess, published the book titled "Behind Palace Doors,"
in which he described the Queen Mother's approach to alcohol.
According to his account, she would order her first cocktail of the day around noon.
Her poison of choice was reportedly a cocktail that consisted of two parts Dubonnet and one part gin.
Interestingly, the Queen Mother was not afraid to be outspoken about her penchant for drinking.
Burgess claimed that the late Queen Elizabeth's mother did not understand why anyone would
choose to have an alcohol-free lunch.
The author explained that guests who ordered water at lunchtime would be met with shock.
She would ask,
"How can you not have wine with your meal?"
Royal family and etiquette expert William Hansen holds a similar understanding of the Queen Mother.
As he related to Express, quote, "The late Queen Mother liked to drink."
"To alcohol, the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems."
It's no secret that the British royal family has a wine aficionado or two in its ranks.
Queen Elizabeth II's mother was famous for indulging in red wines, especially clarets.
Meanwhile, Meghan Markle has revealed her passion for wine, even naming her old lifestyle
blog "The Tig" in homage to her favorite vino, Tignanello.
In a 2017 speech given at the UK's Vineyard Association, Camilla, Queen Consort, admitted
to a lifelong love affair with wine:
"First of all I love wine, but secondly, my father was in the wine business, so I was
brought up as a child drinking wine and water rather like the French."
While members of the royal family are allowed to enjoy wine, none of them can simply grab
a glass of Chardonnay and drink up.
On the contrary, the royal family is subject to a special wine-drinking etiquette.
Royals must also sip from only one spot on their glass, etiquette expert William Hanson
told Marie Claire.
This helps prevent lipstick stains from accumulating on the glass throughout the evening.
There is arguably nothing more quintessentially British than one of the royal family's famous
garden parties.
Every summer during her reign, Queen Elizabeth II would invite important members of different
British communities to enjoy an afternoon on the grounds of Buckingham Palace or the
Palace of Holyroodhouse.
According to the British royal family's official website, the late queen used to host up to
30,000 guests per year.
And, per the event's rules, none of these guests were allowed to consume alcohol during
the festivities.
Although it may seem odd not to serve alcoholic beverages at such a massive party, the reason
possibly pertains to other aspects of royal etiquette.
Although some royals have imbibed earlier in the day, they traditionally consider 6
p.m. to be the "magic hour" — or the earliest permissible time to indulge in something stronger,
according to People magazine.
Interestingly, garden parties are held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., which means they end just
as alcohol consumption becomes acceptable.
Every culture has its own standards of etiquette, especially when it comes to eating and drinking.
As a result, when the British royal family travels abroad, its members must learn how
to eat and drink according to local "rules."
British etiquette specialist Anne Chertoff told Express that the royal family changes
their approach depending on where they are in the world.
She explained,
"All members of the Royal Family eat using formal British Dining Etiquette while in the UK.
If they travel to another country, they will likely adapt to the way of eating in that
culture to show respect to the country they are in."
While it is important for British royals to learn foreign rules around food, knowing how
to drink alcohol in another country is considered especially essential.
This is because sampling local beverages is a typical part of the royal family's press
conferences abroad.
Historically, these events have all but required the royal family to accomplish alcohol-related feats.
So far, they have been largely successful.
In 2017, Prince William used a mallet to open a keg of beer on a trip to Germany, as reported by Elle.
Princess Catherine, on the other hand, made headlines for a perfect pour in Northern Ireland.
Packing for a trip can often be a bit of a headache.
However, for the British royal family, this can go beyond the typical issues of a missing
t-shirt or a heavy carry-on.
According to Express, one of the biggest challenges faced by the royal family while abroad is security.
As journalist and royal family travel expert Gordon Rayner told The Telegraph, safety concerns
play a huge role in determining royal travel plans.
In practice, this means members of the royal family cannot just pop into a pub and casually
order a drink.
On some occasions, British royals are prohibited from drinking local booze at all due to safety concerns.
"I never drink wine."
This is especially true for King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort, according to Rayner.
Rayner told The Telegraph that Charles and Camilla occasionally have to pack their own
alcohol when they travel — that way "there's no danger of their drinks being spiked."
He went on to share that this special stash of alcohol is actively guarded by trained personnel:
"Their police bodyguard will discreetly carry a bag of their drinks — gin and tonic for
him and red wine for her."
Turning down alcoholic drinks from strange people might seem like common sense.
However, for the British royal family, this rule is particularly important.
Members of the royal family cannot accept any kind of complimentary food or drink from
anyone they don't know.
The reason for this precaution is to prevent someone from poisoning a member of the royal family.
Since the royal family has departed from its tradition of traveling with taste testers,
its members cannot sample free drinks that haven't been previously approved for a sanctioned event.
Christmas is a special time of year for the British royal family.
And, like other important royal events, the holiday is accompanied by a strict set of rules.
When it comes to alcohol, however, one of these traditions actually involves a brief
suspension of typical palace protocols.
As former royal chef Darren McGrady told Good Housekeeping, the royal family's Christmas
celebrations involve a unique toast.
He explained,
"Right before the Christmas buffet, the senior chef on duty goes into the dining room and
carves the rib roast or turkey or ham and once he's done, Her Majesty presents the chef
with a glass of whiskey and they toast."
According to the former royal chef, it certainly wasn't every day that he was allowed to share
a drink with the queen, adding:
"That's the only time the chef goes into the dining room and has a glass of whiskey with
the royal family.
It's one of the chef's favorite traditions."
Although many beloved members of the royal family are known to enjoy casual drinking,
excessive drinking is not encouraged.
In the Apple TV+ documentary series "The Me You Can't See," Prince Harry opened up to
co-producer Oprah Winfrey about his struggle with alcohol misuse.
"I would probably drink a week's worth in one day on a Friday or a Saturday night."
This confession came more than two decades after Prince Harry earned himself the reputation
as the royal family's troubled teen.
As BBC News reported, Prince Harry made plenty of headlines for issues that ranged from drug
misuse to a brawl with paparazzi outside a nightclub.
Throughout the prince's party days, the royal family attempted to help him seek addiction treatment.
As one 2002 BBC report revealed, the then-Prince Charles sent Harry to a drug rehabilitation
center with Queen Elizabeth's support.
In 2019, Harry committed to sobriety for the sake of his relationship with Meghan Markle,
according to Express.
Around the same time, Harry started going to therapy.
As the prince shared in his docu-series,
"I quickly established that if this relationship was going to work, that I was going to have
to deal with my past because there was anger there."
The prince apparently realized that therapy was the only way he would work through his
childhood trauma.
The physical health of the British royal family is of great concern to the nation.
As a result, there have been cases where family members were encouraged to quit drinking to
protect their bodily health.
At the end of 2021, Vanity Fair reported that Queen Elizabeth's doctors advised her to give
up alcoholic beverages.
This represented a significant lifestyle change for the queen, who — like her mother — drank
a daily dose of Dubonnet and gin.
Nonetheless, Queen Elizabeth took her doctor's advice.
She chose to indulge in water and soft drinks, rather than cocktails.
However, despite the late queen's decision to cut back on her favorite drinks, not everyone
agreed that going sober was such a necessary idea.
One source reportedly told Vanity Fair,
"It's not really a big deal for her, she is not a big drinker but it seems a trifle unfair
that at this stage in her life she's having to give up one of very few pleasures."
Indeed, the queen found so much enjoyment in drinking that, as reported by Food & Wine,
she launched her own brand of gin.
Still, Elizabeth understood that it was best to follow her doctor's advice.
The queen ultimately chose to forgo her daily cocktail so she could be healthy enough to
fulfill her royal duties.