You might well have wondered from time to time, what does the British Queen do all day
when she’s not cutting ribbons or waving to people from gilded horse-drawn carriages?
She’s human of course, so we know she wakes up in the morning, likely heads over to the
bathroom, gets dressed, then later has a bit of breakfast.
But what’s in between?
Does she turn on morning TV, read the newspaper, check her social media accounts, call her
friends or Google her name to see what the media is saying about her?
Maybe she heads over to YouTube to see the latest Infographics Show installment.
That might sound funny to you, but the Queen must have a normal life, doing everyday things
around her official duties as the UK’s monarch.
Let’s now try and find out just what those things are.
Here’s some basic information about her first.
She was born on 21 April 1926, which makes her a ripe 93 years old.
Yep, she likely doesn’t get about as much as she used to do being that old.
She took the throne on February 6, 1952, and this makes her not only the oldest living
monarch but also the longest-reigning current monarch.
If you didn’t know, there are 28 monarchies in the world right now, and she’s been in
the big seat much longer than any other monarch.
She was in second place for a long time, until Thailand’s Bhumibol Adulyadej passed away
in 2016.
So, when it comes to work experience she has the longest resume.
You can just imagine what that looks like: Current occupation: Queen.
Dated started: 1952.
Duties: Trying to stay neutral in politics.
Meeting with the Prime Minister a lot.
Travelling around.
Ceremonies…lots of ceremonies.
Previous occupation: Homemaker.
But what does she do all day, when she’s not in an official role?
Well, it seems she keeps a lid on her personal feelings for the most part.
Looking at bios of the Queen Elizabeth we hear things like she does a lot for charity.
She likes riding horses, and we know that for sure because we can see the photos.
She also likes dogs, and especially the breed called the corgi.
But is that it?
She rides horses and pets her dogs?
Surely she must have seen Breaking Bad, or perhaps gets down with some good literature
now and again?
Let’s look further.
According to recent reports she is doing much less than she used to and hasn’t attended
a number of events she usually goes to because of her failing health.
But when she’s in good health according to some sources she has a regular routine.
She takes a bath in the morning, but first the police officer standing outside her room
will clock-off from his shift.
The time is usually around 7.30 am.
The first thing she does of course is go to the bathroom, and while we can’t say exactly
what she does in there the Daily Mail reports that she does take a daily bath.
The water the report said is 7 inches deep and a servant will always test the temperature
with a thermometer to make sure it’s just right.
While she’s in the bathtub three women called her royal dressers will pick out the Queen’s
outfit for the day, and this is done under the supervision of someone with the title
of the Queen’s Personal Assistant and Curator of her Wardrobe.
She might have to change this outfit, though, as many as five times during the day.
The Mail says the Queen never chooses any of them, and relies on these people to make
the right fashion choice.
Of course her style is based on what she’ll be doing, so the people in charge of dressing
her know exactly where the Queen will be going all day long.
Once a week after this she will get a hair cut and this is done by a special royal barber,
and she might listen to BBC Radio 4 around this time.
If she’s not getting a cut another of the servants will be in charge of brushing the
Queen’s hair and making sure she keeps that style she’s had for a very long time.
Apparently the first thing she does after this is look at the day’s newspapers, which
for her would have been a depressing affair on many days during her reign.
She then looks at letters that are sent to her from the public, and some reports tell
us she gets around 300 of these every day.
Some sources say she replies to some of them, but it’s more likely if any reply is given
then it’s through her ladies-in-waiting or her Private Secretaries.
She might also receive mail from Heads of State and other official correspondence.
Someone from the public might well get a reply, but it won’t be from the Queen herself and
instead one of those ladies in waiting.
These people are just like assistants, but they are women of course.
In one case one of these aides replied to a letter from a young boy who had written
to the Queen and said he liked horses and would she like to see his.
This is the reply: “Although unable to accept your invitation
to come to your house for tea, because of her very busy schedule, the Queen greatly
appreciated your kind thought of her, and Her Majesty was pleased to learn that you
too like horses.”
So, there you go, she seems to look at her fan mail.
By the way, if you want to write to her you can send your letter to “Her Majesty the
Queen, Buckingham Palace, London, SW1A 1AA.”
You’re supposed to start it with, “Madam”, and end it with, “I have the honor to be,
Madam, Your Majesty's humble and obedient servant”, but apparently she won’t complain
if you slack on the formalities.
After the mail is done she then meets with her private secretaries and talks about official
papers and documents.
She may also have a sit-down or two with what are called ‘audiences’ and these only
last about 10 to 20 minutes.
Then it’s time for lunch, and she takes that privately or she entertains guests.
But what does she like to eat?
According to former royal chef Darren McGrady her diet isn’t always exactly in line with
health fads.
She loves chocolate and she loves biscuits (aka cookies) with her tea (Earl Grey tea,
no milk or sugar).
She’s also partial to cake and the occasional cucumber or salmon sandwich.
On a normal days she’ll eat four times.
For breakfast she reportedly likes cereal, maybe a boiled egg, and some tea.
Her favorite cereal is Special K, Quaker Oats, and Weetabix.
On other days she might just have toast and marmalade.
According to that Royal chef, lunch might get a little bit more elaborate and include
four courses.
The entrée might be something like tomato mousse with lobster, but as she loves game,
the main course is often pheasant or venison.
She will also have a dessert and a bit of fruit.
The chef said on days she is eating alone the meal is usually simpler and might just
be lean meat and vegetables.
Apparently for lunch she only eats small portions, but she has a vice in that with lunch she’ll
usually sip a gin and Dubonnet (that’s a sweet aperitif).
She keeps the carbs low too, refusing to eat potatoes, rice or pasta for lunch.
He also said she’s really not a big foodie, unlike some of the rest of her family.
But she’ll snack throughout the day, and that means more tea, more biscuits, more cake
and more chocolate.
She might also have a sandwich, a scone or a bit of fruit.
For dinner it might be game if she didn’t have it for lunch, or it might be fish or
steak.
This is washed down with champagne, and if the mood takes her she might use one these
condiments with her meal: Lea & Perrins, HP Sauce, and Heinz ketchup.
We spent some time on that, but it’s important to know that eating is a big part of her daily
routine.
It seems her varied diet and chocolate binges have helped her live a long life.
After lunch she might take a look at Britain’s main horse racing newspaper, The Racing Post,
because she had a fondness for horses and racing.
The Daily Mail says she might just take a walk in the gardens, and for this she likes
to be alone.
The afternoon might be busy, but that depends on whether she has royal engagements.
When she does, she might visit four places a day.
Before this she has to read a brief about who’ll she be meeting.
In 2016 she had 430 of these kind of engagements over the entire year.
This keeps her pretty busy, and she’ll do the visits by region if possible so she doesn’t
have to travel much.
At the end of the afternoon she might see her Privy Council and also government ministers.
That’s pretty much the day done and she can settle for that dinner we talked about.
Once a week she’ll meet with the Prime Minister, usually on a Wednesday at around 6.30 pm,
and every evening after dinner she’ll read the day’s parliamentary proceedings, and
this will be written by one of the Government's Whips.
Can she settle yet?
Well, she may have a show to go to or have to host an event within the palace, but this
doesn’t happen much and especially at her age now.
In the past she was much more active in the evening.
If she’s got nothing to do, there is one thing she loves, and that’s watching TV.
Apparently she has seen the Netflix show which depicts her own life, called The Crown.
It was her son and daughter in law that got her onto that.
A royal source told a British newspaper this, “They have a Netflix account and urged her
to watch it with them.
Happily, she really liked it, although obviously there were some depictions of events that
she found too heavily dramatized.”
But The Crown isn’t her favorite TV treat, and she loves British games shows.
She’s also into British TV dramas centered around the police force, the soap opera Eastenders,
the show Downton Abbey, and the iconic British science fiction show, Doctor Who.
Apparently she likes to binge-watch the latter when she is on vacation at Balmoral Castle
in Scotland.
She also watches the British reality talent show called the X Factor, and has seen many
of them.
One time she met one of the contestants and said to her, “You are the lady off The X
Factor.
Your song was fabulous,” So, there you go.
When the Queen puts up her feet she does what many other British people do and settle in
for a night on the sofa watching soaps, dramas and reality TV.
We expect at this age, though, being buzzed from her champagne she might quickly fall
asleep as the TV plays.
If she reads, she seems to go for the page-turning thriller novel, and better still, stories
with horse racing in them.
We are told that 11 pm is the time she usually says that’s enough, time for bed, but some
reports tell us before she turns off the light she writes in her diary.
She’s reportedly been doing this since her reign started, and wouldn’t we all like
to see what’s in that diary?
And that’s the story of a day in the life of Queen Elizabeth II.
What do you think about it?
Is there more to it?
Does she have a good life?
Tell us what you think in the comments.
Also, be sure to check out our other video Why Did The King Of England Execute His Wives?.
Thanks for watching, and as always, don’t forget to like, share and subscribe.
See you next time.