Well, I was so sad about Queen Elizabeth. God bless her. I don’t know what it is that fascinates us about the royal family. What makes us set our alarms for awful hours to watch them get married and crowned and such? Could be that their way of life is only found in children’s stories and scarcely used history books on this side of the pond. Handsome princes, kings and queens, fairytale weddings, horse drawn carriages, firmly held traditions. Seems a little fancier than, say, most things we’ve got going on over here and so we like to look in on them from time to time. 

Since her death, I’ve become curious about what a typical day of the Queen may have looked like and how she was able to keep up in her 90’s, so I starting reading about that. There were many slightly varying accounts, but I compiled some of the consistencies. 

She would get up around 7:30 each morning. The maid would bring in her morning tray of tea and biscuits, open the curtains, and turn on the radio. Her assistant would draw her bath using a thermometer to ensure it was the right temperature and exactly seven inches deep. After her bath, she dressed in her first outfit of the day which was selected by her assistant. She’d enjoy her Earl Gray tea and cold milk while dressing and then her hairdressers would fix her hair in her usual style. Her dogs were brought to her after their morning walk. 

When she was all ready, she’d go to the dining room for a light breakfast at 8:30 or, sometimes, take breakfast alone after Prince Philip died. When she ate in her room, she kept her cereal in Tupperware to keep it fresh. She preferred cornflakes and fruit or toast and orange marmalade. She would give most of the bites to her little dogs. When Prince Philip was living, he would join her in the dining room from his separate bedroom for breakfast. The healthy spread was served by a footman in tails. Then, she and the prince would spend a few minutes reading the morning paper together. 

 At 9:00, a kilted piper would play the bagpipes beneath her room for 15 minutes each weekday morning -rain or shine- of which she was a big fan.

By 9:30, the Queen was doing paperwork, reading official state papers and signing documents at her desk in her sitting room. She would then select a few pieces of fan mail to personally respond to each day and a lady-in-waiting would answer the rest.

Around 11:00, she started meetings with officials and dignitaries. She dedicated 20 minutes for each one-on-one meeting with guests such as ambassadors, members of the armed forces, and High Commissioners. 

Lunch was served at 1:00 and was usually some kind of fish over wilted spinach with zucchini and she usually ate alone. On occasion, a lady-in-waiting was invited to join her. The Queen avoided carbohydrates- God bless her. After lunch, she’d stroll around the palace gardens with her dogs to get a little exercise. After walking, she’d relax for thirty minutes while reading the Racing Post as she was a big horse racing fan. 

Around 2:30, she’d go on outings for appearances, speeches, and royal engagements. Visits to schools, military bases, hospitals, or charity headquarters were common. Engagements ended by 4:30 and high tea started at 5:00 in the queen’s suite. Earl gray tea, scones, and those little sandwiches with the crust removed. Her favorite were the jam sandwiches called jam pennies because of their size. 

She’d take time out of her schedule to enjoy her four dogs, two Corgis, Sandy and Muick, a Cocker Spaniel, Lissy, and a Dorgi, Candy, a cross between a Corgi and Dachshund. She worried about what would happen to her pets after she was gone as she realized no one in the family cared for them as much as she did. Prince Andrew is set to get custody of them. 

Family visits had to be arranged in advance as there was no dropping by the palace to see grandma without booking it first. She’d take a little drink in the evening before dinner, but was advised by her doctor to give that up at the age of 95. At 7:30, she would read through reports of the daily parliamentary happenings. When she wasn’t entertaining or at official events, she’d have dinner in her room on a silver tray. Usually beef, venison, pheasant, or salmon with no starch being her rule- God bless her. No rice or potato or pasta was ever on her menu. Dessert was something like a Windsor-grown white peach or similar. The Queen relaxed in the evening by reading, watching television, or doing jigsaw puzzles. She always wrote a page in the diary she’d kept since the beginning of her reign and was in bed by 11:00. 

Of course, there were always visiting dignitaries, receptions, luncheons, award ceremonies, and travels by helicopter, plane, or royal train on top of her usual routine. Prince Charles had taken over most of the traveling recently. 

So, I decided I’d go back and read through what I’d learned about the queen and highlight the similarities I could find in my day and the queen’s day. Ok, so nothing looked remotely familiar until I got to the part about Tupperware. I, too, have some Tupperware. Then, I stop at the line about feeding the dog under the table at breakfast. Yes, I am with the Queen on that. Ok, I love bagpipes, too, but I usually only get to hear them on the news when they’re playing for her. Then I scan further and I did have one-on-one lunch meetings, twice this week, with people who, if you use the term very loosely, could be considered dignitaries. I was also feeling her about loving the fish. I did run to the grocery store today and got a fried catfish plate lunch from the deli as they were out of pheasant. I brought it home to eat alone just like her, but then she lost me again when I got the two starchy sides and ate it right out of the styrofoam container. Ok, so I picked up with her again down at the part- wait a minute- walking the dog. Yes, I recognized that. I do that. I have more of a mongrel street mix than a royal bred pooch but, still, it counts. Ok, then I go back to relating with the Queen when she worried about what will happen to her dogs if something happened to her. I mean, Davis loves Ruby but would he stir the “gravy” around on her dry food so that it coats all the pieces and cover her up with her blanket at bedtime? I wonder. I’m feeling the Queen’s apprehension on that. I go on and see the part about her reading and watching television before bed. Yes, I am also a reader of books and viewer of television at night. Amazing the similarities, really. 

I really do admire the Queen’s long and faithful devotion to her inherited duty of service. I adored her brightly colored dresses and hats and the way she always held her purse close to her. I loved hearing stories of when her sense of humor and personality would shine through her dignified exterior. I respected the fact that she spoke of her faith outwardly and often with no apologies to anyone. I thought the addresses she delivered to her people were beautifully worded messages and composed with much thought and care. She was very much an admirable woman. 

“For me, the teachings of Christ and my own personal accountability before God provide a framework in which I try to lead my life.” Queen Elizabeth ll 

May God rest her soul. She will be missed. 

JONI