December 23, 2019 • 32 mins
Why can't princes wear pants? Why does Prince Charles carry a bag of blood with him on his vacations? Is the Queen allowed to use a Pooper Scooper? Why is it so hard to make a perfect tuna sandwich for the royal family? And who is responsible for ironing the Queen's money so that it is perfectly crisp? Will and Mango dig into all the Queen's business and find some delightful stories in the process.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Part Time Genius, a production of I Heart
Radio Guess What Will What's that Man Go? Do you
realize that the Queen of England is actually a Game
of Thrones fan? I did not know that. So apparently
she's huge into Game of Thrones And I just love
this idea that she's waiting every Sunday night, like up late,
(00:26):
just sitting in front of her HBO Go account, like
waiting for the series to come on. But well, you
know that the show shoots in Europe, so she decided
to visit the set, and when she was there, she
actually refused to sit on the iron throne. Really so
and why was that? Well, according to The Daily Beast,
even though she was overjoyed to see the throne and
was kind of fanning out about it in this way
(00:47):
only demure queen could, she's technically not allowed to sit
on a foreign throne. And that's just one of the
weird bits and rules that kind of governed her life.
But that's actually what we wanted to explore today, like
what does the Queen carry in her purse? How does
she choose to talk to who she talks to at
Royal Dinners, and how on Earth did she get a
monopoly on the country swan population because technically every Swan
(01:11):
in England belongs to her. Let's dig in heay their
(01:35):
podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson
and as always I'm joined by my good friend Manes
Ticketer and on the other side of the soundproof glass
demonstrating the Royal way to take your afternoon teeth. This
is not something I realized he understood, but that's our
friend and producer Tristan McNeil. Now, Tristan has been doing
a lot of reading up on British etiquette all week
(01:56):
just in preparation for this episode, also changing his spell
to put use in words where they don't belong. But
I've got to say this is probably the most refined
I have ever seen this guy act. Yeah, I'd say
what really sells it is the way he's been drinking
the tea. Like if you just see how he keeps
the cup at waist level and then always lifts it
to his mouth to take a sift instead of like
(02:17):
bending his head. That's actually pure British traditions. Impressive yea.
And the way he's holding the cup too, is totally
by the book like he's keeping his pinky firmly tucked
in it all times, and he's only using one hand
to hold the cup well. As the etiquette experts say,
you can hug a mug, but you never hug a teacup.
I think they said that they always. Tristan is definitely
(02:38):
living by those rules. But the demands of a proper
high tea are actually a good example of why being
a royal is not as easy as it may look
from the outside. I mean, they're all kinds of customs
and protocol that royalty is expected to live by every
single day, and these include things, you know that we
think of as super mundane. So we thought it'd be
fun to take a closer look at some of the
(02:59):
long ending rules and the traditions that govern the royal
family's fashion and dining and travel. Will also take a
look into some of the more unusual perks that the
queen enjoys. But anyway, there's a lot to cover. Some
ango where do you want to go first? So? I
do you want to get to some of those unexpected
reasons for why it's good to be the queen. But
before we get into those, I want to quickly mention.
One reason why Elizabeth the second might just deserve all
(03:22):
those fancy perks she gets, and it's from this easy
to miss fact that she isn't just the Queen of England.
She's actually the monarch of sixteen different countries, not just
the UK but uh, I'm not gonna run through them,
but all the Commonwealth countries, So like Australia, Canada, Jamaica,
they all still recognize Elizabeth as their queen despite the
fact that they're kind of these otherwise sovereign states. It's
(03:45):
kind of a confusing setup, but it's a lingering effect
of England's time as a colonial empire and when it
had all these nations under them. It's pretty wild to
think about. But but you're right, I mean, reigning over
that many countries cannot be easy, so I feel like
it's only fair the Queen should enjoy certain privileges, like,
you know, say, being able to eat all the swans
and dolphins that she wants, which actually is a real thing.
(04:08):
So do you want to explain why, Well, because there
are laws that grant the queen legal ownership over all
the dolphins and swans in England, which I think this
just maybe my favorite rule of all. But in the
case of the dolphins, the law actually entitles the queen
to any dolphin that comes within three miles of the
country's sure, so all dolphins out there be careful. And
(04:29):
actually the law doesn't restrict her to just dolphins, but
to all species of what it calls fishes royal, which
is usually taken to mean marine mammals, so dolphins plus
whales and porpoises. I mean, that's the power we didn't
realize she had. So I think what you're saying is like,
if a whale gets beached on the shore or someone
catches a dolphin, Queen Elizabeth actually has the right to
(04:50):
cart the thing away for sushi. Right, it's all hers.
I mean, she she she could do that. But the
law has actually been in effect since the thirteen hundreds,
which is when Edward the second first insisted on this privilege.
You know, whether the current queen ever invokes the rule
or not is a totally different story. My guess is
she doesn't. But really, if you go strictly by the
letter of the law, Queen Elizabeth might not be entitled
(05:13):
to that beached whale because the law actually states that
a king is due the entirety of a whale if
he so demands it, because that's his royal privilege. But
apparently if a queen calls DIBs on a whale, it's
sufficient to send her just the tail, just the whale tale.
That's just whale tale. You know what's funny is, originally
I was rooting for the whale in the scenario, but
(05:35):
now I'm kind of hoping that Elizabeth eats the whole
whale just to break through that glass ceiling. That's great.
What about these swans, though, Well, the swan rule is
a totally separate law, and this is one that predates
the Royal Fish Decree by about a hundred years or so.
So back then, swan meat was actually considered a delicacy
and the monarch didn't want it wasted on like unrefined
(05:57):
palettes of commoners. So in a comp leately sensible move,
all swans in the region were declared legal property of
the crown. So within a few hundred years the law
was relaxed a little bit so that landowners could you know,
pay for this privilege of owning and eating the queen's birds.
But otherwise all wild swans were off limits. To the public,
and poaching one carried a pretty hefty fine. Actually, but
(06:20):
I'm guessing that's all kind of relaxed over time, right,
Actually not not really. The finest is still in force today. Really.
I mean, no, nobody really eats them, but the Queen
technically still owns all of them, and in fact, Queen
Elizabeth still attends a ceremony each summer called swan upping,
and this is basically an annual census where she's given
an accurate count of just how many swans are in
(06:44):
her flock, which is just I love that this is
the kind of thing she gets to spend time. Feels
so British, Yeah, it does. It does as love like
how the Queen has all these old, bizarre rights that
she will probably never exercise but still technically could if
she ever felt like. For instance, I was reading about
this agreement from hundreds of years ago where one Scottish
family was allowed to purchase land from the Crown and
(07:06):
the only condition to the sale was that, if it
was so requested, the family would have to provide the
reigning sovereign with a snowball in the middle of the summer.
So how were they expected to get a snowball in
the summer. I guess that's what I'm curious. Well, it
wouldn't have been easy, but the land they bought did
include a mountain that had this snowy peak year round,
(07:27):
So if a monarch ever sent for a snowball, someone
from the family would actually have to scale the mountain
and bring one down for them, which I'm assuming they've
never actually had to do, right, So that's why I
thought too. But it actually has happened once, and this
was back in seventy six. Apparently the Duke of Cumberland
stopped by the family's property while traveling, and he was
acting on the king's authority, so he ordered that some
(07:49):
snow be brought down from the mountains so that he
could use it to chill his afternoon wine. But I
love the idea that the family who lives there just
like wakes up every morning super anxious that Queen Elizabeth
give him a call and, you know, just request a snowball,
and if he's such a hassle, And I'm guessing if
that's the case, you could just keep a stash of
emergency snowballs in your freezer, Like if she just happens
(08:10):
to show up and ask for them. But all right, well,
now that we've covered some of the weird historical privileges
that the Queen enjoys, let's also talk about a few
of her more practical perks, like the one she actually
puts the use in daily life. Now, the first one
is something I'd definitely like to have, and that's the
freedom to leave your keys in cash at home, wherever
you go and whenever you go out. Because obviously the
(08:32):
Queen never has to worry about picking up a check
or getting locked out of Buckingham Palace. But there is
one day a week when the Queen does carry cash.
That's on Sunday, and it's only for a short while.
And this is according to historian and royal biographer Sally
but Ll Smith. The Queen keeps a single five or
ten pound note on hand, and that's to put in
(08:54):
the collection basket at church. I love the idea of
her just like pulling out this super crinkled a it
up bill that she's been like watching in her sweaty
royal hands all day. It's kind of a weird image.
But actually I'm not kidding about this. I mean, the
bills themselves are supposedly ironed crisp by her butler and
then carefully folded so that only the Queen's face is
(09:16):
showing when she puts it in there. That feels so down.
Navvy or Jasister were like the butlers and servants, like
they are in the newspapers every morning, and they are
in the sheets before they get put on the beds.
But you know, I can't imagine like waking up to
a warm christ newspaper every day. And uh, it's so
weird that the money is folded to have her face out. Well,
(09:36):
I mean, what's interesting to me is that she always
seems to have her handbag with her, even though she
never has keys or a wallet or anything like that
to carry around. Yeah. I was curious about that too.
And apparently there's all sorts of stuff in there. I
read this Telegraph article that got the dirt from her
friends and also these other eyewitnesses on what she's carrying,
and it turns out the queen is packing all sorts
(09:56):
of useful items as well as a few things that
are just in there for funds. So, for instance, she
reportedly carries an assortment of good luck charms from her children,
and these include miniature dogs, horses, and saddles. She's also
got a few family photos and some crossbrod puzzles that
are staff snips out from a newspaper. On the practical side,
there's a normal stuff like breath man's reading glasses, lipstick tissues.
(10:19):
But my favorite item is this little portable hook that
she uses to hang her purse from. So you've got
to listen to this account. It's from this anonymous dinner
guest who once eight with the queen. So this is
what they said. Quote. I watched the Queen open her
handbag and remove a white suction cup and discreetly spit
into it. The Queen then attached the cup to the
(10:39):
underside of the table. The cup had a hook on it,
and she attacked her hand back to it. Can you
imagine how weird that would be to see like a
queen delicately spit into a suction cup. I mean, it'd
be so much better if it wasn't delicated, right, I
guess it kind of makes sense that the Queen would
go to like all the trouble to keep her purse
off the floor, But so like, why not just hand
(11:01):
it to your security or like your your person in
waiting or whatever, like that's what they're there for. And
it almost feels like she's trying so hard to be
a woman of the people. But obviously people don't spin
into suction cups and hang their stuff impromptu like that.
It's true. But what's funny is the bag is like
kind of become this royal icon in its own right,
(11:22):
and that's probably because the Queen has more or less
stuck with the same one since the nine eighties. I mean,
she's actually gone through different bags over the years, but
since they've all been made special for her by this
company called Luner, and over that period, the Queen is
said to have owned between two hundred and three hundred
of their handbags. But in recent years, the model she's
mostly been using is called the Traviata, because it's big
(11:44):
enough to hold all the stuff she carries with her,
but also small enough not to get in the way
when she's shaking hands with her subjects. But there's actually
another more important reason she carries around the purse, and
what is that. According to royal biographers, the purse is
also this way for the Queen to send these sign
those to her staff super discreetly, so If the Queen
puts her hand back on the table during our meal,
(12:05):
that means she wants to end the event in the
next five minutes. If he places on the floor instead
of the hook, that signal she's stuck in a boring
conversation and she kind of needs someone to come in
and rescue her. Wow, that's pretty clever, actually, But honestly,
I don't know how discreet it is for the Queen
to PLoP her purse on the dinner table like that.
Seems like a pretty universal way of saying, like we're
we're just about done here. But it is interesting to know.
(12:28):
But since you got us on the subject of purses,
what do you say we stick to that track and
talk a little bit about the dudes and don't of
royal fashion. Sure, but first let's take a quick break.
(12:54):
You're listening to part time Genius and we're talking about
the unexpected rules and traditions that influence the lives of
British royals, all right, Well, before we dive into the
dudes and don't, the Queen does have a couple of
fashion related perks, and I think we should talk about
those just for a minute. So for starters, she never
has to break in her own shoes. Instead, Queen Elizabeth
has an attendant whose sole job is to walk around
(13:15):
in her new shoes until they've lost their stiffness. Now,
another fashion perk that the Queen enjoys is that she
gets to wear super loud colors anytime she wants. And
if you've ever seen the Queen, you know that she
pretty much does this all the time. So I'm curious, like,
why is that? Is it just personal taste or is
there some sort of like unridden rule that says the
(13:35):
Queen can never wear dark or neutral colors? Like, I've
been really curious about this. You know, I think in
part she just does prefer the bright clothing. But according
to Harper's Bizarre, the colors are also part of royal protocol,
namely as a way to make sure the Queen always
stands out in a crowd. I guess that makes sense,
and that way both her security detail and her adoring
(13:56):
subjects can keep their eyes on there whenever they want.
And I mean, I guess that makes a certain type
of sense. It is fine, though, Like I've read that
the exact opposite rules apply when it comes to fingernail polish,
like a friendly. Women in the royal family are supposed
to stick to these subdued and kind of natural shades
like clear or pale pink, and for all those loud outfits,
(14:18):
the Queen seems to have no problem abiding by the rule.
I mean, you know, People magazine reported that the Queen
had been using the same color nail polished since nine
and because I know you're as curious as I was,
her brand of choice is a shade called ballet Slippers.
It's good to know, finly kind of nails, just like
the Queen. But if you want to complete the look,
(14:40):
you're gonna actually gonna have to up your hat game. Uh,
because another fashion tradition the Queen has upheld is the
requirement for women to wear hats to all official events.
And apparently in England it was considered improper for a
woman of high status to keep her head uncovered in public,
but the rule was made official back in the nineteen
fifties and uh, at the time, hats were beginning to
(15:04):
fall out of fashion with women, and the monarchy kind
of hope to put a stop to that modernization by
making these headgear requirement for the royals, I guess. But
over the decades, that rule has become a lot more lax. Still,
Queen Elizabeth insists that the family adhere to it, at
least for the time being. All Right, well, here's another
one that just kind of makes me laugh, But this
(15:25):
also deals with royal head covering. So once the clock
strikes six pm, it's tiara a clock that you know.
I always say that that's right. Well, apparently that's the
magic hour when you ditch your headgear and you don
your tr or at least that's the case for any
married women that are in the royal family. And that's
because trs are kind of like wedding rings, so they're
(15:47):
meant to show that the woman has moved on from
one family into another. I like this idea that if
you're like a bachelor just cruising the Royal dive bar,
that's how, you know, like to look elsewhere. That's right,
But what if you're an unmarried royal woman, Like, did
you just keep your hat on the whole time? Like, like,
how's that work? No, it's six An unmarried woman can
(16:08):
just take off her hat. They don't have to don
a tiara and that, you know, anything like that, But
it does seem a little unfair and outdated, but but
those are the rules. Well, speaking of outdated fashion traditions,
have you ever noticed that young British princes never wear pants?
I can honestly say I have not noticed that. But
you're saying there's some kind of rule that the royal
(16:29):
kids have to go pantless or something. Well, they have
to wear short pants. And and maybe I'm I'm more
attuned to this because in India, especially when I was
a kid, like unless you're playing sports, men don't really
wear shorts. I mean, kids wear it as a uniform
to school, but once you reach like a certain age,
you just don't wear them. And I remember one of
my cousins kind of pulling me aside and telling me
(16:49):
I looked like a tourist because I was wearing shorts
when I was ten or something. But I guess England
has a little of this too. And and there's this
old tradition in England called breaching, which is when a
boy grows out of the gowns he's worn as an
infant and begins to wear shorts or breeches instead. And uh,
you know, it isn't until the age of eight or
so that the boy is officially allowed to wear long pants.
(17:12):
It's uh, it's a status thing, and it's apparently considered
middle class to let your son wear pants before he
turns eight, strangely, and of course the royal family avoids
anything that sort of puts them in the middle class.
But I mean, Prince George and and Prince Louis will
be spending the next few years exclusively in shorts. Wow,
and he was not exactly known for its warm weather either.
(17:34):
But although I still think I would take the shorts
over having to wear a hat all day, so I
guess it's not that bad. Yeah, And maybe there's some
kind of work around, like they can just wear really
long socks or something. All right, Well, since you bring
up these workarounds, here's a clever trick that the queen
uses to prevent any wardrobe malfunctions. She has these small
one ounce weight sewn into the hymn line of her
(17:57):
skirts and dresses, and that way, when she's out and about,
there's no risk of a sudden breeze, you know, kind
of showing too much skin. Oh, that's fascinating. I hadn't
heard that before, but I actually remember a similar trick
that Princess Diana used to rely on so anytime she
was stepping out of a car, she would hold her
clutch bag just tight against her chest so that the
paparazzi couldn't snap any compromising photos of her. And apparently
(18:20):
she had these clutches specifically designed with that purpose in mind,
and she actually referred to them as her cleavage bags
because she kind of had a good sense of humor
about it. Yeah, I mean, she was definitely the people's
princess for a reason, and it did seem to have
a good sense of humor. But now that we've talked
about what it means to dress like a royal, I
do feel like we should spend some time on what
it's like to travel and eat like one as well.
(18:41):
But before we get to that, let's take one more
quick break. Okay, Well, so you mentioned earlier that the
(19:02):
Queen primarily dresses in bright tones during her outings. But
do you know there's a different rule and play when
the royal family is traveling abroad. So this is by
order of the Queen, every family member has to pack
an all black outfit whenever they travel. But it actually
has a really practical reason. It's in case there's a
sudden death while they're away, so like if they have
(19:22):
to attend a funeral or something. Yeah, I mean that
that would be one example, but it's really more for
the return trip back to England. It would actually be
deemed inappropriate if a royal were seen getting off the
plane in bright colors right after the loss of a
family member. So the rules kind of this way to
make sure that the appropriate morning attire is always on hand.
But uh, you know what, while it sounds kind of
(19:43):
like a specific circumstance to be wary of, it actually
comes from experience. For the Queen, she ran to this
exact scenario in when her father passed away. At the time,
the Queen had been traveling to Kenya with Prince Philip
and that's when the news reached her, and unfortunately she
hadn't packed a black dress for her trips. When she
returned to England, she actually had to stay with the
plan on the tarmac until a dress could be brought
(20:05):
to her. Oh wow, Yeah, I mean I could see
why she would want to prevent that from ever happening
to her or anybody else in her family. And honestly,
it's one of those reminders that these big trips that
we see royals taking, they aren't always something to be
jealous of. I mean, not that they're that terrible or
that difficult, but most of them are a little bit
more like business trips than they are these fun vacations
(20:25):
that we might imagine. So, for example, I read this
article from a reporter who's accompanied the Royal family on
some like twenty tours or so it was. It was
Gordon Rayner, and he he says that every aspect of
the trips are decided in advance and choreographed down to
the minute. So this is how he put it in
one of his stories. Touring the world, meeting heads of
state and being shown cultural treasures sounds like a wonderful life.
(20:48):
Yet I have no envy for the Royal family. Their
visits to world famous sites rarely last more than forty minutes,
and chances are they will never return to see them. Yeah.
I mean, it sounds like all formal teas and not
like a lot of time to have fun. But it's
such a strict and grueling schedule. And also they have
to look out for a bunch of things that most
of us don't have to worry about when traveling, and
(21:09):
it isn't just like carrying an extra pair of black clothes.
So I read that Prince Charles and Camilla sometimes bring
their own alcohol with them so that they can make
sure nobody's poisoned their drinks. Like that's still a concern
for them. And apparently one of their bodyguards is always
ready with a bag containing the goods for an emergency
gin and tonic or or sometimes a really good red wine.
(21:30):
And this is even weirder. So Prince Charles and the
Queen also have to bring along the supply of their
own blood wherever they travel, and this is just in
case there's a shortage wherever that happens to be. I mean,
can you imagine carrying extra bags of blood everywhere you go?
It feels like slacha hassle. Wow. Well, there is a
little more room in their bag because one thing the
Queen doesn't have to worry about traveling with is a passport.
(21:51):
She doesn't need it whenever she travels other countries. That's
really funny, Like I I guess it's because I get
my shoes taken away from every inspection at the airport
when every time I travel, Like I guess I always
just assumed that the same customs rules applied to everyone.
But didn't Prince George actually have to get a baby
passport when when he flew some years back. I feel
like I read that in newspapers or something. Well, the
(22:13):
rest of the Royal family actually does have to carry
passports and adhere to the immigration rules, but the Queen
is exempt on a technicality. Basically, you know, since British
passports are issued in the name of her Majesty, she
can't exactly issue one to herself and therefore doesn't need
one traveling. So anyway, that said, the Queen does still
have to go through an identity check whenever she flies
(22:34):
in or out of Britain, and each time she has
to meet with immigration officials and give her full name, age, address, nationality, gender,
and of course place of birth. I mean, that sounds horrible.
It sounds worse than having to show your passport. But
you know, as many precautions and hoops as there are
to jump through when it comes to traveling, there an
equal number when it goes to royal dining as well.
(22:55):
For example, do you know that a shellfish is actually
banned from the Royal dinner too? I like the fact
that porpoises are fine to eat, but for some reason,
shrimp scampy is forbidden. So I'm curious that, Like, what
is the logic there? Is it an allergy thing or
they just prefer dolphins scampy? Okay, I guess so yeah, No,
it's because eating shellfishes is more likely to result in
(23:16):
food poisoning than other kinds of foods, and obviously allergies too,
so I guess it's just considered too risky to serve
to them. All right, So, I mean, we know what
they are allowed to eat and what they're not allowed
to eat, but I'm curious, like what did they like
to eat? Like what's an ideal meal for Queen Elizabeth? So,
as you might expect, what to eat is completely up
(23:36):
to her because she is the queen and she actually
reviews this big, red leather bound menu book like twice
a week, and whichever suggested items she marks are exactly
what's served to her in the next couple of days.
But apparently one of her chefs has said that she
only really eats to live, and she actually has much
simpler taste than you'd imagine. So while there are a
few fancy foods that she likes, she supposedly abstains mostly
(24:00):
for financial reasons. And I you wouldn't think of the
Queen is cheap, but apparently she is. So this is
this quote from her personal chef Darren McGrady. The Queen
loves scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and grading of truffle,
but she was too frugal to ever order fresh truffles
and only really enjoyed them at Christmas when the truffles
were sent as a gift. So instead her typical breakfast
(24:21):
is just special K with fresh fruit. Isn't that crazy?
That is crazy? And why is it special K advertising this?
Like I feel like the cereal sales with skyrocket from this,
But you know, it also feels like kind of a waste,
Like why isn't she eating wild boar bacon and like
this post emu egg like every single day? And are
there any ritzy foods that she does eat? So, not
(24:43):
that I can tell, But probably the fanciest thing about
her meals is the care that goes into preparing the
simple stuff she does like to eat. So, for example,
one staff member who worked in the Palace kitchen in
the nineties recalled this time when he had to learn
the proper way to prepare the Queen's tuna sandwiches, and
the level of detail is kind of surprising. So here's
what he said. A chef once told me off for
(25:03):
serving the sandwiches with crust. He then showed me how
to make the perfect tuna sandwich, cutting the loaf lengthwise,
buttering both sides, adding the tuna mayonnaise mixture, and thinly
sliced cucumbers with a crack of pepper. He then folded
over the two lengths, removed the crusts, and cut it
into eight identical triangles. The palace kitchen was all about
(25:24):
that detail. I mean, that doesn't seem decadent so much.
It's just kind of weird. And who cuts their sandwiches
into eight equal Queen of England, I guess, I guess
that's fair. Still, despite the fact that the Queen prefers
simple foods, that doesn't mean that the royal dinners are
laid back at all. In fact, every aspect of a
royal meal is just as carefully scrutinized and orchestrated as
(25:47):
every bit of that travel itinerary. So even the Queen's
dinner conversations are tightly scheduled. I mean, is there somebody
they're just sitting there timing it or what. Not exactly,
but almost like the Queen only speaks of the two
people on either side of her, and she does it
in sequence. So for the first course she'll talk exclusively
with the person on her right, and then for the
second course she'll switch and talk only to the person
(26:09):
on her left. She'll just ignore the other side of
the conversation. I mean, it feels like you get a
crick in your neck. That would be my biggest concern
with this, But you know, just seeing this, like every
part of their lives just feels so regimented and beholden
to tradition or these obscure laws or whatever. But it
does sometimes make me feel almost bad for them. I mean,
would it make you feel any better if I told
(26:31):
you that the royal family's net worth is estimated to
be north of ninety billion dollars billion dollars. I don't
know if it makes me feel better, but I guess
I would agree to eat my sandwiches and tiny squares
and maybe use a portable hook for my backpack if
somebody gave me that amount of money. Yeah, I mean,
I think it's one of those grasses always greener situations.
I mean, the money and privilege that royalty get is
(26:53):
definitely preferable to all sorts of other lifestyles. But there's
obviously something to be said for, you know, being able
to dress how you want and eat how you want
without fear of, I guess, upsetting these nonsensical traditions or
even these public expectations. You know, you and I may
never own all the swans in England, but at least
we have the freedom to paint our nails bright colors
(27:13):
and dress our sons and pants very well put mango
al right. Well, now that we have a better feel
about our lot in life, I guess what do you
say we head into the fact off and cover off
a few more offbeat rules of royalty. I'm pay okay,
(27:36):
So I'm gonna start with the quick one. The Queen
of England's portrait has been on enough international bank notes
that if you took the money from those Commonwealth countries,
you can actually make a timeline of her aging. Oh
that's pretty awesome. So here's one about Princess Diana from
Vanity Fair. Apparently She and Freddie Mercury were friends and
they used to day drink together. Like listen to this detail.
(27:57):
They actually used to watch Golden Girls reruns together drinking.
But during one of these sessions, she told Mercury she
wanted to go clubbing with him that evening, I guess.
And and there were these two other friends there with them,
and they were saying, you know, it's way too risky,
but Mercury was up for it, and he really just
wanted his friend to have some fun. And Diana, I
(28:18):
guess she she was obstined about it too, So they
hatched this scheme and later that night they dressed her
up in this oversized army jacket and a hat and sunglasses,
and they took her incognito into a gay bar in
South London and just danced the night away. I love
that story, all right. Well, here's a question I've been
wondering ever since I saw that dust up about whether
Megan Marco was out walking her dog. And while the
(28:40):
Palace denied that the woman in the photo was in
fact Megan, the official answer is that royals do walk
their dogs. In fact, they also pick up after them,
which is really surprising. According to a royal researcher who
spoke with bizarre quote. When it comes to dealing with
a dog's business, no royal has been too proud to
handle things themselves. Of course, they're more likely to walk
(29:02):
dogs in private rather than public parks, and most of
their homes have great lawns or grass behind walls. But
still I wouldn't have thought that. Yeah, I had no idea.
But speaking of dogs, the Queen of course has Corgis,
which he is known to walk herself, but you have
to be very very careful around them. So apparently the
palace staff is under no circumstance allowed to reprimand the
(29:23):
Queen's coreys. And when they're served their meals, it's prepared
by a palace chef and brought to them by a
royal footman. All right, well you might have seen this
photo from a few years ago. But when Lebron James
put his arm around Kate Middleton when they were posing
after a game, there was this huge internet storm about it,
and like who's allowed to touch or you know when
(29:45):
you can touch a royal? And after all these people
started talking about Lebron James, the monarchy's website actually made
it clear quote. There are no obligatory codes of behavior
when meeting the Queen or a member of the royal family.
They do have a list of tradition all behaviors you
can observe if you'd like, like men should do a
neck bow and women should do a courtesy, but they
(30:06):
aren't essential rules. And according to the Atlantic, the monarchy
doesn't really take offense when they do get touched, and
it's mostly just like the British tabloids who like to
stir things up when you know, especially Americans, get the
antequoated etiquette a little bit wrong. I know, I feel
like these rules come up when people thought the kings
were divinely appointed, but you know, no one really thinks
(30:26):
that's the case anymore. But here's something I loved. Mental
Foss made a strange list of wedding gifts that have
been given to royals, and while royals mostly direct people
to send money to charities that they're choosing, they still
get some of the registry items that they haven't asked for,
like h tandem bikes. Some royals got how to stop
smoking courses. One got a giant jigsaw puzzle that was
(30:49):
assembled by people who came to a mall and spent
a month solving it. Gandhi apparently hand wove a lace
doily that he sent to Elizabeth, which is particularly funny
because her Grandmam thought it was a owincloth. And of
course the traditional gift of three leopards, which I guess
King Henry the Third got because two leopards weren't enough
of a gesture, right of course not Yeah, that's would
(31:11):
be ridiculous. But well, here's something I had never heard,
and it comes from business insider. So when Queen Elizabeth dies,
the people of Britain are forbidden from laughing or merriment,
and you'll see this on TV two. For the twelve
days between her death and her funeral, all BBC channels
will be under strict orders not to air anything funny.
(31:32):
And much like the way the royal family travels, the
stations and anchors all have black suits and clothes on
hand to change into if and when that news breaks.
Oh man, that's crazy. I mean, we're hoping it doesn't
happen for a very long time, but what a bizarre fact.
And and that is a hard one to top. I
I think you ought to take the crown for this. Week. Oh,
thanks so much. Well, there is no shortage of great
(31:54):
stuff out there about the royal family over the years,
so I'm sure we've left out some terrific facts. We
always love hearing those from you guys. You can email
us part Time Genius and how Stuff Works dot com,
or always hit us up on the socials anytime. But
from Mango, Tristan, Gabe and me, thanks so much for listening.
(32:22):
H
Welcome to Part Time Genius, a production of I Heart
Radio Guess What Will What's that Man Go? Do you
realize that the Queen of England is actually a Game
of Thrones fan? I did not know that. So apparently
she's huge into Game of Thrones And I just love
this idea that she's waiting every Sunday night, like up late,
(00:26):
just sitting in front of her HBO Go account, like
waiting for the series to come on. But well, you
know that the show shoots in Europe, so she decided
to visit the set, and when she was there, she
actually refused to sit on the iron throne. Really so
and why was that? Well, according to The Daily Beast,
even though she was overjoyed to see the throne and
was kind of fanning out about it in this way
(00:47):
only demure queen could, she's technically not allowed to sit
on a foreign throne. And that's just one of the
weird bits and rules that kind of governed her life.
But that's actually what we wanted to explore today, like
what does the Queen carry in her purse? How does
she choose to talk to who she talks to at
Royal Dinners, and how on Earth did she get a
monopoly on the country swan population because technically every Swan
(01:11):
in England belongs to her. Let's dig in heay their
(01:35):
podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson
and as always I'm joined by my good friend Manes
Ticketer and on the other side of the soundproof glass
demonstrating the Royal way to take your afternoon teeth. This
is not something I realized he understood, but that's our
friend and producer Tristan McNeil. Now, Tristan has been doing
a lot of reading up on British etiquette all week
(01:56):
just in preparation for this episode, also changing his spell
to put use in words where they don't belong. But
I've got to say this is probably the most refined
I have ever seen this guy act. Yeah, I'd say
what really sells it is the way he's been drinking
the tea. Like if you just see how he keeps
the cup at waist level and then always lifts it
to his mouth to take a sift instead of like
(02:17):
bending his head. That's actually pure British traditions. Impressive yea.
And the way he's holding the cup too, is totally
by the book like he's keeping his pinky firmly tucked
in it all times, and he's only using one hand
to hold the cup well. As the etiquette experts say,
you can hug a mug, but you never hug a teacup.
I think they said that they always. Tristan is definitely
(02:38):
living by those rules. But the demands of a proper
high tea are actually a good example of why being
a royal is not as easy as it may look
from the outside. I mean, they're all kinds of customs
and protocol that royalty is expected to live by every
single day, and these include things, you know that we
think of as super mundane. So we thought it'd be
fun to take a closer look at some of the
(02:59):
long ending rules and the traditions that govern the royal
family's fashion and dining and travel. Will also take a
look into some of the more unusual perks that the
queen enjoys. But anyway, there's a lot to cover. Some
ango where do you want to go first? So? I
do you want to get to some of those unexpected
reasons for why it's good to be the queen. But
before we get into those, I want to quickly mention.
One reason why Elizabeth the second might just deserve all
(03:22):
those fancy perks she gets, and it's from this easy
to miss fact that she isn't just the Queen of England.
She's actually the monarch of sixteen different countries, not just
the UK but uh, I'm not gonna run through them,
but all the Commonwealth countries, So like Australia, Canada, Jamaica,
they all still recognize Elizabeth as their queen despite the
fact that they're kind of these otherwise sovereign states. It's
(03:45):
kind of a confusing setup, but it's a lingering effect
of England's time as a colonial empire and when it
had all these nations under them. It's pretty wild to
think about. But but you're right, I mean, reigning over
that many countries cannot be easy, so I feel like
it's only fair the Queen should enjoy certain privileges, like,
you know, say, being able to eat all the swans
and dolphins that she wants, which actually is a real thing.
(04:08):
So do you want to explain why, Well, because there
are laws that grant the queen legal ownership over all
the dolphins and swans in England, which I think this
just maybe my favorite rule of all. But in the
case of the dolphins, the law actually entitles the queen
to any dolphin that comes within three miles of the
country's sure, so all dolphins out there be careful. And
(04:29):
actually the law doesn't restrict her to just dolphins, but
to all species of what it calls fishes royal, which
is usually taken to mean marine mammals, so dolphins plus
whales and porpoises. I mean, that's the power we didn't
realize she had. So I think what you're saying is like,
if a whale gets beached on the shore or someone
catches a dolphin, Queen Elizabeth actually has the right to
(04:50):
cart the thing away for sushi. Right, it's all hers.
I mean, she she she could do that. But the
law has actually been in effect since the thirteen hundreds,
which is when Edward the second first insisted on this privilege.
You know, whether the current queen ever invokes the rule
or not is a totally different story. My guess is
she doesn't. But really, if you go strictly by the
letter of the law, Queen Elizabeth might not be entitled
(05:13):
to that beached whale because the law actually states that
a king is due the entirety of a whale if
he so demands it, because that's his royal privilege. But
apparently if a queen calls DIBs on a whale, it's
sufficient to send her just the tail, just the whale tale.
That's just whale tale. You know what's funny is, originally
I was rooting for the whale in the scenario, but
(05:35):
now I'm kind of hoping that Elizabeth eats the whole
whale just to break through that glass ceiling. That's great.
What about these swans, though, Well, the swan rule is
a totally separate law, and this is one that predates
the Royal Fish Decree by about a hundred years or so.
So back then, swan meat was actually considered a delicacy
and the monarch didn't want it wasted on like unrefined
(05:57):
palettes of commoners. So in a comp leately sensible move,
all swans in the region were declared legal property of
the crown. So within a few hundred years the law
was relaxed a little bit so that landowners could you know,
pay for this privilege of owning and eating the queen's birds.
But otherwise all wild swans were off limits. To the public,
and poaching one carried a pretty hefty fine. Actually, but
(06:20):
I'm guessing that's all kind of relaxed over time, right,
Actually not not really. The finest is still in force today. Really.
I mean, no, nobody really eats them, but the Queen
technically still owns all of them, and in fact, Queen
Elizabeth still attends a ceremony each summer called swan upping,
and this is basically an annual census where she's given
an accurate count of just how many swans are in
(06:44):
her flock, which is just I love that this is
the kind of thing she gets to spend time. Feels
so British, Yeah, it does. It does as love like
how the Queen has all these old, bizarre rights that
she will probably never exercise but still technically could if
she ever felt like. For instance, I was reading about
this agreement from hundreds of years ago where one Scottish
family was allowed to purchase land from the Crown and
(07:06):
the only condition to the sale was that, if it
was so requested, the family would have to provide the
reigning sovereign with a snowball in the middle of the summer.
So how were they expected to get a snowball in
the summer. I guess that's what I'm curious. Well, it
wouldn't have been easy, but the land they bought did
include a mountain that had this snowy peak year round,
(07:27):
So if a monarch ever sent for a snowball, someone
from the family would actually have to scale the mountain
and bring one down for them, which I'm assuming they've
never actually had to do, right, So that's why I
thought too. But it actually has happened once, and this
was back in seventy six. Apparently the Duke of Cumberland
stopped by the family's property while traveling, and he was
acting on the king's authority, so he ordered that some
(07:49):
snow be brought down from the mountains so that he
could use it to chill his afternoon wine. But I
love the idea that the family who lives there just
like wakes up every morning super anxious that Queen Elizabeth
give him a call and, you know, just request a snowball,
and if he's such a hassle, And I'm guessing if
that's the case, you could just keep a stash of
emergency snowballs in your freezer, Like if she just happens
(08:10):
to show up and ask for them. But all right, well,
now that we've covered some of the weird historical privileges
that the Queen enjoys, let's also talk about a few
of her more practical perks, like the one she actually
puts the use in daily life. Now, the first one
is something I'd definitely like to have, and that's the
freedom to leave your keys in cash at home, wherever
you go and whenever you go out. Because obviously the
(08:32):
Queen never has to worry about picking up a check
or getting locked out of Buckingham Palace. But there is
one day a week when the Queen does carry cash.
That's on Sunday, and it's only for a short while.
And this is according to historian and royal biographer Sally
but Ll Smith. The Queen keeps a single five or
ten pound note on hand, and that's to put in
(08:54):
the collection basket at church. I love the idea of
her just like pulling out this super crinkled a it
up bill that she's been like watching in her sweaty
royal hands all day. It's kind of a weird image.
But actually I'm not kidding about this. I mean, the
bills themselves are supposedly ironed crisp by her butler and
then carefully folded so that only the Queen's face is
(09:16):
showing when she puts it in there. That feels so down.
Navvy or Jasister were like the butlers and servants, like
they are in the newspapers every morning, and they are
in the sheets before they get put on the beds.
But you know, I can't imagine like waking up to
a warm christ newspaper every day. And uh, it's so
weird that the money is folded to have her face out. Well,
(09:36):
I mean, what's interesting to me is that she always
seems to have her handbag with her, even though she
never has keys or a wallet or anything like that
to carry around. Yeah. I was curious about that too.
And apparently there's all sorts of stuff in there. I
read this Telegraph article that got the dirt from her
friends and also these other eyewitnesses on what she's carrying,
and it turns out the queen is packing all sorts
(09:56):
of useful items as well as a few things that
are just in there for funds. So, for instance, she
reportedly carries an assortment of good luck charms from her children,
and these include miniature dogs, horses, and saddles. She's also
got a few family photos and some crossbrod puzzles that
are staff snips out from a newspaper. On the practical side,
there's a normal stuff like breath man's reading glasses, lipstick tissues.
(10:19):
But my favorite item is this little portable hook that
she uses to hang her purse from. So you've got
to listen to this account. It's from this anonymous dinner
guest who once eight with the queen. So this is
what they said. Quote. I watched the Queen open her
handbag and remove a white suction cup and discreetly spit
into it. The Queen then attached the cup to the
(10:39):
underside of the table. The cup had a hook on it,
and she attacked her hand back to it. Can you
imagine how weird that would be to see like a
queen delicately spit into a suction cup. I mean, it'd
be so much better if it wasn't delicated, right, I
guess it kind of makes sense that the Queen would
go to like all the trouble to keep her purse
off the floor, But so like, why not just hand
(11:01):
it to your security or like your your person in
waiting or whatever, like that's what they're there for. And
it almost feels like she's trying so hard to be
a woman of the people. But obviously people don't spin
into suction cups and hang their stuff impromptu like that.
It's true. But what's funny is the bag is like
kind of become this royal icon in its own right,
(11:22):
and that's probably because the Queen has more or less
stuck with the same one since the nine eighties. I mean,
she's actually gone through different bags over the years, but
since they've all been made special for her by this
company called Luner, and over that period, the Queen is
said to have owned between two hundred and three hundred
of their handbags. But in recent years, the model she's
mostly been using is called the Traviata, because it's big
(11:44):
enough to hold all the stuff she carries with her,
but also small enough not to get in the way
when she's shaking hands with her subjects. But there's actually
another more important reason she carries around the purse, and
what is that. According to royal biographers, the purse is
also this way for the Queen to send these sign
those to her staff super discreetly, so If the Queen
puts her hand back on the table during our meal,
(12:05):
that means she wants to end the event in the
next five minutes. If he places on the floor instead
of the hook, that signal she's stuck in a boring
conversation and she kind of needs someone to come in
and rescue her. Wow, that's pretty clever, actually, But honestly,
I don't know how discreet it is for the Queen
to PLoP her purse on the dinner table like that.
Seems like a pretty universal way of saying, like we're
we're just about done here. But it is interesting to know.
(12:28):
But since you got us on the subject of purses,
what do you say we stick to that track and
talk a little bit about the dudes and don't of
royal fashion. Sure, but first let's take a quick break.
(12:54):
You're listening to part time Genius and we're talking about
the unexpected rules and traditions that influence the lives of
British royals, all right, Well, before we dive into the
dudes and don't, the Queen does have a couple of
fashion related perks, and I think we should talk about
those just for a minute. So for starters, she never
has to break in her own shoes. Instead, Queen Elizabeth
has an attendant whose sole job is to walk around
(13:15):
in her new shoes until they've lost their stiffness. Now,
another fashion perk that the Queen enjoys is that she
gets to wear super loud colors anytime she wants. And
if you've ever seen the Queen, you know that she
pretty much does this all the time. So I'm curious, like,
why is that? Is it just personal taste or is
there some sort of like unridden rule that says the
(13:35):
Queen can never wear dark or neutral colors? Like, I've
been really curious about this. You know, I think in
part she just does prefer the bright clothing. But according
to Harper's Bizarre, the colors are also part of royal protocol,
namely as a way to make sure the Queen always
stands out in a crowd. I guess that makes sense,
and that way both her security detail and her adoring
(13:56):
subjects can keep their eyes on there whenever they want.
And I mean, I guess that makes a certain type
of sense. It is fine, though, Like I've read that
the exact opposite rules apply when it comes to fingernail polish,
like a friendly. Women in the royal family are supposed
to stick to these subdued and kind of natural shades
like clear or pale pink, and for all those loud outfits,
(14:18):
the Queen seems to have no problem abiding by the rule.
I mean, you know, People magazine reported that the Queen
had been using the same color nail polished since nine
and because I know you're as curious as I was,
her brand of choice is a shade called ballet Slippers.
It's good to know, finly kind of nails, just like
the Queen. But if you want to complete the look,
(14:40):
you're gonna actually gonna have to up your hat game. Uh,
because another fashion tradition the Queen has upheld is the
requirement for women to wear hats to all official events.
And apparently in England it was considered improper for a
woman of high status to keep her head uncovered in public,
but the rule was made official back in the nineteen
fifties and uh, at the time, hats were beginning to
(15:04):
fall out of fashion with women, and the monarchy kind
of hope to put a stop to that modernization by
making these headgear requirement for the royals, I guess. But
over the decades, that rule has become a lot more lax. Still,
Queen Elizabeth insists that the family adhere to it, at
least for the time being. All Right, well, here's another
one that just kind of makes me laugh, But this
(15:25):
also deals with royal head covering. So once the clock
strikes six pm, it's tiara a clock that you know.
I always say that that's right. Well, apparently that's the
magic hour when you ditch your headgear and you don
your tr or at least that's the case for any
married women that are in the royal family. And that's
because trs are kind of like wedding rings, so they're
(15:47):
meant to show that the woman has moved on from
one family into another. I like this idea that if
you're like a bachelor just cruising the Royal dive bar,
that's how, you know, like to look elsewhere. That's right,
But what if you're an unmarried royal woman, Like, did
you just keep your hat on the whole time? Like, like,
how's that work? No, it's six An unmarried woman can
(16:08):
just take off her hat. They don't have to don
a tiara and that, you know, anything like that, But
it does seem a little unfair and outdated, but but
those are the rules. Well, speaking of outdated fashion traditions,
have you ever noticed that young British princes never wear pants?
I can honestly say I have not noticed that. But
you're saying there's some kind of rule that the royal
(16:29):
kids have to go pantless or something. Well, they have
to wear short pants. And and maybe I'm I'm more
attuned to this because in India, especially when I was
a kid, like unless you're playing sports, men don't really
wear shorts. I mean, kids wear it as a uniform
to school, but once you reach like a certain age,
you just don't wear them. And I remember one of
my cousins kind of pulling me aside and telling me
(16:49):
I looked like a tourist because I was wearing shorts
when I was ten or something. But I guess England
has a little of this too. And and there's this
old tradition in England called breaching, which is when a
boy grows out of the gowns he's worn as an
infant and begins to wear shorts or breeches instead. And uh,
you know, it isn't until the age of eight or
so that the boy is officially allowed to wear long pants.
(17:12):
It's uh, it's a status thing, and it's apparently considered
middle class to let your son wear pants before he
turns eight, strangely, and of course the royal family avoids
anything that sort of puts them in the middle class.
But I mean, Prince George and and Prince Louis will
be spending the next few years exclusively in shorts. Wow,
and he was not exactly known for its warm weather either.
(17:34):
But although I still think I would take the shorts
over having to wear a hat all day, so I
guess it's not that bad. Yeah, And maybe there's some
kind of work around, like they can just wear really
long socks or something. All right, Well, since you bring
up these workarounds, here's a clever trick that the queen
uses to prevent any wardrobe malfunctions. She has these small
one ounce weight sewn into the hymn line of her
(17:57):
skirts and dresses, and that way, when she's out and about,
there's no risk of a sudden breeze, you know, kind
of showing too much skin. Oh, that's fascinating. I hadn't
heard that before, but I actually remember a similar trick
that Princess Diana used to rely on so anytime she
was stepping out of a car, she would hold her
clutch bag just tight against her chest so that the
paparazzi couldn't snap any compromising photos of her. And apparently
(18:20):
she had these clutches specifically designed with that purpose in mind,
and she actually referred to them as her cleavage bags
because she kind of had a good sense of humor
about it. Yeah, I mean, she was definitely the people's
princess for a reason, and it did seem to have
a good sense of humor. But now that we've talked
about what it means to dress like a royal, I
do feel like we should spend some time on what
it's like to travel and eat like one as well.
(18:41):
But before we get to that, let's take one more
quick break. Okay, Well, so you mentioned earlier that the
(19:02):
Queen primarily dresses in bright tones during her outings. But
do you know there's a different rule and play when
the royal family is traveling abroad. So this is by
order of the Queen, every family member has to pack
an all black outfit whenever they travel. But it actually
has a really practical reason. It's in case there's a
sudden death while they're away, so like if they have
(19:22):
to attend a funeral or something. Yeah, I mean that
that would be one example, but it's really more for
the return trip back to England. It would actually be
deemed inappropriate if a royal were seen getting off the
plane in bright colors right after the loss of a
family member. So the rules kind of this way to
make sure that the appropriate morning attire is always on hand.
But uh, you know what, while it sounds kind of
(19:43):
like a specific circumstance to be wary of, it actually
comes from experience. For the Queen, she ran to this
exact scenario in when her father passed away. At the time,
the Queen had been traveling to Kenya with Prince Philip
and that's when the news reached her, and unfortunately she
hadn't packed a black dress for her trips. When she
returned to England, she actually had to stay with the
plan on the tarmac until a dress could be brought
(20:05):
to her. Oh wow, Yeah, I mean I could see
why she would want to prevent that from ever happening
to her or anybody else in her family. And honestly,
it's one of those reminders that these big trips that
we see royals taking, they aren't always something to be
jealous of. I mean, not that they're that terrible or
that difficult, but most of them are a little bit
more like business trips than they are these fun vacations
(20:25):
that we might imagine. So, for example, I read this
article from a reporter who's accompanied the Royal family on
some like twenty tours or so it was. It was
Gordon Rayner, and he he says that every aspect of
the trips are decided in advance and choreographed down to
the minute. So this is how he put it in
one of his stories. Touring the world, meeting heads of
state and being shown cultural treasures sounds like a wonderful life.
(20:48):
Yet I have no envy for the Royal family. Their
visits to world famous sites rarely last more than forty minutes,
and chances are they will never return to see them. Yeah.
I mean, it sounds like all formal teas and not
like a lot of time to have fun. But it's
such a strict and grueling schedule. And also they have
to look out for a bunch of things that most
of us don't have to worry about when traveling, and
(21:09):
it isn't just like carrying an extra pair of black clothes.
So I read that Prince Charles and Camilla sometimes bring
their own alcohol with them so that they can make
sure nobody's poisoned their drinks. Like that's still a concern
for them. And apparently one of their bodyguards is always
ready with a bag containing the goods for an emergency
gin and tonic or or sometimes a really good red wine.
(21:30):
And this is even weirder. So Prince Charles and the
Queen also have to bring along the supply of their
own blood wherever they travel, and this is just in
case there's a shortage wherever that happens to be. I mean,
can you imagine carrying extra bags of blood everywhere you go?
It feels like slacha hassle. Wow. Well, there is a
little more room in their bag because one thing the
Queen doesn't have to worry about traveling with is a passport.
(21:51):
She doesn't need it whenever she travels other countries. That's
really funny, Like I I guess it's because I get
my shoes taken away from every inspection at the airport
when every time I travel, Like I guess I always
just assumed that the same customs rules applied to everyone.
But didn't Prince George actually have to get a baby
passport when when he flew some years back. I feel
like I read that in newspapers or something. Well, the
(22:13):
rest of the Royal family actually does have to carry
passports and adhere to the immigration rules, but the Queen
is exempt on a technicality. Basically, you know, since British
passports are issued in the name of her Majesty, she
can't exactly issue one to herself and therefore doesn't need
one traveling. So anyway, that said, the Queen does still
have to go through an identity check whenever she flies
(22:34):
in or out of Britain, and each time she has
to meet with immigration officials and give her full name, age, address, nationality, gender,
and of course place of birth. I mean, that sounds horrible.
It sounds worse than having to show your passport. But
you know, as many precautions and hoops as there are
to jump through when it comes to traveling, there an
equal number when it goes to royal dining as well.
(22:55):
For example, do you know that a shellfish is actually
banned from the Royal dinner too? I like the fact
that porpoises are fine to eat, but for some reason,
shrimp scampy is forbidden. So I'm curious that, Like, what
is the logic there? Is it an allergy thing or
they just prefer dolphins scampy? Okay, I guess so yeah, No,
it's because eating shellfishes is more likely to result in
(23:16):
food poisoning than other kinds of foods, and obviously allergies too,
so I guess it's just considered too risky to serve
to them. All right, So, I mean, we know what
they are allowed to eat and what they're not allowed
to eat, but I'm curious, like what did they like
to eat? Like what's an ideal meal for Queen Elizabeth? So,
as you might expect, what to eat is completely up
(23:36):
to her because she is the queen and she actually
reviews this big, red leather bound menu book like twice
a week, and whichever suggested items she marks are exactly
what's served to her in the next couple of days.
But apparently one of her chefs has said that she
only really eats to live, and she actually has much
simpler taste than you'd imagine. So while there are a
few fancy foods that she likes, she supposedly abstains mostly
(24:00):
for financial reasons. And I you wouldn't think of the
Queen is cheap, but apparently she is. So this is
this quote from her personal chef Darren McGrady. The Queen
loves scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and grading of truffle,
but she was too frugal to ever order fresh truffles
and only really enjoyed them at Christmas when the truffles
were sent as a gift. So instead her typical breakfast
(24:21):
is just special K with fresh fruit. Isn't that crazy?
That is crazy? And why is it special K advertising this?
Like I feel like the cereal sales with skyrocket from this,
But you know, it also feels like kind of a waste,
Like why isn't she eating wild boar bacon and like
this post emu egg like every single day? And are
there any ritzy foods that she does eat? So, not
(24:43):
that I can tell, But probably the fanciest thing about
her meals is the care that goes into preparing the
simple stuff she does like to eat. So, for example,
one staff member who worked in the Palace kitchen in
the nineties recalled this time when he had to learn
the proper way to prepare the Queen's tuna sandwiches, and
the level of detail is kind of surprising. So here's
what he said. A chef once told me off for
(25:03):
serving the sandwiches with crust. He then showed me how
to make the perfect tuna sandwich, cutting the loaf lengthwise,
buttering both sides, adding the tuna mayonnaise mixture, and thinly
sliced cucumbers with a crack of pepper. He then folded
over the two lengths, removed the crusts, and cut it
into eight identical triangles. The palace kitchen was all about
(25:24):
that detail. I mean, that doesn't seem decadent so much.
It's just kind of weird. And who cuts their sandwiches
into eight equal Queen of England, I guess, I guess
that's fair. Still, despite the fact that the Queen prefers
simple foods, that doesn't mean that the royal dinners are
laid back at all. In fact, every aspect of a
royal meal is just as carefully scrutinized and orchestrated as
(25:47):
every bit of that travel itinerary. So even the Queen's
dinner conversations are tightly scheduled. I mean, is there somebody
they're just sitting there timing it or what. Not exactly,
but almost like the Queen only speaks of the two
people on either side of her, and she does it
in sequence. So for the first course she'll talk exclusively
with the person on her right, and then for the
second course she'll switch and talk only to the person
(26:09):
on her left. She'll just ignore the other side of
the conversation. I mean, it feels like you get a
crick in your neck. That would be my biggest concern
with this, But you know, just seeing this, like every
part of their lives just feels so regimented and beholden
to tradition or these obscure laws or whatever. But it
does sometimes make me feel almost bad for them. I mean,
would it make you feel any better if I told
(26:31):
you that the royal family's net worth is estimated to
be north of ninety billion dollars billion dollars. I don't
know if it makes me feel better, but I guess
I would agree to eat my sandwiches and tiny squares
and maybe use a portable hook for my backpack if
somebody gave me that amount of money. Yeah, I mean,
I think it's one of those grasses always greener situations.
I mean, the money and privilege that royalty get is
(26:53):
definitely preferable to all sorts of other lifestyles. But there's
obviously something to be said for, you know, being able
to dress how you want and eat how you want
without fear of, I guess, upsetting these nonsensical traditions or
even these public expectations. You know, you and I may
never own all the swans in England, but at least
we have the freedom to paint our nails bright colors
(27:13):
and dress our sons and pants very well put mango
al right. Well, now that we have a better feel
about our lot in life, I guess what do you
say we head into the fact off and cover off
a few more offbeat rules of royalty. I'm pay okay,
(27:36):
So I'm gonna start with the quick one. The Queen
of England's portrait has been on enough international bank notes
that if you took the money from those Commonwealth countries,
you can actually make a timeline of her aging. Oh
that's pretty awesome. So here's one about Princess Diana from
Vanity Fair. Apparently She and Freddie Mercury were friends and
they used to day drink together. Like listen to this detail.
(27:57):
They actually used to watch Golden Girls reruns together drinking.
But during one of these sessions, she told Mercury she
wanted to go clubbing with him that evening, I guess.
And and there were these two other friends there with them,
and they were saying, you know, it's way too risky,
but Mercury was up for it, and he really just
wanted his friend to have some fun. And Diana, I
(28:18):
guess she she was obstined about it too, So they
hatched this scheme and later that night they dressed her
up in this oversized army jacket and a hat and sunglasses,
and they took her incognito into a gay bar in
South London and just danced the night away. I love
that story, all right. Well, here's a question I've been
wondering ever since I saw that dust up about whether
Megan Marco was out walking her dog. And while the
(28:40):
Palace denied that the woman in the photo was in
fact Megan, the official answer is that royals do walk
their dogs. In fact, they also pick up after them,
which is really surprising. According to a royal researcher who
spoke with bizarre quote. When it comes to dealing with
a dog's business, no royal has been too proud to
handle things themselves. Of course, they're more likely to walk
(29:02):
dogs in private rather than public parks, and most of
their homes have great lawns or grass behind walls. But
still I wouldn't have thought that. Yeah, I had no idea.
But speaking of dogs, the Queen of course has Corgis,
which he is known to walk herself, but you have
to be very very careful around them. So apparently the
palace staff is under no circumstance allowed to reprimand the
(29:23):
Queen's coreys. And when they're served their meals, it's prepared
by a palace chef and brought to them by a
royal footman. All right, well you might have seen this
photo from a few years ago. But when Lebron James
put his arm around Kate Middleton when they were posing
after a game, there was this huge internet storm about it,
and like who's allowed to touch or you know when
(29:45):
you can touch a royal? And after all these people
started talking about Lebron James, the monarchy's website actually made
it clear quote. There are no obligatory codes of behavior
when meeting the Queen or a member of the royal family.
They do have a list of tradition all behaviors you
can observe if you'd like, like men should do a
neck bow and women should do a courtesy, but they
(30:06):
aren't essential rules. And according to the Atlantic, the monarchy
doesn't really take offense when they do get touched, and
it's mostly just like the British tabloids who like to
stir things up when you know, especially Americans, get the
antequoated etiquette a little bit wrong. I know, I feel
like these rules come up when people thought the kings
were divinely appointed, but you know, no one really thinks
(30:26):
that's the case anymore. But here's something I loved. Mental
Foss made a strange list of wedding gifts that have
been given to royals, and while royals mostly direct people
to send money to charities that they're choosing, they still
get some of the registry items that they haven't asked for,
like h tandem bikes. Some royals got how to stop
smoking courses. One got a giant jigsaw puzzle that was
(30:49):
assembled by people who came to a mall and spent
a month solving it. Gandhi apparently hand wove a lace
doily that he sent to Elizabeth, which is particularly funny
because her Grandmam thought it was a owincloth. And of
course the traditional gift of three leopards, which I guess
King Henry the Third got because two leopards weren't enough
of a gesture, right of course not Yeah, that's would
(31:11):
be ridiculous. But well, here's something I had never heard,
and it comes from business insider. So when Queen Elizabeth dies,
the people of Britain are forbidden from laughing or merriment,
and you'll see this on TV two. For the twelve
days between her death and her funeral, all BBC channels
will be under strict orders not to air anything funny.
(31:32):
And much like the way the royal family travels, the
stations and anchors all have black suits and clothes on
hand to change into if and when that news breaks.
Oh man, that's crazy. I mean, we're hoping it doesn't
happen for a very long time, but what a bizarre fact.
And and that is a hard one to top. I
I think you ought to take the crown for this. Week. Oh,
thanks so much. Well, there is no shortage of great
(31:54):
stuff out there about the royal family over the years,
so I'm sure we've left out some terrific facts. We
always love hearing those from you guys. You can email
us part Time Genius and how Stuff Works dot com,
or always hit us up on the socials anytime. But
from Mango, Tristan, Gabe and me, thanks so much for listening.
(32:22):
H
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