December 13, 2018 • 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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Speaker 1 (00:02):
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,
just sitting in front of her HBO Go account, like
waiting for the series to come on. But you know
that the show shoots in Europe, so she decided to
(00:24):
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 only
demure queen could, she's technically not allowed to sit on
a foreign throne. And that's just one of the weird
(00:46):
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 pop relation Because technically every Swan in
England belongs to her. Let's dig in y Hey, their
(01:26):
podcast listeners, Welcome to part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson
and as always I'm joined by my good friend 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 just
(01:47):
in preparation for this episode, also changing his spelling 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 bending his head.
(02:09):
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 say
that they always. Tristan is definitely living by those rules.
(02:30):
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 longstanding rules and the traditions
(02:52):
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 those fancy perk she gets. And
(03:15):
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 kind of a confusing setup,
(03:37):
but it's a lingering effect of England's time as a
colonial empire and when it had all these nations under them.
That'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 that 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. So do you want
(03:59):
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 actually the law doesn't
(04:20):
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 cart the thing away
(04:42):
for sushi. Right, Yeah, 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 to that
(05:04):
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 now
(05:26):
I'm kind of hoping that Elizabeth eats the whole whale
just to bring 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
(05:48):
palettes of commoners. So, in a completely 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
(06:11):
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
(06:34):
her flock, which is just I love that this is
the kind of thing she gets to spend. It 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
(06:57):
the only condition of the sale was that, if it
was so quested, 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,
(07:17):
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
(07:39):
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
might give them a call and, you know, just request
a snowball. Would he such a hassle? I'm guessing if
that's the case, you could just keep a stash of
emergency snowballs in your free her like if she just
(08:00):
happens 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
(08:23):
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 is on Sunday, and it's only for a short while,
and this is according to historian and royal biographers Sally
but L Smith. The Queen keeps a single five or
ten pound note on hand, and that's to put in
(08:44):
the collection basket at church. I love the idea of
her just like pulling out this super crinkled, wattered upbuild
that you've 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 chris by her butler and then carefully
folded so that only the Queen's face is showing when
(09:07):
she puts it in there. That feels so down. Navvy
or Jaster were like the butlers and servants, like they
ironed 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. I mean,
(09:27):
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 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 of useful items
(09:48):
as well as a few things that are just in
there for fun. 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 only 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.
(10:09):
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
(10:29):
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
would 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 also like why not just
(10:51):
hand 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
spit 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,
(11:13):
and that's probably because the Queen has more or less
stuck with the same one since the 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
(11:35):
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 signals
to her staff super discreetly. So if the Queen puts
her hand back on the table during a meal, that
(11:56):
means she wants to end the event in the next
five minutes. If she places on the floor instead of
the hook, that signal she's stuck in a boring conversation
and she kinda 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.
(12:16):
But it is interesting to know. 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'ts of royal fashion. Sure, but
first let's take a quick break. You're listening to part
(12:45):
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 dues 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 in her new shoes until
(13:07):
they've lost their stiffness. Now, another fashion park 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 Queen can never wear dark or
neutral colors? Like, I've been really curious about this. You know,
(13:31):
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 subjects can keep their eyes on there
whenever they want. And I mean, I guess that makes
(13:52):
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, the Queen seems to have
no problem abiding by the rule. I mean, you know,
(14:12):
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. Let's get to know,
I fly kind of nails just like the Queen. But
if you want to complete the look, you're gonna actually
gonna have to up your hat game. Uh, because another
(14:36):
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 fall
out of fashion with women, and the monarchy kind of
(14:57):
hope to put a stop to that modernization by making
these headgear requirement for the royals, I guess. But over
the decades that rules 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
also deals with royal head covering. So once the clock
(15:19):
strikes six pm, it's tiara a clock that 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 meant to
show that the woman has moved on from one family
(15:41):
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 rights, 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
just take off her hat. They don't have to Donna
tiara and that, you know, anything like that. But it
(16:03):
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
kids have to go pantless or something. Well, they have
to wear short pants. And and maybe I'm I'm more
(16:26):
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
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
(16:47):
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. 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,
(17:10):
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. 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
(17:32):
work around, like they can just wear really long socks
or something. Alright, 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 hem line of her 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
(17:53):
too much skin. Oh that's fascinating. I hadn't heard that before,
but I actually remember a similar trick that Princess Diane
and I 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 she
had these clutches specifically designed with that purpose in mind,
(18:14):
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.
But before we get to that, let's take one more
quick break. Okay, Well, so you mentioned earlier that the
(18:52):
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
(19:12):
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
(19:33):
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, so when
she returned to England she actually had to stay with
the plane on the tarmac until a dress could be
(19:55):
brought 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 our 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
(20:15):
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 rain Or 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
(20:38):
wonderful life. 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 formalities
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.
(21:00):
And 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. And this is even weirder. So Prince
(21:22):
Charles and the Queen also have to bring along a
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 slascha 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. She doesn't need it whenever she
(21:43):
travels to 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 like, I feel like I read that in
newspapers or something. Well, the rest of the Royal family
(22:04):
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 in or out of Britain, and
(22:27):
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. For example,
(22:47):
do you know that a shellfish is actually banned from
the royal dinner table. 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? They just preferred
dolphins scampy? Okay? So no, it's because eating shellfishes is
more likely to result in food poisoning than other kinds
(23:08):
of foods, and and obviously allergies too, So I guess
it's just considered too risky to serve to them. Alright, So,
I mean, we know what they are allowed to eat
and what they're not allowed to 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 to her because she is
the queen, and she actually reviews this big, red leather
(23:31):
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 for financial reasons. And I you
(23:52):
wouldn't think of the Queen is cheap, but apparently she is.
So This is quote from her personal chef Darren McGrady.
The Queen loves gram bled 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 is just special K with fresh fruit.
(24:14):
Isn't that crazy? That is crazy? And why is it
special K advertising this? Like I feel like the cereal
sales would 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 that I can tell,
(24:35):
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 serving the sandwiches with crust.
(24:56):
He then showed me how to make the perfect tuna sandwich,
cutting the loaf nth wise, 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 crust, and cut it into eight identical triangles. The
palace kitchen was all about that detail. I mean, that
(25:17):
doesn't seem decadent so much. It's just kind of weird.
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 every bit of that travel itinerary.
(25:39):
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 to
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 per sit on her left. She'll just ignore the
(26:01):
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 you that the royal family's net worth is
(26:23):
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 definitely preferable to all sorts of other lifestyles.
(26:47):
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 know,
I may never in all the swans in England, but
at least we have the freedom to paint our nails
bright colors and dress our sons and pants very well
(27:08):
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
pah okay, so I'm gonna start whip the quick one.
The Queen of England's portrait has been on enough international
(27:31):
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, Dash she used to watch Golden Girls reruns
together while drinking. But during one of these sessions, she
(27:55):
told Mercury she wanted to go clubbing with him that evening,
I guess. And and there were these two other friends
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 guess she she was obstinate about it too, So
they hatched this scheme and later that night they dressed
her up in this oversized army jacket and a hat
(28:16):
and sunglasses, and they took her incognito into a gay
bar in South London and just danced the night away.
I love that story. Alright. Well, here's a question I've
been wondering ever since I saw that dust up about
whether Meg and Marco was out walking her dog. And
while the 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
(28:39):
after them, which is really surprising that. 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 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,
(29:01):
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 Queen's coreys and when there's sirt their meals,
it's prepared by a palace chef and brought to them
by a royal footman. Uh all right, Well you might
(29:22):
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 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
(29:44):
obligatory codes of behavior when meeting the queen or a
member of the royal family. They do have a list
of traditional behaviors you can observe if you'd like, like
men should do a neck bow and women should do
a courtesy, but they aren't essential rules, and according to
The Atlantic, the monarch he doesn't really take offense when
they do get touched. And it's mostly just like the
(30:04):
British tabloids who liked to thir things up when you know,
especially Americans, get the antequated 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 that's the case anymore. But here's
something I loved. Mental Floss 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
(30:27):
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 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,
(30:47):
which is particularly funny because her Grandmam thought it was
a loin cloth. 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 would 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
(31:09):
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. 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
(31:30):
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 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
(31:50):
from you guys. You can email us part time genius
at 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 listen.
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,
just sitting in front of her HBO Go account, like
waiting for the series to come on. But you know
that the show shoots in Europe, so she decided to
(00:24):
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 only
demure queen could, she's technically not allowed to sit on
a foreign throne. And that's just one of the weird
(00:46):
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 pop relation Because technically every Swan in
England belongs to her. Let's dig in y Hey, their
(01:26):
podcast listeners, Welcome to part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson
and as always I'm joined by my good friend 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 just
(01:47):
in preparation for this episode, also changing his spelling 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 bending his head.
(02:09):
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 say
that they always. Tristan is definitely living by those rules.
(02:30):
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 longstanding rules and the traditions
(02:52):
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 those fancy perk she gets. And
(03:15):
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 kind of a confusing setup,
(03:37):
but it's a lingering effect of England's time as a
colonial empire and when it had all these nations under them.
That'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 that 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. So do you want
(03:59):
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 actually the law doesn't
(04:20):
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 cart the thing away
(04:42):
for sushi. Right, Yeah, 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 to that
(05:04):
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 now
(05:26):
I'm kind of hoping that Elizabeth eats the whole whale
just to bring 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
(05:48):
palettes of commoners. So, in a completely 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
(06:11):
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
(06:34):
her flock, which is just I love that this is
the kind of thing she gets to spend. It 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
(06:57):
the only condition of the sale was that, if it
was so quested, 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,
(07:17):
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
(07:39):
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
might give them a call and, you know, just request
a snowball. Would he such a hassle? I'm guessing if
that's the case, you could just keep a stash of
emergency snowballs in your free her like if she just
(08:00):
happens 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
(08:23):
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 is on Sunday, and it's only for a short while,
and this is according to historian and royal biographers Sally
but L Smith. The Queen keeps a single five or
ten pound note on hand, and that's to put in
(08:44):
the collection basket at church. I love the idea of
her just like pulling out this super crinkled, wattered upbuild
that you've 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 chris by her butler and then carefully
folded so that only the Queen's face is showing when
(09:07):
she puts it in there. That feels so down. Navvy
or Jaster were like the butlers and servants, like they
ironed 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. I mean,
(09:27):
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 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 of useful items
(09:48):
as well as a few things that are just in
there for fun. 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 only 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.
(10:09):
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
(10:29):
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
would 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 also like why not just
(10:51):
hand 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
spit 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,
(11:13):
and that's probably because the Queen has more or less
stuck with the same one since the 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
(11:35):
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 signals
to her staff super discreetly. So if the Queen puts
her hand back on the table during a meal, that
(11:56):
means she wants to end the event in the next
five minutes. If she places on the floor instead of
the hook, that signal she's stuck in a boring conversation
and she kinda 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.
(12:16):
But it is interesting to know. 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'ts of royal fashion. Sure, but
first let's take a quick break. You're listening to part
(12:45):
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 dues 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 in her new shoes until
(13:07):
they've lost their stiffness. Now, another fashion park 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 Queen can never wear dark or
neutral colors? Like, I've been really curious about this. You know,
(13:31):
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 subjects can keep their eyes on there
whenever they want. And I mean, I guess that makes
(13:52):
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, the Queen seems to have
no problem abiding by the rule. I mean, you know,
(14:12):
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. Let's get to know,
I fly kind of nails just like the Queen. But
if you want to complete the look, you're gonna actually
gonna have to up your hat game. Uh, because another
(14:36):
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 fall
out of fashion with women, and the monarchy kind of
(14:57):
hope to put a stop to that modernization by making
these headgear requirement for the royals, I guess. But over
the decades that rules 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
also deals with royal head covering. So once the clock
(15:19):
strikes six pm, it's tiara a clock that 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 meant to
show that the woman has moved on from one family
(15:41):
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 rights, 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
just take off her hat. They don't have to Donna
tiara and that, you know, anything like that. But it
(16:03):
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
kids have to go pantless or something. Well, they have
to wear short pants. And and maybe I'm I'm more
(16:26):
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
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
(16:47):
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. 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,
(17:10):
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. 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
(17:32):
work around, like they can just wear really long socks
or something. Alright, 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 hem line of her 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
(17:53):
too much skin. Oh that's fascinating. I hadn't heard that before,
but I actually remember a similar trick that Princess Diane
and I 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 she
had these clutches specifically designed with that purpose in mind,
(18:14):
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.
But before we get to that, let's take one more
quick break. Okay, Well, so you mentioned earlier that the
(18:52):
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
(19:12):
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
(19:33):
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, so when
she returned to England she actually had to stay with
the plane on the tarmac until a dress could be
(19:55):
brought 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 our 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
(20:15):
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 rain Or 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
(20:38):
wonderful life. 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 formalities
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.
(21:00):
And 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. And this is even weirder. So Prince
(21:22):
Charles and the Queen also have to bring along a
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 slascha 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. She doesn't need it whenever she
(21:43):
travels to 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 like, I feel like I read that in
newspapers or something. Well, the rest of the Royal family
(22:04):
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 in or out of Britain, and
(22:27):
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. For example,
(22:47):
do you know that a shellfish is actually banned from
the royal dinner table. 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? They just preferred
dolphins scampy? Okay? So no, it's because eating shellfishes is
more likely to result in food poisoning than other kinds
(23:08):
of foods, and and obviously allergies too, So I guess
it's just considered too risky to serve to them. Alright, So,
I mean, we know what they are allowed to eat
and what they're not allowed to 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 to her because she is
the queen, and she actually reviews this big, red leather
(23:31):
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 for financial reasons. And I you
(23:52):
wouldn't think of the Queen is cheap, but apparently she is.
So This is quote from her personal chef Darren McGrady.
The Queen loves gram bled 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 is just special K with fresh fruit.
(24:14):
Isn't that crazy? That is crazy? And why is it
special K advertising this? Like I feel like the cereal
sales would 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 that I can tell,
(24:35):
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 serving the sandwiches with crust.
(24:56):
He then showed me how to make the perfect tuna sandwich,
cutting the loaf nth wise, 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 crust, and cut it into eight identical triangles. The
palace kitchen was all about that detail. I mean, that
(25:17):
doesn't seem decadent so much. It's just kind of weird.
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 every bit of that travel itinerary.
(25:39):
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 to
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 per sit on her left. She'll just ignore the
(26:01):
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 you that the royal family's net worth is
(26:23):
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 definitely preferable to all sorts of other lifestyles.
(26:47):
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 know,
I may never in all the swans in England, but
at least we have the freedom to paint our nails
bright colors and dress our sons and pants very well
(27:08):
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
pah okay, so I'm gonna start whip the quick one.
The Queen of England's portrait has been on enough international
(27:31):
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, Dash she used to watch Golden Girls reruns
together while drinking. But during one of these sessions, she
(27:55):
told Mercury she wanted to go clubbing with him that evening,
I guess. And and there were these two other friends
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 guess she she was obstinate about it too, So
they hatched this scheme and later that night they dressed
her up in this oversized army jacket and a hat
(28:16):
and sunglasses, and they took her incognito into a gay
bar in South London and just danced the night away.
I love that story. Alright. Well, here's a question I've
been wondering ever since I saw that dust up about
whether Meg and Marco was out walking her dog. And
while the 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
(28:39):
after them, which is really surprising that. 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 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,
(29:01):
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 Queen's coreys and when there's sirt their meals,
it's prepared by a palace chef and brought to them
by a royal footman. Uh all right, Well you might
(29:22):
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 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
(29:44):
obligatory codes of behavior when meeting the queen or a
member of the royal family. They do have a list
of traditional behaviors you can observe if you'd like, like
men should do a neck bow and women should do
a courtesy, but they aren't essential rules, and according to
The Atlantic, the monarch he doesn't really take offense when
they do get touched. And it's mostly just like the
(30:04):
British tabloids who liked to thir things up when you know,
especially Americans, get the antequated 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 that's the case anymore. But here's
something I loved. Mental Floss 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
(30:27):
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 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,
(30:47):
which is particularly funny because her Grandmam thought it was
a loin cloth. 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 would 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
(31:09):
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. 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
(31:30):
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 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
(31:50):
from you guys. You can email us part time genius
at 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 listen.
Host
Will and Mango
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