Woman’s Weekly New Zealand – September 02, 2019

TEXT:

ANDREW

MACKINTOSH

Whileeating,sheflicks

throughthemorningpapers,

especiallytheRacingPost.

A pressdigestofnewsfrom

theUKandtheother 52

Commonwealthnationshas

beenpreparedovernightby

oneofherpresssecretaries,

whichshewillscanand read

in moredetaillater.

At9am,thePipertothe

Sovereign,ScottMethven

oftheArgyllandSutherland

Highlanders,playsunder

herwindowforprecisely 15

minutes,regardless of weather.

9.30AM

TOWORK

TheQueenmovestoher

studyandsitsbehinda

Chippendaledesk.A former

staffersays,“Itmayappear

clutteredanduntidyto

theaverageeye,butthe

Queenknowswhere

everythingis andhates

it if anythingis moved

withoutherpermission.”

Workwithherprivatesecretary,

EdwardYoung(52),startswith

letters– about 300 arrive

everyday.Thosemarked

withspecificinitialsin the

bottomright-handcorner

oftheenvelopearefrom

personalfriendsandshe

opensthemherself.

Therestareopenedbyaides,

withtheLady-in-Waiting

pickingoutinterestingitems.

TheQueenhand-writes

replieswitha fountainpen,

usinggreeninkforpeople

sheknowsandblackfor

others.Aideshandletherest,

underherinstruction.Her

blottingpaperis black,to

preventanymirrorreading,

andis replaceddaily.

“Luckily,I’ma quickreader,

soI cangetthrougha lotof

readingin a shortamount

oftime,”shesays.“I liketo

seewhatpeoplewritetome.”

Next,theQueenstartson

thefamousRedBoxes.These

containconfidentialpapers

fromgovernmentsacrossthe

Commonwealthandare

senteveryday,exceptfor

ChristmasDay.A wicker

basketbroughtbyEdward

containsdocumentsthat

needhersignature.

11AM

MEETINGAND

GREETING

If shedoesn'thavemorning

engagements,thisis when

shemeetsnewambassadors,

bishops,visitingheadsofstate

andseniormilitaryofficers

fromtheCommonwealth,

andotherdignitariesin

theAudienceRoomat

BuckinghamPalaceorthe

PrivyChamberatScotland’s

PalaceofHolyroodhouse.

Nomeetinglastsmore

than 20 minutesandmany

take 10 orless.In anygaps

betweenmeetings,shegoes

throughmoreRedBoxes.

If it’saninvestituredayandshe

choosestogiveouttheawards

herself(nowadays,thejobis

regularlydelegatedtoother

membersoftheroyalfamily),

11amis thestarttime.Orshe

maydistributeotherawards,

suchastheQueen’sMedalfor

NursingortheCommonwealth

BookPrize.

12.30 OR 1PM

LUNCHIS

SERVED

A lightmiddaymealtypically

consistsofgrilledDover

sole,halibutorchicken

breastona bedofwilted

spinach,steamedcourgettes

orgreenbeans.Theonly

drinkis still Malvern water.

Oncea week,theQueen’sche

MarkFlanagansendsherthree

choicesforherdailylunchand

dinnerin advance,allwritten

in French.It savestimeand

dishesarrivethemoment

HerMajestysitsdown.

Shenormallyeatsalone

butfamilymembersora

Lady-in-Waitingdojoinher

occasionally.Aroundoncea

month,she’llhosta lunchfor

a dozeninterestingpeople.

Afterlunch,shetakesa walk

alonein theBuckingham

Palacegardens,orwith

estateLabradorsif sheis at

Sandringham.“It’sniceto

hibernatefora bitwhen

oneleadssucha very

movablelife,”sheexplains.

Attheweekend,if she’sat

WindsortheQueenridesa

ponyin theGreatPark.A

groomaccompaniesher,

in caseofanaccident,

andpersonalprotection

officers (PPOs) keep watch.

2.30 OR3PM

SHOWTIME

If she’sin LondonorEdinburgh,

thereareusuallytwoorthree

localengagements.When

theQueenis readytoleave,

herPagecallsherdutyPPO

toopenthecardoor.She

normallywalksdownstairs

fromheroffice(if herknees

areplayingup,shetakesa

veryelderlylift)andis seenoff

byEdwardandselectmembers

ofthehousehold.Theyalso

line up when she returns.

18 New Zealand Woman’s Weekly

HerMajesty

takesa daily

stroll,sometimes

withpets

(below),around

Buckingham

Palace Gardens.

Markhasbeen

withthe

monarchfor

morethan

a decade.

Meetingwith

theBritishPrime

MinisterBoris

Johnson.