A lover of hunting, passionate about corgis and horses, fond of fashion… Queen Elizabeth II also knew how to appreciate a glass of gin. English gin, of course.
If Elizabeth II had always been very careful with her diet, in recent months, for health reasons, her doctors had advised her to stop drinking alcohol. She died Thursday at the age of 96 in Balmoral, Scotland. The monarch’s health condition had worried her doctors for several months, prompting her to adjust her lifestyle.
A Dry Martini as an aperitif
Therefore, the nonagenarian queen had had to give up her sacrosanct evening aperitif, usually a Dry Martini. If the monarch was a great lover of alcohol, her mother, the late “Queen Mama”, was even more so. Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, widow of King George VI, was famous for drinking Martini like whey. She also drank a “Dubonnet and gin” every lunch hour, which didn’t stop her from dying at the age of 101 in the early 2000s.
An official gin of the royal family
A cocktail that has become popular, also appreciated by Elizabeth II. The gin, a typically English white spirit, even allowed him to replenish the coffers of a foundation that takes over the royal art collection during the health crisis.
In July 2020, the palace put up for sale the official gin of the British royal family. A homemade drink, made from plants collected from Buckingham Gardens, including lemon verbena, hawthorn berries and mulberry leaves. Despite its high price, 40 pounds (about 46 euros) a bottle, stocks were sold out in just eight hours, according to the independent.
Nicolas Sarkozy becomes a “dragon”
At Buckingham Palace, gin therefore flows freely, as an aperitif, but also because it is used to make royal diamonds shine, Angela Kelly, the Queen’s Boudoir, confided in a book. But gin can have even more amazing effects on the palate.
Gin almost ruined Nicolas Sarkozy’s visit to Windsor Castle in 2008. During an official dinner with Elizabeth II, the former French president, who “never drank a drop of alcohol in her life,” grabbed from a waiter’s tray what she took for a glass of water.
Elizabeth II died at her Scottish residence at Balmoral. Her son and her heir acceded to the throne at the age of 73 under the name of Carlos III. He will be proclaimed king on Saturday at 10am (London time), during the Membership Council.
Source: BFM TV
