Her Majesty’s tea service: Workman asked ‘well-spoken’ woman for ‘builder’s tea, two sugars’ while on job at Buckingham Palace and was stunned to be served a cuppa by the QUEEN
- A workman under a desk he was fixing was offered a cuppa by a well-spoken lady
- He ordered his usual strong brew with none of that fine china and saucer stuff’
- He turned around after it was served and he saw the Queen’s retreating back
- His former workmate Kevin Andrews, royal upholsterer to the late Queen Mother, makes the claim in a forthcoming Channel 5 documentary
A workman who gruffly ordered a no-nonsense cup of ‘builders’ tea’ from a well-spoken woman over his shoulder was stunned to learn he’d been made his morning brew by the Queen.
The builder was dismantling a desk while on a job inside Buckingham Palace so he could not see who was making the offer when the lady’s voice asked him if he would like a cup of tea.
He replied: ‘Yeah. In a mug. Two sugars. Builders’ tea.
‘I don’t want any of that nonsense I had the last time I was here, all that fine china and all that saucer stuff.’
The woman returned and said: ‘I’ve put your tea on the table here.’
He looked up and saw the Queen leaving the room.
The workman told his friend it was Her Majesty herself who made him the cup of tea
The royal upholsterer to the late Queen Mother, Kevin Andrews, recounts the story which he said happened to a friend of his, in a forthcoming Channel 5 programme ‘Secrets of the Royal Palaces’.
The documentary also reveals Her Majesty’s official London residence once had its own bar – but it was shut down after staff got too drunk.
Dickie Arbiter, who worked as a royal press secretary, said: ‘They had to get rid.’
The Queen’s favourite drink is confirmed as a gin and Dubbonet, according to her former chef Darren McGrady.
He said cheekily the Queen doesn’t drink every day, and added: ‘Just in the evening.
‘She certainly doesn’t drink four glasses a day.’
Former royal press secretary Dickie Arbiter is interviewed in the Channel 5 documentary
The first episode in the series will explore Buckingham Palace, before giving a glimpse inside the other royal residencies, including Windsor Castle, Balmoral and Clarence House
The former chef added that if the Queen, 93, does have a drink with dinner it is usually a glass of her favourite German sweet wine.
The Channel 5 show, which is out later this month, also claims there is an ATM machine installed inside the palace – although it is not clear if the Queen has ever used the device.
The first episode in the series will explore Buckingham Palace, before giving a glimpse inside the other royal residencies, including Windsor Castle, Balmoral and Clarence House, where her son Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla live.
Buckingham Palace boasts 775 rooms, over 50 bedrooms and nearly 80 bathrooms.
There is also said to be a staff Post Office on site, and a doctor’s surgery as well as a swimming pool.
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