The Queen was always a strict professional - but behind-the-scenes was known for her cheeky side. Heartwarming stories have been flooding in about Her Majesty, who died surrounded by her family at Balmoral last week, with one of the funniest coming from one of the people who knew her best.
Her former press secretary, Dickie Arbiter, has revealed a hilarious anecdote from the last reception she had before the country went into lockdown back in 2020. Arbiter revealed the Queen's scathing insult about his tie - and how he knew it was coming because of the "twinkle in her eye".
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Speaking on Recollections: Memories of Her Majesty, a documentary commemorating the late monarch on True Royalty TV, Aribter recalled a meeting which happened some years after he had stepped from his role.
"I was at Buckingham Palace in 2020 for what was probably the last reception there before the pandemic lockdown," he explained.
"While we were talking, I was about to take my leave and there was a twinkle in her eye.
"And something with the Queen you learned was you have to read her and reading her was seeing what was in her eyes. If there was sparkling, you knew something was coming up. If they were clear, then nothing was going to happen.
"And as I took my leave, she looked at me and she said, 'I see you're still wearing those dreadful ties!'
"We both chuckled. I had absolutely no response to that. She had the last word."
Arbiter, who was a press spokesperson for the Queen from 1988 until 2000, worked very closely with Her Majesty had unprecedented access to the Royal Family.
In addition to his duties as a royal spokesman, Dickie was responsible for media managing ceremonial occasions, all major state events inside Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle and The Queen’s major UK engagements.
He was also responsible for all operational media requirements for royal funerals, including that of the late Diana, Princess of Wales.
Arbiter also revealed how the Queen liked to unwind when she arrived at her beloved home in Scotland.
"When the Queen goes to Balmoral, as she goes through the gate, she kicks off her shoes with delight," he explained.
"Because for three months of the year, she can walk about and nobody bothers her."
He also recalled an unforgettable day when he was invited to a small private lunch with the late Monarch and her husband, Prince Philip, which ended up with the two of them cleaning dishes in the kitchen sink afterwards.
Arbiter explained that as the least senior person at the table he nipped off to the kitchen when they finished to start clearing up when he heard footsteps and a "very familiar voice" behind him.
He said: "When I arrived at Buckingham Palace, my boss said to me, ‘you've been invited to Balmoral for a dine and sleep to meet the Queen’.
"There were only four of us at this lunch: The Queen, her lady-in-waiting, Prince Philip and myself. It lasted about 45 minutes, with china plates, silver cutlery and Tupperware that we helped ourselves from.
"And at the end of it, the Queen said, ‘we've got to clear up’ and I took it as my cue as the junior flunky to do the washing up. So I went into the kitchen and started washing up. I heard this footfall behind me and assumed it was the lady-in-waiting coming to give me a hand.
"I said over my shoulder without even turning, ‘okay, I'll wash you dry’. This very familiar voice behind me said, ‘no I’ll wash, you dry!. It was the Queen. So she plunged her hands into the fairy liquid - no gloves - and I did the drying up. It was quite an experience to actually do a bit of domesticity with a head of state."
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