A royal commentator has recalled the moment he did the washing up with the Queen after enjoying a picnic together. Dickie Arbiter shared his fond memories of Queen Elizabeth II as he appeared on Good Morning Britain the morning after her death was announced.
Concerns for the Queen's health started to grow on Wednesday night (September 7) when she pulled out of a virtual Privy Council on Wednesday, a day after appointing Liz Truss as PM at Balmoral Castle. This soon changed to deep worry on Thursday afternoon when, at 12.32pm, Buckingham Palace issued a statement saying royal doctors were concerned for health.
Then, at around 6.30pm on Thursday evening, it was confirmed that her Majesty had died peacefully at Balmarol, her Scottish Highlands home, at the age of 96. The Palace said in a brief statement: "The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow."
READ MORE: Moment Susanna Reid and Ben Shephard open ITV Good Morning Britain morning after the Queen's death
On Friday morning, Susanna Reid and Ben Shephard opened Good Morning Britain for the first time since the sad news of the Queen's passing was announced. Appearing on the panel, the presenters on the show wore black as the country official entered 10 days of national mourning at midnight.
While Susanna and Ben hosted from the studios, Kate Garraway stood outside Buckingham Palace with mourners still gathering to lay flowers at the gates to pay their respects to the longest reigning monarch. "A nation is in mourning as Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's longest reigning monarch, passes away at the age of 96, after 70 years on the throne," Susanna began as a poignant portrait of her Majesty appeared on the screen behind them.
"Her son, King Charles III, says the loss of he beloved mother is a 'moment of great sadness' for him and his family and that it will be deeply felt around the world," Ben continued.
They were joined throughout the programme by Dickie, who acted as press spokesman for Queen Elizabeth II from 1988 until 2000, among others who shared their thoughts and memorial of the longest-reigning monarch in the world. As Ben spoke about the shock of the Queen's death and how Dickie has lost someone he knew very well, he replied: "We were all expecting it but when it happens, you're not quite ready.
"And coming 17 months to the day that Prince Philip died last year, it was a double shock." He shared how he felt we'd seen a 'deterioration' of the Queen in the months following her beloved husband's death, aged 99, in April 2021.
Dickie then recalled his personal dealings with the Queen's over his 12 years working as her press spokesman. "I suppose the best way to describe her... one of the most outstanding memories I have is when I arrived at Buckingham Palace at the beginning of July '88 I was informed by the Private Secretary that I'd been invited to Balmoral for what is known as a 'dine and sleep' which is usually 24 hours - I was up there for 48 hours."
He went on: "I arrived at Balmoral, it was raining cats and dogs and I was told I was going for a picnic. But I was assured it was to a log cabin. Cutting a long story short, there was four of us at this picnic in the log cabin - Prince Philip, the Queen, a lady in waiting and myself."
Dickie admitted he 'doesn't have a clue' what they talked about as it 'bypassed him' but shared how at the end of their lunch, the Queen was admiant they clear up as she was 'merticulous about keeping the place as she found it'. He then shared how he headed off to wash up
"I went into the kitchen thinking well, I'm the new employee I better go start washing up and I did. I heard this footfall behind me and I thought, 'Wonderful, the lady in waiting has come to give me a hand,' and I said casually over my shoulder, 'I'll wash, you dry'. There was a pause and then this voice said: 'No, I'll wash, you dry,' and the Queen plunged her hands into the soap suds and I did the drying up."
He added: "It was a wonderful moment that here was something perfectly normal, performed by the Head of State, and it can't get better than that."
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