The world was saddened this week by the news that Queen Elizabeth II has passed away.
In a statement on Thursday, Buckingham Palace said: "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 [Friday]. "
The 96-year-old monarch pulled out of a virtual Privy Council on Wednesday, a day after appointing Liz Truss as PM at her home in the Scottish Highlands.
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Members of the Royal Family rushed to Balmoral to be with the Queen during her final hours. Balmoral was one of the Queen's favourite places and she was said to have never been happier than when staying there.
She travelled to the estate in Aberdeenshire each summer, with members of her family invited to spend time with her while she was there. Balmoral Castle was handed down to her through generations of royals after being bought for Queen Victoria by Prince Albert in 1852.
Along with her annual stay there, Queen Elizabeth II had a number of other traditions. Here we take a look at the unusual and wonderful customs practised by Her Majesty.
Eating her dinner in front of the TV
Just like millions of people up and down the country, the Queen was said to have loved watching TV. We are all familiar with the concept of staying up late to watch one more episode, and it seems the monarch is the same.
The Queen's love of watching the TV even lead to her developing a very relatable dinner habit, MyLondon reports. Speaking during the documentary 'Secrets Of The Royal Kitchen', royal biographer Lady Colin Campbell detailed that the Queen liked to catch up with her favourite shows while she eats.
At the time, Lady Campbell said: "She has her dinner off a tray looking at the television. She likes it. It’s homely and cosy and it’s comfortable."
Christmas gifts for staff
Every year, the Queen was said to gift her 1,500 staff with a £6 mince pie each from Tesco.
The Royal Family website stated: "All members of The Royal Household will receive Christmas presents from The Queen, and Her Majesty will personally hand out presents to some members of The Royal Household at Buckingham Palace and at Windsor Castle.
"Continuing the tradition from her father, King George VI and her grandfather, George V – The Queen also gives Christmas puddings to her staff. About 1500 Christmas puddings paid for by The Queen (through the Privy Purse) are distributed to staff throughout the Palaces, staff in the Court Post Office and Palace police.
"Each pudding is accompanied by a greeting card." Historically, Palace staff have received a luxury pud from brands such as Harrods or royal grocer Fortnum & Mason. But Hello magazine reports the Queen recently made the switch to a £6 Tesco version instead - which saved a lot of money.
The Queen's Speech
Queen Elizabeth II’s first televised Christmas message aired on December 25, 1957. The royal tradition, known as the King's Christmas Message, began in 1932.
Before 1957, it was broadcast to the Commonwealth nations via radio, but that year, Queen Elizabeth accepted the BBC’s request to read her remarks live on television from her quarters at Sandringham, her Norfolk estate.
The Queen's Speech provided the government with an opportunity to highlight its priorities for the months ahead. It formed part of the State Opening of Parliament ceremony, which marks the start of the parliamentary year.
Normally, the ceremony begins with a procession, in which the Queen travelled from Buckingham Palace to Westminster - usually by carriage. During the pandemic, the Queen instead arrived in a Bentley limousine, and there were fewer people in attendance.
Millions of people have joined the Queen in her home on Christmas Day each year since. Since her passing, it is likely that King Charles will deliver the speech instead, perhaps including some of his late mother's message.
Jam 'pennies'
The Queen ate the same sandwich every day since she was a child according to her former private chef. Former Royal chef Darren McGrady was in charge of making some of the Queen's favourite meals.
He previously revealed how Her Majesty liked hamburgers without the bun and a cranberry sauce instead of ketchup. However, since she was a youngster, she has always enjoyed eating sandwiches - with one combination proving to be a staple.
Mr McGrady told the Express there are three sandwiches that always make an appearance in The Queen's afternoon tea platter, both for her own private enjoyment and also when she has guests. He said: "The Queen was served jam pennies in the nursery as a little girl, she’s had them for afternoon tea ever since."
To make the sweet treat, he said the jam was home-stewed using Balmoral fruit including strawberries. Mr McGrady added the formula for the sandwich was "simple" with just a little bit of bread and butter, plus the layer of jam. Once the sandwich is assembled, he used a circle cutter to stamp them out.
He said: "They were called pennies after the size of the old English penny."
Two birthdays
All reigning UK monarchs have a birthday twice each year - but there's more to it than two parties.
April 21 marks the day Her Majesty was actually born while the second, in June was considered to be her ‘official’ birthday - a royal tradition which dates back to when King George II was on the throne in 1748. Her Majesty usually celebrated her actual birthday privately, though it was marked by a gun salute which rings out across London at midday.
The second "birthday" in June is because of the British weather. Many monarchs have had an 'official' date to celebrate their birthday - especially if their actual birth date has not been during the summer months. This is due to there being a greater likelihood of better weather, making it more suitable to watch Trooping the Colour, the annual birthday parade, Gloucester Live reports.
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