Seriously mundane task the late Queen Elizabeth II loved to do laid bare

When one imagines the daily life of the late Queen Elizabeth II, it's easy to conjure up images of grand banquets, state visits, and royal processions. Yet, beneath the crown and centuries of tradition, Her Majesty was known to have a surprisingly down-to-earth side.

Although the royals have an army of staff at their disposal, including chefs and housekeepers, when the Royal Family are at their private residences, they like to look after themselves. What may be a surprise to most is according to writer and broadcaster Gyles Brandreth, Queen Elizabeth II loved nothing more than putting on a pair of yellow marigolds and washing the dirty dishes.

The author once described a story about how David Cameron tried to help clear away the dishes at a stay at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

The former prime minister told Gyles: "I'm not making this up, you sat down and Prince Philip and Her Majesty The Queen served your dinner and cleared it away and washed it up while you sat talking with the other guests.

"I remember thinking it was sort of year five, I thought 'Well, I now surely can help' and got up and got on the Marigolds and started doing the washing-up."

"And I remember Her Majesty saying, 'What on earth is the Prime Minister doing?' I'd broken with the protocol and rapidly sat back down and did what I was told."

Gyles claims that Elizabeth's love of washing up started at a young age: "Of course those of you who have read the wartime diaries of the Queen's childhood friend, Alathea Fitzalan-Howard, will know that Lilibet was always good at domestic chores."

In March 1941, when they were having cookery lessons at Windsor, Alathea noted: "Lillibet actually likes washing up and does more of it than the rest of us put together."

Meanwhile, for the younger members of the Wales family they are known for having a more ordinary upbringing than previous generations.

For the Prince and Princess of Wales, this means getting Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis to muck in with the chores.

In August 2024, a source told the Daily Mail: 'I think it would surprise people to see how ordinary things are at home.

They added: "The children help with laying the table, clearing their plates when they've finished eating and helping with tidying up. There's no preferential treatment."