When you were young you may have dreamed of
being royal--having servants to cater to your
every whim while you kicked back on a golden
throne or maybe wearing a ball gown and tiara
and dancing the night away at a fancy ball.
Well, being royal is not all it’s cracked
up to be, especially when you’re part of
the British royal family.
Aside from some official laws governing royal
behavior, there’s a lot of strict etiquette
involved.
If the Queen commands...well, you obey.
Here are some of the weirdest quirks, traditions
and secret rules of the British royal family.
We begin with a legend regarding the British
monarchy that’s been honored for over 400
years.
Since the era of Charles II in the 1600s,
the Tower of London has always been home to
at least six raven guardians.
Apparently the royal astronomer complained
to King Charles that the Tower of London’s
avian visitors were pests.
The King ordered that the birds be killed,
only to be told by a superstitious courtier
that if the ravens left the Tower, the British
monarchy would fall.
The king was worried enough to stay the execution
and issue a royal decree which is still honored
today.
A beefeater is thus to this day employed as
a Ravenmaster to care for the birds.
Her majesty Queen Elizabeth is Britain’s
longest ruling monarch with 76 years, having
ascended to the throne in 1953 at the age
of 25.
As such, there is a planned protocol for her
death.
There will be 12 official days of mourning
and then Queen will lie in state with the
public being allowed to pay respects before
she is buried.
However, there’s an interesting rule the
Queen has for her inevitable demise…she
wants the public mood somber, going so far
as to ban laughter to make that happen.
She has strictly forbidden humorous shows
being aired on public TV for the 12 official
days between her death and her funeral.
Instead the BBC and other public channels
must show pre recorded documentaries about
the Queen’s life which she has already picked
out.
Unlike us lame commoners, the Queen has two
birthdays.
Officially as the British head of State the
Queen's birthday is generally celebrated on
the second Saturday in June, though her actual
birthday is on April 21.
Over 250 years ago in 1748, King George II
started the double birthday tradition.
He was born in November, which tends to have
nasty weather.
King George wanted to have a big public celebration
and military parade so he chose a summery
June day as the official Monarch birthday.
The Queen spends her actual birthday with
family, although there are 3 special gun salutes
at midday to mark the occasion.
A 41-gun salute in Hyde Park, a 21-gun salute
in Windsor Great Park and a 62-gun salute
at the Tower of London.
For her 'official' birthday' in June, she
continues the tradition of a big parade in
London called Trooping the Colour.
There are several rules Queen Elizabeth doesn’t
have to follow.
She doesn’t need a passport since all UK
passports are issued in her name.
She doesn’t have to have a driver’s license
either for the same reason.
But these perks are reserved solely for her
majesty, the rest of the Royal Family has
to get passports if they wish to travel and
driver’s licenses to drive.
Aside from crown jewels and several palaces,
Queen Elizabeth owns a bunch of sea creatures.
A still valid statute from the reign of King
Edward II in 1324, states that the crown has
the right to claim ownership of dolphins,
whales and sturgeon when they wash ashore
or are captured within 3 miles (5 km) of U.K.
shores.
These sea creatures are recognized as ‘fishes
royal’.
Sturgeons are protected and quite rare.
The last time a fisherman caught one in 2004,
they faxed Buckingham palace for permission.
It was granted, but the fish was later confiscated
because they tried to sell it for a profit
instead of keeping it for themselves.
Speaking of seafood, the Royal Family has
many rules surrounding food and the etiquette
of dining.
They don’t eat shellfish, as it’s a food
group that tends to have a higher risk of
food poisoning and allergic reactions.
When you’re frequently in the public eye,
being struck with food poisoning or gastronomic
distress could lead to embarrassing moments.
For similar reasons the Royal Family also
avoids rare meat, tap water in foreign countries,
heavily spiced foods or anything they think
may sit badly with them.
Personally the Queen dislikes garlic, and
thus it’s not used in meals she hosts.
When invited to stay with a foreign leader,
Buckingham Palace sends send the host’s
staff a list of the royal likes and dislikes.
In 2000 when Queen Elizabeth stayed with the
Italian president, his staff received a 6
page document.
The list included no garlic of course, but
also nixed long pastas and "messy" tomato
sauces.
To us, this negates the fun of visiting Italy,
but what do we know?.
Also on the banned list were Carnations, other
flowers of the color mauve and having a duvet
on the bed the Queen would sleep in.
Aside from all of the usual polite social
dining manners you should display while eating
at a royal banquet, there’s one really important
rule.
The moment the Queen stops eating, you should
stop eating too.
Apparently, this rule goes back to the reign
of Queen Victoria, who was notorious for quickly
chowing down.
She allegedly could go through a seven course
meal in half an hour.
While Queen Elizabeth is a much more measured
eater, footmen have removed plates out from
under the nose of guests because her majesty
had finished and the meal was moving on to
the next course.
The queen is known for her fondness for her
corgis.
While unfortunately the royal corgi line died
out in 2018, the Queen still keeps a few other
dogs.
Apparently a rule is that the dogs cannot
be scolded or disciplined by palace staff.
They are allowed to roam freely throughout
the palace as they please.
Also her majesty’s dogs probably eat better
than you.
They are prepared individually designed gourmet
meals.
The palace kitchen receives a royal dog menu
each month, created by the dog’s caretaker,
listing out the daily meals for each dog.
These meals are often include chicken, lamb
or rabbit.
The royal chefs carefully dice the meat into
small chunks and make sure there’s no bone.
You wouldn’t want to be the careless chef
who causes one of her majesty’s pets to
choke!
The pampered pooches are served in order of
seniority on silver platters by footmen.
The Queen generally dresses monochromatic,
but insists on wearing bright colors such
as fuschia--that way she’s easier to see,
even from within a crowd.
A member of staff gently wears the Queen’s
new shoes around the palace, so that they
are broken in for her.
Of course, members of the royal family must
dress appropriately and modestly for every
occasion.
The public seems to be invested in royal protocol
for clothing as much as the queen is.
During her first post-honeymoon appearance
at Trooping the Color in 2018, Duchess Meghan
wore a dress which heaven forbid! displayed
her shoulders, it made some Twitter users
very angry.
The Queen also requires the wearing of pantyhose
and hates wedge shoes.
She dislikes any vibrant fingernail polish,
considering it ’vulgar’.
Queen Elizabeth has been wearing the same
inexpensive nail polish for 30 years since
1989.
A diaphanous light pink polish called ‘Ballet
Slippers’, by the brand Essie.
Kate and Meghan occasionally rebel and wear
bright polish and sometimes even wedges, but
only to events the Queen is not attending.
The Queen requires royal ladies to wear a
head covering.
Kate and Meghan sometimes skip this rule for
less formal, daytime events.
For head coverings, hats or scarves are suitable
until 6 pm, after that, for evening events
tiaras are worn by married women.
Unmarried young royal ladies do not wear anything
on their heads for nighttime events as an
indication that they are single and ready
to mingle.
The Queen always carries a purse which she
uses to secretly gesture her indications to
her staff.
If she shifts her purse from her left arm
to her right, it means she's ready to wrap
up the conversation and would like a staff
member to whisk her away.
Also Queen Elizabeth carries a hook attached
to a suction cup in her purse, so she can
hang her bag on the underside of dining tables.
During a dinner, if the queen places her handbag
on the table, she is telling staff that she
wants to leave in five minutes.
When she places her purse on the floor, she’s
communicating that she’s having a boring
conversation and would like to be rescued
by a lady-in-waiting.
Duchess Kate tends to carry clutches and also
uses them to subtly signal her intentions.
If she does not want to shake hands while
on a visit, she will hold her bag at the waist
with both hands.
Since the public is not allowed to touch a
royal family member unless they make the first
move, she’s politely occupied.
On a side note, the queen is also skilled
in the art of throwing shade using broaches.
During President Trump’s July 2018 visit
with the Queen she wore brooches signifying
her ties to the Obamas and Canada.
The Queen has instituted a rule that all members
of the Royal Family must pack a black outfit
whenever they travel, in case there is a sudden
death while they're away.
Upon returning to England they’ll be photographed
disembarking from the plane and must be dressed
in the appropriate mourning clothes.
For the males in the Royal Family, an interesting
custom prevails.
The royal great grandsons Prince George and
Prince Louis only wear shorts.
Dating back to the 16th century, from toddler
age until age 8 boys in the royal and aristocracy
classes have traditionally worn shorts.
Trousers are for older boys and men; a pair
of trousers on a young boy is considered ‘middle
class’.
The only time where Prince George has publically
worn trousers was when he participated in
Harry’s and Megan’s 2018 wedding.
It probably goes without saying, but of course
wedding dresses require the Queen’s approval.
While royal brides have some freedom in style
and shape, the Queen reportedly has final
say on the gown's design and aesthetic.
Forget about the traditional custom of a young
man asking a father for his daughter’s hand
in marriage.
Those in the Royal Family Marriage must ask
the Queen for permission to propose.
This was actually law--According to the Royal
Marriages Act of 1772, royal descendants had
to seek the monarch's consent before proposing.
The Queen has approved all the unions of her
children and her grandchildren-–from Prince
Andrew and Fergie to Harry and Meghan.
More recently the Royal Marriage Acts was
repealed and under the Succession to the Crown
Act 2013, only the first six people in line
for the throne must ask the monarch’s permission.
For royals, historically marriage has been
strategic, about joining wealth and power
rather than true love.
Basically the Royal Marriages Act gave the
sovereign the right to veto formalizing a
relationship that could erode the status of
the royal house.
The Succession to the Crown Act 2013 also
gave the right to a royal to marry a Roman
Catholic.
Since the English Reformation the Anglican
and Catholic churches have been at odds.
Per the 1701 Act of Settlement, royals were
forbidden from marrying a Roman Catholic.
Now royals may marry a partner of any faith,
assuming they receive permission if needed.
The Queen loves to play charades and fancies
herself a great actress.
She enjoys doing impressions of the celebrities
and world leaders that she’s met.
During her first Christmas with her inlaws
in 2018, Prince Harry alleged warned Meghan
not to upstage the Queen during charades.
While charades is considered great family
fun, peculiarly playing Monopoly is forbidden.
Once, Prince Andrew was presented with the
game of Monopoly at an event.
He apparently said, "We're not allowed to
play Monopoly at home.
It gets too vicious."
Which brings up a lot of questions--one we’re
curious to know is how the Queen responds
to Twister?
If you were a monarch, what royal etiquette
rule you would create?
Tell us in the comments!
And then watch “When Royal Inbreeding Went
Horribly Wrong!”
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See you next time!
