Supplied©In a treasure trove of notes listing Queen Elizabeth’s personal flight requests, it was discovered that the late monarch would settle her pre-flight jitters with mints and prepare to entertain guests with a Martini first. She also enjoyed tracking their journey by following along with the route maps.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were served by a particularly studious flight attendant during their 1989 tour of Singapore and Malaysia who got an inside look at their personal travel needs.
Elizabeth Evans, from Birmingham, worked for British Airways for 28 years, starting in 1970, and she kept a lot of souvenirs from her many trips alongside some very famous faces.
Following her death, Evans’s niece, Jo Smallwood, inherited the memorabilia which contains previously confidential instructions on how to look after the royal couple.
Image: Hansons Auctioneers.
Queen Elizabeth’s secret flight requests
It was discovered in Evans’s notes that Queen Elizabeth liked a bowl of sugar-free Velamints for take-off. If she was found sleeping in her bed before the plane landed, she was to be left alone to rest.
The Queen also preferred to use her own pillows and her personal dresser would advise flight staff on how to make her bed.
Flight crewmembers were also told not to pass through the Royal Cabin without permission and to ‘restrict all noise’ in the forward galley.
The instructions also stated that the Queen, ‘tends to like a Martini before her guests arrive’.
If flight guests were joining her for dinner, they would be given an exact time to meet for cocktails served in the royal compartment.
The Queen would then be asked which wine she would like with her dinner and the staff were reminded that she must be served first.
A section titled ‘Tips for Royal Compartment’ noted: ‘Route map – Her Majesty enjoys looking at these’.
Image: Hansons Auctioneers.
The memorabilia has been listed for auction and contains more than just royal instructions
Flight attendant, Elizabeth Evans, served many famous travellers during her long career.
The memorabilia that was uncovered includes content from celebrities as well as royalty. She collected many keepsakes from her time working on the Concorde – the world’s first commercial supersonic airliner – which was often frequented by many famous faces of the time.
There are signed menu cards and autographs from some of the world’s biggest stars, such as Rod Stewart, Cliff Richard, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Patrick Swayze and tennis champions Virginia Wade and Billie Jean King.
The collection is expected to sell for between £400-£600 when it goes on auction at Hansons Auctioneers on Aug 20.
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Hannah McLaren I've worked at DC Thomson for six years! I began as an intern at My Weekly and The Scots Magazine, which was extended by a few months to help out at The People's Friend. I then covered maternity as Celebrity Editor for My Weekly, before I became Multimedia Journalist at The Scots Magazine. Currently I'm writing digital content across each title.
