No, The Queen Doesn’t Really Drink A Glass Of Champagne Every Night And A Gin In The Morning

According to a popular rumor about Queen Elizabeth II, she likes to cap off her evening by drinking an entire glass of champagne. However, a former chef to the queen has stepped forward to set the record straight once and for all about Queen Elizabeth’s drinking habits.

The long-standing rumor is that the queen is partial to drinking a glass of champagne every day. It is also believed that she prefers the likes of Bollinger, Krug, Lanson, and Pol Roger for her nightly tipple. As well as her nightcap, there have been additional rumors that she also likes to partake in a gin cocktail, dry Martini, and a glass of wine daily. As the Express points out, that would equate to the queen drinking 28 units of alcohol a week, which is considered to be “double the recommended weekly allowance by the NHS.”

However, her former chef, Darren McGrady, has been eager to set the rumors straight. And, considering these rumors involve some quotes from himself, personally, then he is likely the best man to clear the matter up.

He told CNN that it simply wasn’t true that the queen drank so excessively and on a daily basis. Grady refers to the rumors about how much Queen Elizabeth II drinks as those “silly little pieces in the papers.”

“She’d be pickled if she drank that much,” he told CNN.

“All I said was she likes a gin and Dubonnet. That’s her favorite drink.”

He also claims that the mix-up might have resulted because of his accent and the fact that the quote was made over a possibly imperfect phone connection. Thus, the connection could have been made that the queen likes to have a gin in the morning, not a gin and Dubonnet.

“She doesn’t wake up in the morning and have a large gin and tonic,” he clarified.

However, even after speaking out about the queen’s drinking habits more than a year ago to CNN, the rumors are still persisting in some circles.

The queen does enjoy a drink, though. Usually, if she is to have a drink, it will be a glass of wine with dinner occasionally — not nightly. And her wine of choice? A favorite German sweet wine, according to Darren McGrady.

He also reiterates that she likes to drink “just in the evening” and that she “she certainly doesn’t drink four glasses a day” as some rumors have stated over the years.

So, if the queen doesn’t start the day with a gin, what does she have?

According to the Express, the queen’s usual morning choices include Earl Grey tea, without milk and sugar, and biscuits. She then normally moves on to cereal and fruit. Special K, Kellogg’s, Quaker Oats, and Weetabix are all cereals that she likes to eat in the morning. In addition, she might decide to have toast and marmalade instead. Or, on occasion, scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and truffle.