Queen Elizabeth II’s royal rider when flying commercial included a martini before dinner and bowls of the same sugar-free mints preferred by Ronald Reagan.
The late queen’s in-flight preferences have been revealed after being discovered in the meticulously maintained archive of Elizabeth Evans, a recently deceased flight attendant who attended Her Majesty and Prince Philip during their 1989 tour of Singapore and Malaysia.
The memorabilia is now being offered for auction by Hansons Auctioneers, with the sale due to take place on Aug. 20.
ADVERTISEMENT
The sale includes a printed note for staff advising them to keep noise to a minimum, to let the queen continue sleeping even if the plane was coming in to land, and that the queen also liked following the route map while traveling.
The archive also reveals that the queen liked to use her own pillows—and that her personal dresser advised on how to make up her bed.
On-board guests joining the queen for an in-flight dinner would be served cocktails, with the notes adding, “Her Majesty tends to like a Martini before her guests arrive.”
Charles Hanson, owner of the auction house, told The Daily Telegraph: “Elizabeth must have been extremely highly regarded by BA because she served some of the most important people in the world.
“Take that 1989 British Airways royal flight.
“Her memorabilia includes confidential instructions on how to care for our late Queen and Prince Philip—right down to the sweets Her Majesty preferred on take-off.”
Velamints were famously Ronald Reagan’s favorite candy and were sometimes called “the official Air Force One mint.”
The collection of memorabilia also includes menu cards and other items signed by the likes of Rod Stewart, Cliff Richard, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Warren Beatty, Virginia Wade, Billie Jean King, and Patrick Swayze.
Hanson added: “The memorabilia captures the life and times of Concorde at its height and the detail that went into luxury travel with British Airways.
“No VIP wish was too small to be accommodated. Even smoking was permitted on board back then.”
