The mundane household chore that Queen Elizabeth II loved to do

Despite their privileged lifestyles, even members of the Royal Family are not afraid to muck in and get their hands dirty performing domestic duties. 

Although the royals have an army of staff at their disposal – including chefs, housekeepers and dressers in the palaces – when they are ‘off-duty’ and away at their private residences the family look after themselves.

For example, King Charles III is known to enjoy a spot of gardening.

Now, a royal insider has revealed the mundane household chore that the late Queen reportedly loved to perform. 

According to writer and broadcaster Gyles Brandreth, Queen Elizabeth II loved nothing more than donning a pair of yellow marigolds and washing the dirty dishes. 

In his biography ‘Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait’, Gyles revealed the humorous story of the time David Cameron tried to help the Queen with her favourite task during a stay at Balmoral.

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.’ 

In another instance, a former royal courtier told author Harry Mount about the time Elizabeth helped tidy up after a shooting lunch. 

The source said: ‘I was once at a shooting lunch. At the end of lunch, I heard someone say, “I’ll do the washing-up”. 

‘I turned around and there was the Queen in her yellow washing-up gloves.’

According to former royal butler Paul Burrell, Elizabeth II started washing up once in front of then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher after a picnic.

As a staunch monarchist, Thatcher was adamant that the monarch should not be cleaning kitchenware. But Paul claims a compromise was found when Elizabeth told Thatcher: “Well I’ll wash, will you dry?”‘

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”.’

For the younger members of the family, giving their children a more ordinary  upbringing has been seen as a priority.

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

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

‘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.’

The royal couple decided three years ago that Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo, the family’s former live-in nanny, would not relocate with them when they moved to Windsor from Kensington Palace.

Evenings in their four-bedroom country bolthole Adelaide Cottage involve just themselves, taking turns to do the cooking.

The source said: ‘Catherine is very, very natural. She keeps the family down to earth.

‘Home is a safe haven. In a bid to keep things functioning as smoothly as possible she has been keen for everything to carry on as normal for the children.’ The source added: ‘The children are still expected do their chores and to muck in at home.’ 

The princess’s own upbringing is reflected in how she raises her brood – and is a far cry from husband William, whose mealtimes as a child were often spent with nannies.

Kate and Wills have a repertoire of dishes they enjoy cooking – from curries to teriyaki salmon – and when some help is required Kate can turn to her mother Carole for assistance.

The source added: ‘She has a lovely supportive family to turn to, which helps. But she wants to show her children the importance of being grounded and in touch with people.’

Other members of the family who married into royalty are also more accustom to tedious household chores.

For example, Sarah Ferguson before her marriage to Prince Andrew in 1986 worked as a chalet girl at a Swiss ski resort. 

According to Hello!, the Duchess of York was responsible for ‘general housekeeping, tidying and cleaning the chalet, and the role set in motion a lifelong love of the location’. 

Similarly, the Duchess of Edinburgh also worked as a representative at a Swiss ski resort before she married Prince Edward.