THE Queen was all smiles as she opened cards from jubilee well-wishers – joined by her pet dorgi for the occasion.
Her Majesty patted Candy in the Oak room at Windsor Castle where a display of memorabilia from the golden and platinum jubilees was laid out to mark her 70th year on the throne this weekend.
Candy is a dorgi – a cross between a corgi and a dachshund – and she made a lap of the room, inspecting a small group of media representatives capturing the viewing.
The Queen, who has been on “light duties” for three months following a health scare, said: “And where did you come from? I know what you want,” likely to be a reference to a treat, and called Candy over and gave her a stroke.
The monarch, who has owned more than 30 corgis during her reign, currently has three dogs, including elderly Candy, a corgi called Muick, and another corgi puppy which replaced Fergus the dorgi puppy, who died unexpectedly in May last year.
Candy was present when the Queen held a face-to-face audience with the outgoing armed forces chief General Sir Nick Carter in November, walking forward to greet the senior figure.
One card celebrating the 2002 Golden Jubilee caught the Queen’s eye – it was made from eight bottle tops including milk, Coca-Cola and Schweppes bottles, and had the handwritten words “Ma’am You’re The Tops”.
“That’s good, simple but ingenious,” said the Queen to Dr Stella Panayotova, librarian and assistant keeper of the royal archives, who joined her for the viewing two weeks ago.
At one stage the smiling Queen said: “This is quite fun”.
Resplendent in turquoise, she wore two brooches in a tribute to her father King George VI – who died 70 years ago catapulting the then-25-year-old Princess Elizabeth to the throne.
The two art deco-style pieces were made by Boucheron from baguette, oval and round diamonds and aquamarines.
She also chose to wear the precious brooches when she addressed the nation on the 75th anniversary of VE Day in 2020 and for her Diamond Jubilee televised speech in 2012.
The monarch has since travelled to her Sandringham estate where she traditionally spends the anniversary of her accession to the throne on February 6.
She will be marking her ‘Accession Day’ on Sunday at Sandringham “privately”, royal insiders said.
The display included a Golden Jubilee letter from a nine-year-old boy called Chris, titled “A Recipe For A Perfect Queen”.
Its list of ingredients – which included “500ml of royal blood”, a “dab of jewels and posh gowns” and “a dash of loyalty” – made the Queen laugh and she said: “That’s quite fun, isn’t it.”
Platinum Jubilee cards were also on display and the Queen praised the design of one featuring a picture of her as a young woman surrounded by flowers with the words “70 Glorious Years”.
Recipes and pictures of entries to the Platinum Pudding competition were on display, showing the results of cooks who have risen to the challenge of creating a memorable dessert fit for the Queen and the nation.
Looks like they’re all going to end with crowns on them.
The Queen
Another royal aide told the Queen: “We’ve had a number of Platinum Pudding competition entries that have been coming in in recent weeks. People have been very creative.”
The monarch browsed through the images of the entries and later said: “Looks like they’re all going to end with crowns on them.”
She also studied a fan presented to Queen Victoria to mark her Golden Jubilee in 1887 by the then Prince and Princess of Wales, later Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.
In the years after Victoria’s jubilee it was signed by members of her family including her eldest child, the Princess Royal, known as Vicky to her relatives, and granddaughter Princess Alix, later the Tsarina of Russia, and the then prime minister the Marquess of Salisbury.
The Queen opened the fan and remarked how easily it could have been damaged when being signed, adding: “Extraordinary isn’t it, and it still shuts.”
Commenting on the signatures she said: “Well that’s very interesting to see, quite a gathering.”
It is the first time palace aides have released images of the Queen since her Christmas Day address.
The Queen receives over 100,000 pieces of correspondence in a Jubilee year.
Britain will mark the Queen’s 70-years on the throne with a four-day Bank Holiday in June.
The Sun revealed in October that she had spent a surprise night in hospital after pulling out of a trip to Northern Ireland.
She was forced to cancel four major engagements and pulled out of Remembrance Sunday with a back sprain.
Her last engagement was on December 15th when she met the Sultan of Oman at Windsor Castle and held a privy council meeting.
But has been seen being driven around her Sandringham estate after flying back for her break and to spend Accession Day at the place where her father died.
The Queen, who lost husband Prince Philip in April, has been on light duties since last year’s health scare, which came after a punishing 19 engagements in as many days in October.
She cancelled Christmas in Sandringham due to Covid-19 fears and is now expected to remain in Norfolk until the end of the month.
The Queen was 25-years-old when her father King George VI died aged 56 in February 1952.
She was on holiday with Prince Philip in Kenya when the news broke and her coronation at Westminster Abbey was the following year.
