Royal Family Members Set to Mark What Would Have Been Queen Elizabeth’s 98th Birthday in Emotional Way
Queen Elizabeth II‘s reign as Britain’s monarch came to an end following her death on Sept. 8, 2022, at the age of 96. But the woman who was sovereign for seven decades won’t ever be forgotten by much of the public or her family. That’s why, even though she’s no longer here, it’s believed that the royals will mark what would have been her 98th birthday on April 21.
Find out what someone who used to work in the royal household says they’ll likely do on that day.
How former Palace employee believes family will mark the late queen’s birthday
Grant Harrold was King Charles’ butler from 2004 to 2011. During his time working for the then-Prince of Wales and his wife (formerly Camilla Parker Bowles) Harrold’s duties included that of butler, valet, housekeeper, house manager, and driver. He thinks the royals will mark the late monarch’s birthday by “reflecting privately.”
Speaking on behalf of Slingo, Harrold said: “They won’t publicly do anything. Privately, I have no doubt they’ll raise a toast to her in the evening. I’m sure the day will very much be spent reflecting on the late queen.”
He added that it’s almost certain flowers will be sent to her tomb that day.
“I can almost guarantee that if you were to go to Windsor Castle that day, it’s very likely there’ll be some flowers on the tomb that have been sent by the family members,” Harrold insisted. “There will also be well wishers there on the day as well, who may want to put flowers on the grave or around the area.”
Former butler says Queen Elizabeth was ‘always so polite’ to her staff
Harrold also recalled what Queen Elizabeth was like when he worked for the Palace.
He relayed a story about her great sense humor sharing: “In Scotland one night I went in to announce dinner. I went to see her and I walked up, nodded my head and said, ‘Dinner is ready’ and there were other guests there. She walked out of the room and she kind of looked back towards the room and nobody else had followed her. Of course, royal protocol kind of states they should follow or at least already be in the dining room and they were all still in the other room chatting.
“So she ran down the corridor and I remember looking thinking ‘The queen is running, what do I do?’ so I started running, well not running because I thought it would be rude to run as a butler so I kind of did a trot into the room and when we got in there she looked around and she smiled and I heard the rest of the guests running down the corridor to come in. She looked at me then she gave me a wink as if to say, ‘How about that’. I was like, ‘Oh my god, you are so cool’ and I loved that. Everyone knew that’s what she was like, which I then discovered.
The royal butler also remembered how nice the queen was to all the household staffers saying: “When they say she lit up a room, you went into the room and you knew she was in the room. You walked in and you could spot her and she was always so polite, so polite, always smiling and making a joke or comment … I used to get excited if I was on duty and she was there.”
