Queen’s heartache after third royal tragedy in a month
The Queen is facing yet more loss amid a harrowing time for the grieving monarch.
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The Queen is facing yet more heartbreak after the death of a third close friend in the space of a month.
It has been confirmed that Ivor Herbert, a racing journalist and trainer, as well as a long-time friend of Her Majesty, has passed away aged 96.
The ex-Coldstream Guards officer was a regular visitor to the Queen’s Balmoral estate in Scotland, according to Britsih media reports.
News of Mr Herbert’s death comes just week after the Queen lost two of her closet companions in a double royal tragedy.
Lady Farnham, 90, the Queen’s devoted lady-in-waiting, died four days after Christmas.
Adding to the Queen's heartache, another close friend, the Duchess of Grafton Ann Fortune FitzRoy, died at the start of December.
Lady Farnham was a close confidante of the Queen and had supported her since 1987 in her role as Lady of the Bedchamber.
According to The Sun, she rode alongside Her Majesty on the way to the Diamond Jubilee service in 2012 when Prince Philip was too ill to attend.
Lady Farnham also accompanied the couple on royal tours during her 44 years of service for the Queen.
QUEEN’S PLATINUM JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS
The Queen is to mark her Platinum Jubilee with a special nationwide pudding contest.In a very British Bake Off, the competition to find a pudding fit for Her Majesty was launched on Monday by up-market department store Fortnum and Mason.
Entries will be judged by an expert panel including TV baking queen Mary Berry, 86, and top chef Monica Galetti, 46.
According to The Sun the winning entry can be a steamed pudding, cake or any dessert considered to be innovative, tasty — and classy enough for royal palates.
It will also have to be simple enough to be recreated in kitchens around the country, as millions celebrate the jubilee in June.
“It’s a brilliant idea,” says 2011 Great British Bake Off winner Jo Wheatley, 52.
“Hopefully it will bring a sense of unity and give the country something wonderful to look forward to.
“Plus, baking gives us a real feel-good factor, which is why the Great British Bake Off is so popular.”
Former royal chef Darren McGrady, 59, who cooked for the Queen for 11 years, is also keen to see what the great British public will create for the competition.
He says: “Food brings us all together and it’s about time we had some sort of food dedicated to the Queen because of the incredible job she’s done for our country for 70 years.
“It’s an amazing idea for someone to come up with a dish or recipe.
“I’m really excited to see what it looks like.”
Chef McGrady also revealed to The Sun the Queen’s favourite ‘fast food’.
O’Grady worked in the royal kitchen for 15 years preparing meals for the Queen, Prince Harry, Prince William and Princess Diana during his time at Buckingham Palace.
He revealed that the Queen avoids fast food as a rule but there was one thing that she really enjoyed.
The Queen has a taste for hamburgers, only she orders hers without the bun and has her kitchen team prepare her a meat patty from scratch.
O’Grady said: “It always tickled me at Balmoral, we would make our own burgers. They would shoot deer, and we would do venison burgers.
“There’d be gorgeous cranberry … stuffed into them, but we never set buns out.”
And the Queen’s least favourite convenience food? Pizza. She never has it in the palace.
It comes as Brits are bracing for a huge four-day Bank Holiday weekend as the Queen marks her Platinum Jubilee.
The four-day bonanza, which falls on the first weekend of June, is set to be bursting with treats from Her Majesty, 95, as she celebrates 70 years on the throne.
A huge national pudding competition, or bake-off, will make up some of the celebrations, while thousands of jubilee lunches will be held to honour Britain’s longest ever reigning monarch.
The May Bank Holiday Weekend – which usually falls at the end of the month – will be moved to Thursday 2 June 2 to fit in with the other festivities.
And the weekend will be extended with an extra day off on Friday, 3 June.
Buckingham Palace said the extra long weekend will provide “an opportunity for communities throughout the United Kingdom to come together and celebrate the historic milestone”.
It added in a statement: “The four days of celebrations will include public events and community activities, as well as national moments of reflection on The Queen’s 70 years of service.
“In addition, initiatives including The Queen’s Green Canopy and the Platinum Pudding competition will create a lasting reminder of The Queen’s Jubilee, while The Queen’s private estates will also join in with special Jubilee themed events offering more opportunities for members of the public to celebrate the historic milestone.”
The Platinum Pudding Competition will see Brits battle it out to create a pudding fit for a queen, with everyone aged eight and over allowed to apply.
Five finalists will then prepare their pudding for an expert judging panel including Dame Mary Berry, Monica Galetti and Buckingham Palace Head Chef Mark Flanagan.
The winning recipe will be made available to the public – and the pudding will be enjoyed at Big Jubilee Lunches and “by generations to come”.
Her Majesty’s Green Canopy, meanwhile, will see thousands of trees planted in the Queen’s honour, including “celebration trees”, “new majestic avenues of trees”, “urban planting”, and “expansive new forests that will benefit future generations”.
Here’s what you can expect over the platinum Bank Holiday Weekend.
THURSDAY 2 JUNE
The long weekend will start with a bang as the Queen’s Birthday Parade (Trooping the Colour) is held.
The colour will be trooped by the 1st Battalion, Irish Guards, and more than 1,200 officers and soldiers from the Household Division will put on a display of military pageantry on Horse Guards Parade, together with hundreds of Army musicians and horses.
On the same day, over 1500 towns, villages and cities throughout the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and UK Overseas Territories will come together to light a beacon to mark the Jubilee.
Beacons will also be lit in each of the capital cities of Commonwealth countries, with the Principal beacon will be lit in a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
FRIDAY 3 JUNE
On the Friday, a Service of Thanksgiving for The Queen’s reign will be held at St Paul’s Cathedral.
Further details of the are expected to be announced in due course.
SATURDAY 4 JUNE
On the Saturday, the BBC will host a huge ‘Platinum Party at the Palace’ – a live concert bringing together some of the world’s biggest entertainment stars to celebrate some of the most significant moments from The Queen’s reign.
All UK residents can enter a ballot to secure tickets, set to launch in February.
SUNDAY 5 JUNE
A Big Jubilee Lunch will then be held up and down the country on June 5, with over 1,400 people having registered to host their own big lunch so far.
Other celebrations include the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, where performers, dancers, musicians, military personnel, key workers and volunteers will unite to tell the story of The Queen’s 70 year reign in a festival of creativity.
— With The Sun.
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