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Princess Diana\u2019s butler is spilling the tea on the royal family\u2019s favourite drink and just how often it was consumed.<\/p>\n
Paul Burrell, who served as a footman for Queen Elizabeth II for 11 years before leaving the role to become Princess Diana\u2019s butler from 1987 to 1997, has long dished on his time working within the royal residences.<\/p>\n
In his new book, The Royal insider: My Life with the Queen, the King and Princess Diana<\/em>, Burrell revealed that gallons of gin were consumed each week at Buckingham Palace \u2014 \u201csome legitimately, some not\u201d \u2014 which was just a drop in the naughty bucket.<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t just bed-hopping that went on in the palaces; there was a degree of inebriation which often helped loosen people\u2019s inhibitions,\u201d Burrell wrote, per the Telegraph<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cForget Buckingham Palace, it was nicknamed \u2018Gin Palace\u2019 after the spirit that flowed freely through the everyday workings of the building.\u201d<\/p>\n Burrell noted that Gordon\u2019s gin was the \u201cdrink of choice.\u201d<\/p>\n The butler wrote that the drinking culture within the palaces was wildly different from his own exposure to alcohol and teased how other hired help would sneak booze into the building.<\/p>\n \u201cComing from a world where a pint of Mansfield Bitter pulled by my auntie Pearl in the local was the norm with a cherry brandy or a snowball at Christmas,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t used to such extravagance, but I quickly became quite familiar with the ingenious ways in which the household smuggled booze for their soirees.<\/p>\n \u201cI would be ordered by senior members of staff to empty a screw-topped tonic water bottle each night and fill it with gin for them to use for parties in their rooms. These parties were for a select group of staff.<\/p>\n \u201cFootmen could be seen carrying Russell Hobbs electric kettles around the palace, not full of water but full of gin.\u201d<\/p>\n Burrell added: \u201cThere was a hierarchy downstairs as well as upstairs. Certain cliques of servants, depending on your rank and length of service, were invited to the soirees.\u201d<\/p>\n It was no secret that Queen Elizabeth II could handle her liquor, particularly her favourite cocktail<\/a> \u2014 a gin and Dubonnet.<\/p>\nRECOMMENDED VIDEO<\/h3>\n