Queen Elizabeth II drank a martini before entertaining guests in flight and ordered a specific brand of peppermint before takeoff, according to recently released notes from a flight attendant who was tasked with serving the late monarch 35 years ago.
The never-before-seen notes, instructions and memorabilia of a British Airways stewardess provide detailed insights into the Queen’s preferences, special requests and idiosyncrasies during a flight through Singapore and Malaysia in 1989.
The flight attendant from Moseley, Birmingham – Elizabeth Evans – carried detailed notes and instructions from flights with the Queen and Prince Philip and even received a certificate in recognition of her work, according to Hansons Auctioneers, which is auctioning her collection.
“Queen Elizabeth likes to drink a martini before her guests arrive,” says a note from Evans, who worked as a flight attendant for British Airways for 28 years from 1970.
According to the deceased flight attendant, she also asked for a bowl of Velaminets to have on hand before departure and in her dressing room.
The monarch slept on her own pillows from home and her dresser made her bed, according to notes reviewed by Hansons.
Finally, no one should wake the Queen if she is sleeping when the plane lands, Hansons explained.
“If Her Majesty was asleep prior to landing, the cabin crew were instructed not to disturb her. She was to remain in her bed,” the auction house said.
Evans, who died in 2017 at the age of 70, also carried several celebrities during her time at British Airways on board Concorde, the world’s first commercial supersonic airliner.
She collected menus and autographs from some of Hollywood’s biggest names, including Rod Stewart, Cliff Richard, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Patrick Swayze and tennis champions Billie Jean King and Virginia Wade.
“Their proudest achievement is theirs: they were a member of the Concorde crew in the 1980s and ’90s, when everyone who was anyone wanted to fly at twice the speed of sound,” Hansons wrote in a press release about the collection.
“The performance of the Concorde was so great that it could fly from London to New York in about three hours.”
The collection of memorabilia from Evans’ long career was discovered by her niece, who flew to her home in South Africa to arrange the funeral.
“Having found this treasure relating to my aunt’s career and her experiences at BA, particularly the fantastic journeys on Concorde and her service to the Queen, I found it sad that none of it had seen the light of day,” said Jo Smallwood.
“I believe this collection is a little piece of history that someone should share and enjoy.”
The collection is to be auctioned from Thursday to Tuesday. Its estimated value is between 400 and 600 British pounds, or about 500 to 760 US dollars.
“Elizabeth has amassed many memorabilia during what must have been a very fulfilling career,” said Hanson’s owner Charles Hanson.
“Their memorabilia captures the life and times of Concorde in its heyday and shows how much attention to detail went into luxury travel with British Airways. No VIP wish was too small to be fulfilled. Even smoking was allowed on board at that time.”
