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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
World
Rebecca Russell & Lottie Gibbons

Builder unknowingly told Queen he wanted a 'proper cup of tea' and 'not the nonsense he had last time'

A builder unknowingly told the Queen he wanted a 'proper cup of tea' and 'none of that nonsense' he had last time.

Ahead of the Platinum Jubilee, Royal Upholsterer Kevin Andrews, who worked for the late Queen Mother, recalled the time a builder instructed Her Majesty to make him a cup of 'builder's tea in a mug with two sugars'.

He said: “[A] builder was dismantling a desk [...] so he could not see who was making the offer when the lady's voice asked him if he would like a cup of tea."

READ MORE: Aintree joke has Princess Anne raising her eyebrows during Jubilee service

According to MyLondon, the builder had no idea it was the Queen that was offering him a cup of tea. Mr Andrews said the builder replied: "Yeah. In a mug. Two sugars. Builders' tea. I don't want any of that nonsense I had the last time I was here, all that fine china and all that saucer stuff."

Mr Andrews recalled that the Queen came back with the tea and told the builder that it was on the table before saying when he “looked up [he] saw the Queen leaving the room".

The monarch's former butler Grant Harrold has recalled several times about his time working for the Royal Family. He often addresses British etiquette and shares an insight into the Queen's personal habits - including exactly how she takes her tea.

Speaking about the Queen's preferred brands, Mr Harrold revealed: "I am sure the Queen enjoys her Assam or her Earl Grey the traditional way, made with tea leaves in a teapot and poured into a fine bone china teacup. She will also use a strainer. It is also a myth that members of Royalty use their pinky when drinking, I have never seen that happen once."

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