What a carry on! Helen’s lift to Catherine the Great premiere
DAME Helen Mirren arrived in spectacular fashion for the premiere of her TV series Catherine the Great last night. But the 74-year-old did not step on to the red carpet at the Curzon Cinema in Mayfair. Wearing a square-necked navy blouse and diamond and topaz choker and earrings, she waved to fans from a sedan chair carried by “Cossacks”. Dame Helen returned to her Russian roots for her role in Sky Atlantic’s four-parter about the 18th-century Empress of Russia – released on October 3. She was born Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironov. Her father, from Smolensk, moved to London where he met her mother and changed the family name to Mirren. Of her Russian heritage she said: “It means being an outsider, an immigrant. My mother was from the East End and my father was this emigre Russian landowner.” Dame Helen has portrayed several British monarchs, winning an Oscar as the Queen. LIKE most of her subjects, the Queen enjoys nothing better than tucking into her dinner off a tray in front of the TV.
And before she sits down to her evening meal, the Queen enjoys her favourite tipple of gin and dubonnet at 7pm.
Revelations about the 93-yearold’s evening ritual emerged during filming of Secrets Of The Royal Kitchen, a behind the scenes look at life at Windsor.
At state banquets chefs prepare a minimum of four courses and the Queen will dine alongside hundreds of guests.
But that is a far cry from the simpler food she enjoys most evenings as she and Prince Phillip relax in front of their favourite shows.
Despite having her pick of lavish dining rooms whether staying at Sandringham,Windsor, Balmoral or Buckingham Palace, the Queen instead chooses to eat her evening meal in the comfort of her living room, with her meal balanced on a tray across her knee.
Royal biographer Lady Colin Campbell said: “She has her dinner off a tray looking at the television.
“She likes it. It’s homely and cosy and it’s comfortable.”
Many of the Queen’s favourite shows are no longer on air and she watches them on a huge DVD collection.
They include The Bill, Keeping Up Appearances, Midsomer Murders, New Tricks, Last Of The Summer Wine and DoctorWho.
The Royal Family spends about £1.6million on food each year, which includes everything from formal dinners and garden parties to their cups of tea and breakfast cereals.
The documentary series, which began on Channel 5 last night, has gained access to the people who prepare and cook the royal platter.
Capturing the precise preparations needed to cater for a royal banquet and for feeding Britain’s first family on a daily basis, staff who worked in the royal kitchens reveal what really goes on behind the scenes.
While Her Majesty may not cook her own meals, she does keep a careful eye on what’s being served up in the royal household.
Former royal chef Darren McCrady said: “All food is overseen by the Queen.
“The chef prepares three days of menus, which will give us enough time to get all the produce, and these are given to Her Majesty.”
The Queen then makes notes on the menu, crossing out dishes she does not want to eat and adding her own suggestions.
One thing she is very particular about is seasonal fruit and vegetables.
Darren joked: “If you served the Queen strawberries in January, you would be sent to the Tower.”
The programme also reveals the lengths to which kitchen staff go to ensure no one is able to poison the Queen at state banquets, with the chef preparing all the dishes before one plate is chosen at random to serve to her.