Mixed verdict on new Irn Bru recipe
THE ROYAL Family kept gemstones from the crown jewels safe during the Blitz by storing them in a biscuit tin, it is revealed this weekend.
The tin was then buried in a deep hole beneath a sally port – an emergency exit from Windsor Castle for use in times of war.
The gems in the tin included the Black Prince’s Ruby from the Imperial State Crown, a BBC documentary reveals.
The Queen, who spent the war years at Windsor for safety, had known of the general story but was unaware of the details until they were revealed to her told by the programme’s presenter, Royal commentator Alastair Bruce. He said: “What was so lovely was that the Queen had no knowledge of it. Telling her seemed strangely odd.”
The full story emerged in a set of letters to Queen Mary, mother of George VI. They describe how a hole was dug in chalk earth, which had to be covered to hide it from enemy bombers, and two chambers with steel doors created. A trap door used to access the secret area where the tin box was kept still exists today.
The Queen recalls her 1953 coronation in tomorrow’s programme, and speaks of the difficulty of wearing the 2lb 13oz Imperial State Crown at the opening of parliament.
“You can’t look down to read the speech, you have to take the speech up. Because if you did your neck would break, it would fall off,” she says. “So there are some disadvantages to crowns, but otherwise they’re quite important things.”
The Imperial State Crown was made for George VI’s coronation in 1937 and is set with 2,868 diamonds including 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds and hundreds of pearls, including four known as Queen Elizabeth I’s earrings.
The Black Prince’s Ruby, one of its central features, is believed to have been worn by Henry V in his helmet at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.
The Queen acceded to the throne in February 1952. Despite the climate of post-war austerity, a glittering coronation was staged the following June, and the documentary features footage of the Queen processing through Westminster Abbey.
She recalls: “I remember one moment when I was going against the pile of the carpet and I couldn’t move at all. They hadn’t thought of that.” IRN BRU fans have described the new reduced-sugar version as both “horrible” and “not bad” as they sampled the drink for the first time.
Scotland’s so-called other national drink is being produced with less than 50 per cent of its regular sugar content from this month. The new recipe has cut the sugar content per can from 8.5 teaspoons to four, reducing calorie content from just under 140 to about 65 calories.
Irn Bru maker AG Barr has been grappling with a shift in consumer tastes towards lowsugar drinks and have been preparing for the implementation of a sugar tax in 2018.
The Government levy, due to be introduced in April, is aimed at tackling soaring obesity rates.
Fans are reportedly stockpiling the drink to prepare for the change and a petition has been launched to save the traditional recipe.