‘I stand in for the Queen’
We meet the remarkable lady who, as the official stand-in for the Queen, has helped rehearse royal events from the Jubilee celebrations to VE Day
In her brightly coloured turquoise two-piece and matching hat Ella Slack looks confidently regal. But this 75-year-old former BBC manager from the Isle of Man has closer royal connections that you might guess. For more than three decades, Ella has been taking the place of Her Majesty at the rehearsals of royal events. By helping with the meticulous planning of her movements, she ensures that all runs smoothly for the Queen at the actual event. Although she likes to dress smartly, Ella is not a Queen look-alike, but her height (just under 5ft) and stature are similar to the Queen’s. These have proved to be an invaluable asset to event organisers and TV producers when working out timings, routes and likely pace for Her Majesty on major royal occasions. Ella first assumed her royal responsibilities in 1989 when working for the BBC. “I was the manager for BBC sports and events and when planning the Remembrance Day coverage it was decided that we needed to realign the cameras because in the past the Queen had stood for the two minutes’ silence in front of the Cenotaph with the sun in her eyes and they wanted to avoid that happening again,” says Ella. “At the time, all the stage managers at the BBC were tall men so they asked me if I’d mind coming along to stand where the Queen would be standing so that they could work out the new camera angles.” Thanks to Ella stepping in, the Remembrance Day coverage was a success so from then on she became the go-to person when a stand-in Queen was needed for rehearsals. Over the following years, she assisted with countless events including the Diamond Jubilee pageant on the Thames and several State Openings of Parliament. One of her favourite occasions was practising the 50th anniversary of VJ Day celebrations when she had the opportunity to ride in the Queen’s carriage. “I also had to walk across Horse Guards’ Parade with
two Gurkhas in front of me and then ride in the Queen’s car up the Mall. It was rather special,” says Ella. Being a rehearsal Queen doesn’t come without its share of danger. “There was one near disaster when I was practising lighting the beacon for the Diamond Jubilee. The wind blew at the wrong moment and suddenly the carpet caught fire. After that, they made a lot of changes to make sure it didn’t happen again when the Queen lit it.” When she isn’t averting what would have been a national disaster, Ella’s job mostly consists of helping with the logistics of getting the Queen from one place to another, swiftly and smoothly. This can take countless attempts so the rehearsals can last for hours. “Timing is the big thing that events’ organisers and producers need to know. While we never know exactly how long the Queen might take to stop and chat to the public, I try to walk at her pace, which somebody much taller wouldn’t be able to do.” Ella’s height is also a great help in working out the right height for microphone stands and lecterns as for the 1989 Christmas Day broadcast from the Royal Albert Hall, for example. With such a special job, it’s no wonder she has had access to some incredibly special places – ones that are usually only available to members of the royal family, such as the inside of Windsor Castle and a number of royal vehicles. However, Ella says it isn’t all glamour. “When you’re being the rehearsal Queen everyone is paying attention to you, but the minute you stop, you’re nobody. I remember when we practised the millennium beacon celebrations we rehearsed how the Queen would sail up to the Millennium Dome, which she would officially open, but once we got there they wouldn’t let me get off the boat as I didn’t have a pass. “I said I was the rehearsal Queen but they still weren’t having it. So we ended up docking somewhere else and I had to climb this huge ladder to get out,” she laughs. There have also been occasions where I’ve got off boats where the Queen would normally be picked up by a chauffeured limousine and I’ve found myself wandering the streets trying to hail a taxi.” While the Queen has an army of dress designers at her disposal, Ella bought most of her outfits herself for the rehearsals, including an imitation necklace from Woolworths! Although she has never been paid for her work, she does it for the pure privilege of helping the Queen. Nowadays, Ella, who has been retired from the BBC for 20 years, has wound down the number of royal engagements she undertakes. Generally, she does only one a year for the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall in November. But she insists she will never give the job up altogether. “I will do it for as long as the Queen does it as I admire her hugely and think she is a wonderful lady. “Doing these rehearsals has certainly given me an interesting perspective on what her life is like.”
‘When you’re being the rehearsal Queen everyone is paying attention to you. But the minute you stop, you’re nobody’