Dancing Queen taught me to Strip The Willow
SHE is well known for her love of Scottish country dancing.
But as well as enjoying a Dashing White Sergeant or a Strip The Willow, it seems the Queen is happy to act as dance instructor.
For one of the Monarch’s former private secretaries has revealed that she was taught to dance by the Queen.
Mary Francis recalls her regal lesson aboard the royal yacht Britannia as Her Majesty prepared for the Ghillies Ball, an annual ceilidh at Balmoral. And when Ms Francis confided she did not know any of the dances, the monarch taught her the steps as the Band of the Royal Marines played a medley of Scottish reels.
She said: ‘One lovely evening it emerged I had never done Scottish country dancing. There would be a dance at Balmoral, because there always is. After dinner, the Queen and the Duke said, “Well, we’ll have to teach you”.’
The anecdote is in Queen of Our Times – The Life of Elizabeth II, by Robert Hardman. Ms Francis, 73, revealed the ‘happy atmosphere’ on the now-decomissioned yacht.
The non-executive director of Barclays Bank – who worked for the Queen from 1995 to 1999 – said: ‘It was the most relaxed I have seen the Queen – and the only time I’ve seen her wear casual trousers.
‘Even during these holidays at sea, however, there was still work to do. I had to take in the official papers that got dropped off by the Royal Navy.
‘But there was never the slightest hint of, “Oh, I wish I could have a real holiday, without any of this”.
‘Everyone knew the routine. A trip to a local beach for a picnic lunch, where we left the Queen and the Duke alone. In the evening, everybody was dressed up – long dresses and so on – but it still felt relaxed and informal.’