The Queen, 95, is ‘ordered to quit drinking by royal doctors’ family friend claims to Vanity Fair 

No more martinis for Her Majesty! The Queen, 95, is ‘ordered to quit drinking by royal doctors’ to ‘make sure she’s as fit and healthy as possible’ ahead of her busy Autumn schedule, family friend claims to Vanity Fair

  • Queen, 95, has reportedly been ‘ordered to quit drinking by royal doctors’
  • Comes ahead of busy Autumn schedule and Platinum Jubilee celebrations
  • According to palace sources quoted in magazine, monarch’s go-to alcoholic drink is a dry martini


The Queen has been ‘ordered to quit drinking by royal doctors,’ according to a magazine quoting a family friend.

Her Majesty, who is in good physical health and has been seen using a walking stick during recent engagements in Wales with no specific medical reason given, has allegedly been advised to forgo alcohol except for special occasions due to her busy autumn schedule. 

According to two sources close to the monarch quoted in a magazine, doctors have also given the advice ahead of the monarch’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations next June. 

‘The Queen has been told to give up her evening drink which is usually a martini,’ a family friend is said to have told Vanity Fair’s Katie Nicholl. ‘It’s not really a big deal for her, she is not a big drinker but it seems a trifle unfair that at this stage in her life she’s having to give up one of very few pleasures.’

Queen Elizabeth II at a State Banquet at Blackheads House British Royal visit to Tallinn, Estonia on 19 October 2006

Her Majesty attends the opening ceremony of the sixth session of the Senedd at The Senedd on October 14, 2021 in Cardiff, Wales

Her Majesty attends the opening ceremony of the sixth session of the Senedd at The Senedd on October 14, 2021 in Cardiff, Wales

The monarch is rarely seen drinking in public but according to palace sources, just like her son Prince Charles, her alcoholic beverage of choice is often a dry martini.

The 95-year year-old is also believed to enjoy a glass of sweet wine with dinner, while her late cousin Margaret Rhodes once reported she was known to drink a glass of champagne before bed.

‘The alcohol has gone, her doctors want to make sure she is as fit and healthy as possible,’ a second source was quoted as saying by the magazine.  

Dubonnet and gin – the Queen Mother’s favourite tipple – is also believed to be a choice often requested by Her Majesty.

In February it was revealed that Hillsborough Castle and Gardens, the Queen’s Northern Ireland residence, was launching its own variety of the gin, made using rose petals from the gardens and blended with apples and pears from the castle’s Walled Garden.

The Northern Ireland residence, which is 20 minutes away from Belfast, teamed up with local distillery Rademon Estate, Northern Ireland’s first craft gin distillery.

Queen Elizabeth takes a sip of wine with Chateau Barrosa's Managing Director Hermann Thumm during a wine country tour in Barossa Valley near Adelaide in Australia on February 28, 2002

Queen Elizabeth takes a sip of wine with Chateau Barrosa’s Managing Director Hermann Thumm during a wine country tour in Barossa Valley near Adelaide in Australia on February 28, 2002

It comes after the official Buckingham Palace gin launched by the Royal Collection Trust in July 2020 sold out online within eight hours. 

The Granville Rose Garden was created by Lady Rose Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother’s eldest sister in the 1940s and 1950s, with the Queen and her sister Margaret enjoying the spectacular grounds when visiting their aunt and uncle as young princesses.

In November last year, the royal launched a new gin made with plants grown in her Sandringham estate. 

The batch of Sandringham Celebration Gin is priced at £50 for a 50cl bottle and was made in a distillery on the estate in north Norfolk. 

It was the third brand of gin to be marketed by the Royal family, cashing in on the popularity of the drink. 

Prince Charles recently launched his own organic Highgrove gin just months after the Royal Collection Trust started selling a Buckingham Palace variety.

But the Sandringham gin is the one most closely linked to the Queen because the 20,000 acre estate is her private property. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk