Words by Aidy Smith
(Follow Aidy @Sypped)
As we continue with our Best of British issue, I bring you two tales of a family who sit at the crown jewels of our nation, quite literally, before delving into some of the most beautiful British drinks I’ve had the fortune of discovering.
For the former, our two stories may both have something to do with the tipple, but not in the way you’d expect – read on and arm yourself with some great dinner party conversation.
The Not-So Grape Escape
While Queen Elizabeth is quite partial to her martini’s, it turns out she was stirred in quite a different way. Our story takes us back to the evening Friday 9th July 1982, where we uncover one of the only successful break-in attempts to Buckingham Palace.
A chap called Michael Fagan (who may not have been all there if you know what I mean), decided that on this fair evening he would climb a 14ft wall surrounding the palace, managing to somehow get past both the spikes and barbed wire, before climbing a drainpipe into an open window in the palace itself.
While his intention was indeed to visit our dear Betty, this didn't stop him from doing a little exploring first. Making his way to the pantry, he got a little thirsty, so decided to grab some crackers and cheese (as you do) before continuing along the corridors to what was Prince Charles' bedroom, upon where he found a bottle of Californian Wine. Strange, I had Charles down as more of a Burgundy type of chap, but I don’t blame him, Californian wine can be stunning.
He indulged his palate with a little Cabernet Sauvignon before deciding to continue his meander through the palace to have a little chat with ol' Elizabeth. Sadly, she didn't feel the same way. After disturbing a curtain, she awoke, running out of the room to go find security. Oddly enough, even when the guards finally arrived at the room, sources say Michael was offered a glass of whisky because he “looked like he needed one."
Lucky for him at this particular time in history, it was not illegal to enter Buckingham Palace through a hidden clause. He was however charged with theft for the wine, but this was later dropped as he was deemed psychologically unfit. As for Queeny, let's just say the armed guard protecting her bedroom wasn’t there for much longer.
His Majesty's Royal Wine Mobile
Being the Queen, you can pretty much do whatever you want – apart from drink wine out of a beer glass, that would be treason (I jest, I jest). With her darling son's 21st birthday just around the corner, the Queen decided to do what any loving multi-millionaire mother would: Buy her son an Aston Martin. That was over 50 years ago.
Since then, it would seem Prince Charles has decided to be a bit more creative, taking his love for wine a little beyond the glass.
How you ask? By converting this beautiful vehicle into running solely on surplus British wine stocks. A pretty ballsy move, especially as we could be drinking that wine, right? Well actually, winemakers have certain quotas they have to go by as per British legislation. Rather than allowing this to go to waste, Prince Charles is actually doing these wineries a favor, purchasing the wine to then use it as an eco-friendly fuel source. You'll be excited to know that since his first conversion, the wino-loving prince now has a fleet of wine cars, doing his own little part to help the environment.
This content was originally published in Oracle Time Magazine under Aidy’s Drinks Column. You can subscribe to the online magazine here to view online or order the magazine in print format.