As we look back on the life of Queen Elizabeth II, it's clear that she was a remarkable woman. She was a steadfast leader, a skilled diplomat and, as it turns out, she was a very smooth operator in awkward social situations without us even realising it.
Over her 70-year reign, the Queen had to meet, greet, host and entertain thousands of people, which was probably fun when it's Marilyn Monroe, Lady Gaga, Frank Sinatra and Barak Obama (all of whom Queen Elizabeth met). But it was potentially a little more trying when it was an overenthusiastic fan at one of her garden parties, or a stuffy ambassador boring on about their weekend plans with their significant other.
But, it turns out, the Queen had a strategy for exactly those kind of moments and it involved… applying her lipstick. Yep, really.
Her former footman, Ian Scott Hunter, who worked with the Queen for eight years, let slip her secret code on a special episode of Antiques Roadshow, on board the Royal Yacht Britannia, which was dedicated to "celebrat[ing] the reign and long life of Her Majesty the Queen."
He revealed, she used her makeup to let her Ladies In Waiting know that she wanted to go. “I believe there’s etiquette that ladies do not make their faces up in public,” the former royal footman explained, “but she had her bag over the side and she would take her lipstick out and put it on with no mirror or anything, and that was a signal to the ladies that she was ready to leave.”
So, while Queen Elizabeth became known for her bright, bold outfit choices and lipstick colours, it seems there might have also been an ulterior purpose for whipping out her lipstick and topping it up in public – to make a swift exit. “Of course, they [the Ladies in Waiting] would all get their bits and bobs together and Her Majesty [would] stand up, so they’re all ready and prepared,” explained Ian.
And, it's not the only social cue the Queen had at her disposal when she wanted to move the conversation along. Another royal commentator, Kristen Meinzer, revealed the Queen would swap her handbag from arm to arm to politely convey she wanted to end the chat. "Supposedly if she's standing around at an event and mingling with people and talking, and she switches her handbag from one arm to the other, she's telling her staff she'd like someone to interrupt and end the conversation," Kristen told Newsweek's The Royal Report podcast.
And she had a similar technique for banquets and formal dinners, too. Historian, Hugo Vickers, told People, she'd put her bag on the floor if she wanted to leave. While placing her bag on the table was the Queen's way of issuing a five-minute warning to go. Hugo also added, she'd spin her wedding ring around her finger too to signal her aides she wanted out.
So, next time you're stuck listening to someone drone on and you want rescuing pronto, brief your mates on the Queen's secret signals so they can bail you out. Genius. As for her lipstick, alongside helping her out in a pinch, she had a couple of formulas she swore by. We've put together the Queen's favourite beauty products here.
For more from GLAMOUR's Beauty Editor, Elle Turner, follow her on Instagram @elleturneruk
