The Queen says you should be cleaning your jewellery with gin

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12th Nov 2019

If you’re anywhere near as royal-obsessed as we are, many a question surrounding the British monarchy would regularly flood your mind.

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Do the British royal family get The Crown spoilers before episodes go to air? Has Meghan Markle already worn that outfit? And just how does Queen Elizabeth II’s get her jewels to shine so brightly? And to ease the minds of royalists everywhere, we now have the answer to the latter query.

As revealed in the recently-released tell-all book titled The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, The Dresser and the Wardrobe, penned by The Queen’s long-time dressmaker and aide Angela Kelly, a slightly left-of-field solution is used to clean the monarch’s priceless diamonds: gin.

“A little gin and water come in handy to give the diamonds extra sparkle—just don’t tell the jeweller!” wrote Kelly, according to People.

Aside from the spirit, Kelly has devised a number of other bespoke cleaning methods to get Queen Elizabeth II’s precious accessories official engagement-ready.

Touching on her involvement in the preparations for formal events, such as The Queen’s recent appearance at each State Opening of Parliament, most recently taking place in October this year, Kelly—whose duties also extend to curating jewellery, insignias and wardrobe—has formulated the perfect cleaning agent for the monarch’s diadem and other fine accessories: “A drop of washing-up liquid and water will get rid of any hairspray stains.”

Although Kelly’s off-kilter cleaning methods do seem to be doing the trick, the Queen’s precious accessories do get the attention of seasoned jewellery-cleaning professionals from time to time. “The Queen’s jeweller will give the stones a deep clean when necessary, so for me it’s just a matter of a quick polish and they’re sparkling once more,” added Kelly.

Of course, Kelly’s trusted gin-based cleaner isn’t the only instance that has seen the royal aid calling on a beverage-based solution in her role.

Years prior to the release of her authorised autobiography mentioned above, it was disclosed that Kelly herself was tasked with recreating the historic family christening robe that’s seen many a British royal’s wear over its 163 year-strong service. However, Kelly’s secret weapon for replicating the exact hue of the Janet Sutherland-designed robes had been kept an in-family secret—until now.

“To make sure it looked authentic we dyed it in Yorkshire tea (the strongest, as we all know),” revealed Kelly, according to People. “We placed each piece of lace in a small bowl, from the dressers’s kitchen, filled with cool water and a tea bag, and left it for about five minutes, checking regularly until the colour was perfect.”

We’re filing this all under ‘royal-approved cleaning products you can find in your pantry’.