The Queen of England Might Not Drink Four Cocktails Every Day, After All

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The former chef who cooked for England's royal family is setting the record straight when it comes to Queen Elizabeth II's drinking habits. A story released on July 31 seemed to reveal that the queen enjoys four cocktails every day (and at 91, as the longest-ruling monarch in British history, no one is suggesting she doesn't deserve it), but Darren McGrady who gave the original interview tells CNN that his words were misinterpreted. He blames his thick accent and a bad phone connection for all those "silly little pieces in the papers", that reported the queen has an eyebrow-raising affinity for drink.

"She'd be pickled if she drank that much," he said. "All I said was she likes a gin and Dubonnet. That's her favorite drink." He emphasizes that if she does indulge in her drink of choice, it is certainly not in the morning before lunch.

"She doesn't wake up in the morning and have a large gin and tonic," McGrady said. "She certainly doesn't drink four glasses a day."

If the queen does have a drink with dinner—and really, after a day of cutting ceremonial cakes and distributing knighthoods, who wouldn't want a drink with dinner?—she prefers a sweet German wine.

McGrady also revealed the queen is not much of a foodie. In fact, she has other, much more aristocratic, priorities.

"The queen's not really bothered about food. All she cares about are horses and dogs," said McGrady. He calls her diet "disciplined," which keeps her "so well and so healthy."

And here's a tidbit about the royal household you might actually be able to relate to: All their pots and pans are old.

"The chefs and food and kitchens come last. They're still using pots and pans from the 1800s, with the Queen Victoria stamp on them, at Buckingam Palace," said McGrady, who claims he was powerless to replace anything because of the queen's sporting obsession. He says that he asked if could replace the kitchen tools, but was told that they had to save that money to buy more "horses and saddles."