Royals

At Home with Queen Elizabeth! A TV Remote, a Picture of the Queen Mum, a Curious Pup – See Inside Windsor Castle's 'Homey' Sitting Room

A new photo offers a rare glimpse inside the monarch's surprisingly homey sitting room

Published on November 3, 2015 11:05 AM

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TV remote? Check. Comfy couch? Check, check.

A new photo offers a rare glimpse inside Queen Elizabeth s surprisingly homey sitting room at Windsor Castle.

The informal scene, set around a blazing (unseen) fire in the hearth, was revealed when New Zealand s Prime Minister John Key came to visit on the eve of the Rugby World Cup final between his country and rivals Australia last weekend.

The monarch, 89, is focused intently on her guest (with her ever-present purse by her side), but the viewer’s eyes can t help but wander to the objects and nicknacks around the Queen s bright and cheerful room.

There s a TV remote on a side table – and she has her guide to the week’s viewing (via the magazine Radio Times) kept neatly in a grand leather-bound cover.

A portrait of the Queen’s late mother can be seen on an elaborate desk among military figurines and a ‘cabbage leaf’ china cup and saucer.

The scene is made all the more informal by the appearance of Candy, one of the Queen s two dorgis (a dachshund-corgi mix), who curiously sniffs at the prime minister s feet.

The Queen welcomed Key to the castle, which is some 25 miles west of London, and played down the formalities. “Being weekend, you see we are countrified,” she said. (And a world away from son Prince Charles shabby chic sofa in the Garden Room at his London residence Clarence House.!)

Key was clearly happy to be in the rustic surroundings. “It’s beautiful though. It’s great to be here, he said.

Their conversation, captured on news footage that aired in New Zealand, moved on to the big games being played in London.

“It’s very nice. It’s going to be an exciting weekend with the rugby of course,” he said, with the Queen replying, “Very . . . much so yes.”

“Rather nail-biting, I’m afraid, he continued.

The monarch, who is also New Zealand’s head of state, had clearly been keeping up with the games. “It was indeed, she agreed.

“Eighty minutes of anguish,” Key added. “But we got there in the end.”

The Queen then said, “All the matches actually have been very, very close.

And while the Queen may have used her handy remote control to watch the games on TV, her husband, Prince Philip, 94, got to see the final match live – he joined grandsons Princes William and Harry at the final on Saturday.