Queen Elizabeth's cocktail was once spiked with amphetamines
Topics: The Queen, Royal Family, Drugs
Gabriella Ferlita
Featured Image Credit: PA Images / Darrin Jenkins / Alamy Stock Photo
Topics: The Queen, Royal Family, Drugs
Queen Elizabeth’s cocktail was once spiked with amphetamines, the diary of a former Member of Parliament alleged.
The private notes belonging to Conservative MP Sir Henry Channon were first published in 1967, and include some pretty juicy observations of the English society from 1918 and 1957, leading the diary to eventually be censored.
However, uncensored editions of the diaries were republished, with the third and final volume released this year, which covers the period from 1943 to 1957.
The 65-year-old notes still have the power to shock, particularly one eyebrow-raising tale involving Elizabeth before she became Queen.
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The excerpt dated 2 February 1946 described Sir ‘Chips’ Channon and his fellow MP brother-in-law, Army officer Peter Coats having organised a dinner party in advance of a ball at The Dorchester, Park Lane, London.
The author admits to putting Benzedrine, an amphetamine used during World War II to help against fatigue in soldiers, into the guests’ drinks.
He wrote: “Everyone was dressed up. Noel Coward was covered with emeralds. The Duchess of Kent’s beauty was staggering. It was a shimmering sea of splendour.
“Princess Elizabeth looked like a gay partridge... Never has there been so much excitement about a ball! (Peter and I surreptitiously put some Benzedrine in the cocktails; nobody noticed.)"
Despite his open admission following the event, it is not clear whether Princess Elizabeth - who went on to become the Queen seven years later - actually ingested the drink.
UNILAD has contacted a representative of Buckingham Palace for a comment on the matter.
According to The Dorchester website, the hotel became home to regular charity balls, which royal family members would often attend.
“Between 1946 and 1948 after the war, The Dorchester hosted an average of one charity ball a week. Most of these were attended by a member of the British royal family,” the site reads.
The diary author even went as far to say that despite Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip of Greece’s engagement being ‘popular’, their wedding is ‘bogus austerity’.
He wrote in an excerpt dated Saturday October 25: “The royal engagement [between Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip of Greece] was, is, wildly triumphantly popular.
“But the wedding (not the marriage) is decried and criticised on all sides: its bogus austerity appeals to nobody."
On the day of their wedding, 20 November 1947, Sir Channon reported that the event garnered ‘huge crowds’.
He wrote: “Royal Wedding Day! Huge crowds. Princess Elizabeth looked shy and attractive; Philip was dazzling and evidently enjoyed himself.
"The Queen looked well; the King seemed wooden and stiff. The biggest, warmest reception was reserved for Winston; in the Abbey, everyone stood up – even the Kings and Queens.”