Queen Mother ‘Smuggled’ This Expensive Item Into Hospital Before Her Operation

Queen Mother smuggled 12 bottles of champagne into a hospital before her operation.

In the Channel 5 documentary “Secret of the Royals,” Pippa Penny, a sommelier to the royal family, said that when Queen Mother was 97, she was admitted to a hospital for her hip operation. While there, she smuggled 12 bottles of Krug champagne.

“She wanted to make her stay a little bit more comfortable and enjoyable. A bottle of Krug can fetch up to £150 ($195),” Penny said. Since the Queen Mother brought 12 bottles of Krug, this was estimated at over $2,300.

Following her death in March 2002, at the age of 101, she left her mark on the palace’s bill. Royal author Katie Nicholl said that the royal had an overdraft of £4 million, which was all left to Queen Elizabeth II.

In related news, Queen Mother made headlines last week after rumors swirled that she fell in love with King Edward VIII, the brother of her husband, King George VI.

Hugo Vickers, the author of Wallis Simpson’s biography “Behind Closed Doors,” told NPR that years ago, there was a theory that the Queen Mother was really in love with the Duke of Windsor.

But according to E! News, the Queen Mother was very close to her paternal grandfather, George V, who wrote in his diary that he hoped King Edward VIII wouldn’t have an heir so that the crown would be passed on to Albert and then to Elizabeth.

King Edward VIII abdicated the throne for love on Dec. 11, 1936. His decision resulted in his brother, Albert, becoming King and being known as King George VI. Queen Mother was married to King George VI for many years and they were blessed with two daughters, Queen Elizabeth II, and Princess Margaret.

Princess Margaret passed away in 2002 at the age of 71 after suffering a stroke. Following her demise, the Queen released a statement expressing her great sadness over the news.