From King Charles‘ love of gardening, to Prince William and Kate Middleton‘s repertoire of family favourite home cooked meals, the Royals love of mucking in and helping run the home is well documented.

The late Queen Elizabeth II’s particularly enjoyed nothing more than donning a pair of yellow marigolds and washing the dirty dishes.

Indeed, the phenomenon of Prime Ministers being shocked when Elizabeth insisted on scrubbing the kitchenware has been well documented with leader’s from Margaret Thatcher to David Cameron being told off for trying to help.

Writing in his upcoming book, titled Power and the Palace, royal author Valentine Low has revealed more details about the late Queen’s love of washing-up the dishes and the quip a lady-in-waiting made about the chore.

Low recalls a conversation he had with former British Prime Minister John Major about one of his visits to Balmoral while he was PM.

Major recalled a barbecue he attended where Elizabeth – as was customary – insisted on cleaning the dishes herself.

‘One time I was standing to go and help her,’ Major told Low.

‘I was sitting next to a lady-in-waiting and she said, “No, no, no! The Queen likes to do it. But don’t worry – when the plates and everything get back to the castle, they are all put in the dishwasher”.’

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Queen Elizabeth II and the then-Prince Charles at the 2012 Braemar Highland Gathering

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Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in 2003. Although the royals have an army of staff at their disposal – including chefs, housekeepers and dressers in the palaces – when they are ‘off-duty’ and away at their private residences the family look after themselves

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Queen Elizabeth II with former Prime Minister John Major. Major witnessed first hand the Queen’s love of donning a pair of marigolds and doing the dishes

The late Queen’s love of doing the dishes has been well documented in the past.

In his biography ‘Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait’, writer and broadcaster Gyles Brandreth revealed the humorous story of the time David Cameron tried to help the Queen with her favourite task during a stay at Balmoral.

The former Prime Minister told Gyles: ‘I’m not making this up, you sat down and Prince Philip and Her Majesty The Queen served your dinner and cleared it away and washed it up while you sat talking with the other guests.

‘I remember thinking it was sort of year five, I thought: “Well, I now surely can help” and got up and got on the Marigolds and started doing the washing-up.

‘And I remember Her Majesty saying: “What on earth is the Prime Minister doing?” I’d broken with the protocol and rapidly sat back down and did what I was told.’

In another instance, a former royal courtier told author Harry Mount about the time Elizabeth helped tidy up after a shooting lunch.

The source said: ‘I was once at a shooting lunch. At the end of lunch, I heard someone say, “I’ll do the washing-up”.

‘I turned around and there was the Queen in her yellow washing-up gloves.’

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Writing in his upcoming book, titled Power and the Palace, royal author Valentine Low (pictured) has revealed more details about the late Queen’s love of washing-up the dishes

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The late Queen with a young King Charles and Princess Anne. Gyles claims that Elizabeth’s love of washing up started at a young age

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David Cameron with the Queen in 2010. In his biography ‘Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait’, Gyles revealed the humorous story of the time David Cameron tried to help the Queen with her favourite task during a stay at Balmoral

According to former royal butler Paul Burrell, Elizabeth II started washing up once in front of then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher after a picnic.

As a staunch monarchist, Thatcher was adamant that the monarch should not be cleaning kitchenware. But Paul claims a compromise was found when Elizabeth told Thatcher: “Well I’ll wash, will you dry?”‘

Gyles claims that Elizabeth’s love of washing up started at a young age.

‘Of course those of you who have read the wartime diaries of the Queen’s childhood friend, Alathea Fitzalan-Howard, will know that Lilibet was always good at domestic chores.

‘In March 1941, when they were having cookery lessons at Windsor, Alathea noted: “Lillibet actually likes washing up and does more of it than the rest of us put together”.’

For the younger members of the family, giving their children a more ordinary  upbringing has been seen as a priority.

For the Prince and Princess of Wales this means getting George, Charlotte and Louis to muck in with the chores.

In August 2024, a source told the Mail: ‘I think it would surprise people to see how ordinary things are at home.

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The Queen and former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1979. According to Paul Burrell, Elizabeth II started washing up once in front of Thatcher after a picnic. Thatcher was adamant that the monarch should not be cleaning kitchenware

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Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip with their children at Balmoral. For the younger members of the family, giving their children a more ordinary upbringing has been seen as a priority

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The Prince and Princess of Wales with their children Louis, Charlotte and George. William and Kate make sure the children muck in with chores around the house

‘The children help with laying the table, clearing their plates when they’ve finished eating and helping with tidying up. There’s no preferential treatment.’

The royal couple decided three years ago that Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo, the family’s former live-in nanny, would not relocate with them when they moved to Windsor from Kensington Palace.

Evenings in their four-bedroom country bolthole Adelaide Cottage involve just themselves, taking turns to do the cooking. And no doubt this routine will continue once the family have relocated to their new home at Forest Lodge.

The source said: ‘Catherine is very, very natural. She keeps the family down to earth.

‘Home is a safe haven. In a bid to keep things functioning as smoothly as possible she has been keen for everything to carry on as normal for the children.’ The source added: ‘The children are still expected do their chores and to muck in at home.’

The princess’s own upbringing is reflected in how she raises her brood – and is a far cry from husband William, whose mealtimes as a child were often spent with nannies.

Kate and Wills have a repertoire of dishes they enjoy cooking – from curries to teriyaki salmon – and when some help is required Kate can turn to her mother Carole for assistance.

The source added: ‘She has a lovely supportive family to turn to, which helps. But she wants to show her children the importance of being grounded and in touch with people.’