11 Things Queen Elizabeth II Never Travels Without

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By Marissa Laliberte, Reader's Digest

The jet-setting Queen

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As the most traveled monarch in U.K. history, Queen Elizabeth II has surely come up with her own list of handy tips and tricks for every travel conundrum possible. Read on to find out what she can't leave Buckingham Palace without.


 

Jet lag medicine

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Queen Elizabeth II has needed to come up with a system to beat jet lag with all the travel she's done. Her cure? Homeopathic remedies, including barley sugar candies, according to the Independent. The sweets can supposedly adjust the body clock to a new place by helping the blood sugar match the eating schedule in the destination.

A black outfit

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No, Queen Elizabeth isn’t trying to look chic in all black. In fact, there’s a reason she wears neon outfits all the time. But among her colorful clothes, she always makes sure to pack a black outfit in case tragedy strikes. Her Majesty was on royal tour in Kenya when her father passed away but hadn’t packed a mourning outfit, so she needed to wait onboard in Britain until a black dress was delivered.

Toilet paper

Hosts can stop stressing about whether one-ply is fit for a queen—she brings her own. A reporter who spent 20 years covering royal tours reveals Her Majesty always brings her own personal stash, sealed with stickers that only she and Prince Philip are allowed to break.

 

 

Blood

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Queen Elizabeth always travels with a personal doctor who has a defibrillator and other emergency treatments on hand. In countries where blood donations might not be available, the doctor even brings a personal supply of blood matching Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s blood types.

Dozens of outfits

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If you thought you had a bad habit of over-packing, the number of Queen’s outfit options is guaranteed to beat out the items in your duffel. She reportedly brings an entire clothes rail stocked with as many as 30 outfits for her trip, all kept pristine in protective sleeves.

Pastries

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Forget the lame bags of pretzels. Even on a flight, Her Majesty won’t skip her afternoon tea. Staff bring tea, along with scones, clotted cream, and the Scottish fruitcake Dundee cake, according to the Telegraph.

A massive entourage

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Making a royal tour run smoothly doesn’t just happen. The Queen brings up to 34 people on the trip to take care of logistics, according to the Telegraph. She’s been known to bring six secretaries, eight bodyguards, two dressers, two ladies-in-waiting, and more.

Her own food and water

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Foreign chefs are warned ahead of time about eating habits like the foods Queen Elizabeth will never eat. They’ll keep out garlic and shellfish, but Her Majesty’s entourage will do its best to prevent food poisoning. If there's any doubt that local food will be safe, they’ll pack British food and bottled water to keep Her Majesty safe and healthy.

Specific suitcases

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Queen Elizabeth has unquestionably found a look that works for her, and the same goes for her luggage. Her Majesty bought a set of Globe-Trotter suitcases in 1947 for her honeymoon with Prince Philip, and she has been using those same bags ever since, according to the company's site.

Specially marked luggage

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On a private jet, there isn’t much need for a luggage tag, so the British royal family keeps it simple. Her Majesty’s luggage tag is a yellow, with nothing more than “The Queen” written on it. Guess she can be confident her bags won’t get mixed up with anyone else’s. According to the Express, each royal family member gets his or her own color: Kate Middleton has yellow, like the Queen, while Prince William and Prince Charles use red, Prince George takes blue, and Princess Anne opts for green.


 

Hot water bottle 

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Her Majesty is a fan of a simple pleasure that makes bedtime so luxurious: placing a hot water bottle between the sheets to warm up a chilly bed, according to the Daily Mail. On royal tours, the Queen makes sure to pack one of those said hot water bottles.

One thing missing

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Before an international flight, you probably check and double-check that you remembered your passport. Queen Elizabeth gets to skip that step, though. Because she issues passports, she isn’t required to have one herself. Instead, she just answers basic questions, like her age and address, to confirm her identity.