Queen treats staff to free Champagne

Queen Elizabeth II threw a party for her staff to celebrate the birth of Prince George and treated everyone to free Champagne.

The Sunday Express reported that celebratory drinks parties were thrown at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Holyrood Palace, with invitation saying staff could come and enjoy “a glass of Champagne” to celebrate the royal birth.

One courtier told the newspaper: “The Queen is on Cloud Nine at the moment and wanted to share her happiness with her hard-working staff, so the obvious thing to do was to get out the Champers.”

Another staff member said: “We were all invited to have a glass of champagne in the staff dining room but when we saw we could be there for two hours we obviously wanted to have a few.

“Everyone was in a fantastic mood and we all toasted the baby, the parents and the Queen. It was a fabulous gesture of her and everyone appreciated it.

“She was going up to Balmoral for her annual holidays so lots of staff were knocking off for the season. There was a demob atmosphere and a few people got the taste, so several went on to the pub afterwards.”

It is not known precisely which Champagne was served during the celebrations but Bollinger, Laurent-Perrier, GH Mumm, Louis Roederer, Lanson, Pol Roger and Veuve Clicquot are all royal warrant holders to supply Champagne to the British royal family.