Queen wrote ‘wickedly funny’ letters from her CORGIS, Alexander Armstrong reveals in new documentary

Queen wrote ‘wickedly funny’ letters from her CORGIS to her former equerry, Alexander Armstrong discovered as he filmed new royal documentary

  • Alexander Armstrong discovered letters in bathroom of former equerry Sir Blair Stewart-Wilson while making documentary The Queen and her Cousins for ITV
  • The Pointless presenter said the letters showed off her ‘wicked sense of humour’
  • Documentary will air as part of series marking Queen’s upcoming 95th birthday

The Queen wrote ‘wickedly funny’ letters from her corgis to the dogs of her equerry Sir Blair Stewart-Wilson, it was revealed

The Queen wrote ‘wickedly funny’ letters from her corgis to former equerry Sir Blair Stewart-Wilson, Alexander Armstrong has revealed. 

The TV presenter shared the anecdote after filming a new documentary, The Queen and her Cousins, one of a series being shown on ITV to mark the Queen’s impending 95th birthday.

Mr Armstrong recalled how he had seen framed handwritten letters in the bathroom of Her Majesty’s former equerry, which were written from her dogs to his.

Mr Armstrong said it showed her ‘wicked sense of humour’ and that he spotted the notes during a visit to the house of the late Sir Blair Stewart-Wilson while filming.

Mr Armstrong, 51, told the Daily Telegraph: ‘He would write these letters from their Jack Russell to the corgis and the Queen would write these letters back.

‘I remember holding my stomach, howling with laughter.’

Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Blair Stewart-Wilson was equerry to the Queen and Deputy Master of the Household in the Royal Household from 1976 to 1994. 

In the documentary, which is due to be shown on ITV, the Pointless presenter meets the royal cousins who share details about their most famous relative and reveal what it’s like to be part of the extraordinary family.

Alexander starts off in Kent where he meets one of The Queen’s third cousins, Princess Olga Romanoff.

Princess Olga lives at Provender House and runs part of the imposing family home as a holiday let with her daughter.

She says: ‘I always said I would never ever do other people’s dirty washing, ever.

Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Blair Stewart-Wilson, pictured, second from the left ,  was equerry to the Queen from 1976 to 1994 and Mr Armstrong found the framed letters in his bathroom

Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Blair Stewart-Wilson, pictured, second from the left ,  was equerry to the Queen from 1976 to 1994 and Mr Armstrong found the framed letters in his bathroom

‘But luckily, now that this is up and running it should bring in some income towards the £50,000 a year to keep the place.’

Describing her relief to be free from royal life, she said: ‘When my father was widowed, he married my mother without asking permission of the Queen at the time, which was the Queen Mother.

‘I believe that p****d off the Queen Mother and so his invitations to the palace and all that dried up.’

When asked if there was still a fairy tale attached to the royal family, Princess Olga made clear her views regarding the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes’ Oprah Winfrey interview.

She told the Telegraph: ‘Yes and no – it depends if they tell you about their problems on television, which I’m afraid I’m not very keen on.’

The programme details how Princess Olga’s grandmother was rescued by her cousin King George V in 1918 and brought to England from Crimea after other members of their family were executed by communist revolutionaries.

Pictured: Alexander Armstrong with The Queen's third cousin, Princess Olga Romanoff

Pictured: Alexander Armstrong with The Queen’s third cousin, Princess Olga Romanoff

Princess Olga says that she is glad not to be an imperial princess, adding: ‘You don’t want to scrub up every day. You want to be smelling of horse and you don’t want to have to be tarted up.’

She adds: ‘The Queen used to take Charles and Anne to have tea with my grandmother and they apparently had beautiful manners and I had terrible manners.’

During the documentary, Princess Olga heads off on a road trip with Alexander to find more of her relatives.

The Queen has had corgis all her life and recently welcomed two new dogs after one corgi – Vulcan – passed away in November.

The Queen and her Cousins with Alexander Armstrong will be on ITV on Thursday April 15 at 9pm.