Queen Elizabeth II grew close to many of her employees over the years, famously once branding dresser Angela Kelly her "sister" and another Buckingham Palace staff member she had a very close bond with was Christopher Bray, who has sadly died, HELLO! can exclusively reveal.
Christopher Bray joined the Palace straight from school aged 16 and worked for the Queen all his life, and he sadly passed away in recent weeks, believed to be in his late seventies.
The Queen and Christopher shared a cheeky sense of humour and a former colleague has revealed how the Queen would wink at him every time she returned from an official duty. “It was a lovely gesture and just their little joke,” said the source.
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“The Queen would come home from a very formal event like the State Opening of Parliament or a church service and Chris would be waiting for her at the Palace or Windsor Castle.
“She always used to wink at him as if to say ‘I’m home’ and she could relax. The contrast between her formal life and how she was in private was only really known by her family and her staff.”
The Queen was so fond of Christopher that she named two gun dogs Christopher and Bray after him.
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After working as a footman, including walking the corgis, he was promoted to be Page alongside “Tall Paul” Whybrew, who was another of Her Majesty's favourites, and even used to watch TV alongside the monarch.
When a boss said he would call him Bray, the Queen insisted: “No that’s too formal, he will remain Chris.”
Christopher would take it in turns with Paul to serve HM breakfast, lunch and dinner, take her messages and the daily post and newspapers, and be on hand for anything she needed.
Queen Elizabeth II's sense of humour
The late monarch was well-known for her witty remarks. At the G7 summit in 2021, while posing for photographs with world leaders at the Eden Project in Cornwall, the Queen turned to then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson to lighten the mood. "Are you supposed to be looking as if you're enjoying yourself?" she asked, prompting laughter from the others.
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Also, in 2013, when the world was eagerly waiting for news of Prince George's birth, the royal made a humorous remark. That month, the Queen was on a visit to the Lake District when she met pupils from Wiggonby Primary School. When one young girl asked her if she wanted the baby to be a boy or a girl, the Queen said: "I don't think I mind," but added: "I hope it arrives soon because I'm going on holiday."