Memorabilia reveals Queen Elizabeth’s flying habits

Memorabilia amassed by an air hostess who served the late Queen has revealed some of Her Majesty’s flying ­etiquette, from her bedtime routine to her favourite airborne tipple.
The collection, which was found in Elizabeth Evans’s study after her death and subsequently passed to her niece Jo Smallwood, 53, will go on sale at Hansons Auctioneers on August 20.
Across her 28-year career for British Airways, Evans, from Birmingham, served a number of prominent clients, including the late Queen and Prince Philip on their 1989 tour of Singapore and Malaysia, and stars such as Rod Stewart, Cliff Richard, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Patrick Swayze.
The memorabilia, which is expected to sell for between £400-£600, includes confidential instructions on how to look after the Queen and Prince Philip, such as allowing Her Majesty to nap before landing and ensuring she had her own pillows. It also reveals that she liked to have a bowl of Velamints to hand and often ordered a Martini before meeting guests.
Smallwood, a retired police officer from Solihull, West Midlands, said that she knew her aunt had kept some mementoes from her career but “nothing of this scale”.
“Having found this treasure trove relating to my aunt’s career with BA, especially the fantastic trips on Concorde and serving the Queen, I found it sad that none of it had seen the light of day,” she said. “This collection is a little piece of history that should be shared and enjoyed by somebody.”
Charles Hanson, the owner of Hansons Auctioneers, said: “Elizabeth must have been highly regarded by BA because she served some of the most important people in the world. Elizabeth gathered momentoes throughout her career. Her memorabilia captures Concorde at its height and the detail that went into luxury travel with British Airways. No VIP wish was too small to accommodate.”