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royal family trooping the colour© Photo: Getty Images

This is how long it takes to iron the royal family's bed sheets

Staff go to great lengths to ensure the royals are comfortable

Chloe Best
Lifestyle Features Editor
October 4, 2018
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There’s nothing quite like settling down under freshly-washed and ironed sheets, which is why royal staff go to great lengths to ensure the Queen and other senior royals have a comfortable night’s sleep wherever they are in the world. In the new ITV documentary, Queen of the World, it was revealed that staff spent over an hour ironing each bedsheet ahead of a visit from the monarch and Duke of Edinburgh at their Canadian residence, Rideau Hall.

Master of the Household Christine Macintyre confirmed that there are special sets of bed linen reserved especially for the royals, and that there’s a particular reason they spend so much time ironing and making up the beds.

The Queen Rideau Hall© Photo: Getty Images

It takes over an hour to iron the Queen's bed sheets

"There are special sheets that are used for members of the royal family, and they are kept aside and brought out only on those special occasions," Christine confirmed, adding: "It takes over an hour to iron one sheet."

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But all for good reason. "After a long day of travelling, there is nothing better than going in to a bed that doesn’t feel like a hotel bed,” Christine said. “And this is what you’re trying to do - is to make them feel like they are in their own bedroom."

Take a look inside an exhibition at the Queen's London residence, Buckingham Palace

The Queen has royal warrants for bedding and home furnishings from a select few retailers, including Albert E. Chapman Ltd, who supply curtains and drapery, Dorma, who hold a royal warrant as suppliers of linen drapery and soft furnishings, and Glencraft, who supply beds and mattresses by warrant to Her Majesty.

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Rideau Hall in Ottawa is the monarch’s official Canadian residence, and is where she stays during visits to Canada. The Queen has visited Canada more than any other nation during her reign, having carried out 25 tours there. Other senior royals to stay at the residence in recent years include Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, and Prince William and Kate.

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