Princess Margaret Banned Royal Staffers From Using ‘Scrambled Eggs’ and Other Common Words Around Her
Members of the royal family have a large staff they employ from maids to chauffeurs to chefs to butlers. While most people figure their aides are given some strict rules to follow, some are so odd they leave us scratching our heads.
Princess Margaret was one of those royals who had some pretty strange rules for her staffers. One included following her around at all times with an ashtray so she never had to bother looking for a place to flick her ashes and put out her cigarettes. Another one of Margaret’s rules banned her staff from saying the most common words around her.
What Princess Margaret had her friends call her
Queen Elizabeth II’s sister was born a princess and became a countess as well after her marriage but she preferred her friends addressed her as “Ma’am Darling.”
In his book, Ninety-Nine Glimpses of Princess Margaret, journalist Craig Brown claimed that Margaret said she wanted to be called that so no one would ever forget her royals status. Brown wrote that Margaret stated, “I am unique. I am the daughter of a king and the sister of a queen.'”
Margaret’s nephew, Prince Charles, takes after her in reminding his friends about his status as well. The future king reportedly insists that his friends call him “sir” and bow.
Why Margaret’s staff couldn’t say ‘scrambled eggs’ around her
Craig also revealed what words the Countess of Snowdon would not let staffers use around her because she didn’t think they sounded regal enough.
Those words included “scrambled eggs” as she would tell them to say “buttered eggs” instead. Margaret also hated the word “material” so she made everyone use “stuff” instead.
When it came to table settings, the princess couldn’t stand to hear anyone say “placement” so she would have her aides refer to that as “place a table” instead.
Words no one can say around Queen Elizabeth
But it’s not just Princess Margaret who banned certain words from being used in her presence. There are a few words no one can speak around Queen Elizabeth either.
One word the royal family matriarch really dislikes is “pregnant.”
Because the queen has been around plenty of expectant mothers in her life you would think she would be fine with the word, but she’s not. Us Weekly noted that she considers it vulgar. So when someone is speaking about a woman who is expecting a child the queen prefers they refer to them by saying “in a family way.”
Another thing that shouldn’t be said around the monarch since she interprets it as a curse word is “pardon.”
According to Kate Fox, who authored the book Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour, people should say “Sorry?” or “Sorry, what?” if they didn’t catch something that was said.
