By Katherine Tinsley
3:03pm PST, Dec 19, 2025
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Tom Quinn wrote about the Queen Mother's relationship with her ghillie, a servant for fishing and hiking trips, in his book Yes Ma'm — The Secret Life of Servants.
They told Quinn that he was "quite junior," and during his time with the royal, she was "not bothered" by his presence.
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While on a fishing trip, the staffer offered "polite advice" when the Queen Mother "failed to cast in the right place or retrieved her line too quickly or too slowly."
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Also in the book, the royal employee revealed the Queen Mother's unique code word for her outdoor excursions.
"I made a complete pig's ear of that, didn't I? Next time I make a bugger's muddle of a cast, just shout 'Christmas,' and I will know," the royal said.
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According to the ghillie, his presence reminded the Queen Mother of King George VI.
"You remind me of my husband," the matriarch said, which the worker saw as a "great compliment."
