And it’s not what we expected…
From the editors of travelandleisure.com Words by Stacey Leasca
Queen Elizabeth may have lived her entire life in the public eye, but that doesn’t mean she doesn't have a few secrets.
From what she eats and drinks to where she travels and whom she sees, every move in the Queen’s life has been well-documented. However, like the rest of us, the Queen appears to enjoy taking a little time to throw on her headphones and get lost in some good music.
According to Vogue, the Queen has not one but two iPods that she keeps around the palace.
The second, newer iPod was gifted to the Queen by Barack and Michelle Obama during a visit in 2009.
In recent wire photos, one of the Queen’s iPods can be spotted in the background as she met with governor-general of Australia Peter Cosgrove in the living room of Balmoral, according to The Week. It appears to be the one the Obamas gifted as it looks like the iPod classic, which was released in 2008 and 2009.
While the Obamas gave the Queen the iPod pre-loaded with songs and footage from her trip to the United States, it’s still unclear whether or not the royal matriarch uploaded new tunes to her device. But Ingrid Seward, author of the upcoming book, My Husband & I, a nonfiction novel about Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s marriage, told Vogue she believes the Queen’s iPod playlists are just as surprising as the royal herself.
‘The Queen is a big fan of musicals, traditional hymns, and Scottish ballads, and even the Beach Boys’ songs, especially "California Girls". She also likes Elton John and all kinds of military music,’ she said. ‘She plays the piano herself and has a pitch-perfect singing voice. Whether or not she has much time to listen to music on her iPod I am not sure, but I rather doubt it. If she doesn’t understand anything or it goes wrong, there are plenty of young footmen around who are pretty savvy with technology.’
Still, we may never know if the Queen added a little punk rock, perhaps a little 'God Save The Queen' by the Sex Pistols to her playlists just for fun.