Openly gay Queen’s footman makes his first official appearance
Roberts and the Queen (Provided)
The new personal footman to Queen Elizabeth II has made his first public appearance with the monarch.
Ollie Roberts, an openly gay man who has previously served with the Royal Air Force, was recently appointed to the role of footman to the Queen.
The 21-year-old made the appearance on Saturday during the Trooping the Colour ceremony, an annual event celebrating the Queen’s official birthday.
Roberts had previously made Instagram posts from the grounds of Windsor Castle, hinting at his new position.
(olroberts96 / Instagram)
Roberts, who was born in Wales, will now live on the grounds of Buckingham Palace and travel with the Queen when she visits her other residences.
The younger generation of the Royal Family, including Princes William and Harry, have been praised in recent years for their positive stances on LGBT rights.
Many are now welcoming the appointment of an openly gay man to one of the most visible positions beside the veteran monarch, who during the last State Opening of Parliament cemented her commitment to tackling anti-LGBT discrimination.
(olroberts96 / Instagram)
The Queen’s Footman is required to ride on all carriages with the Queen, meaning that Roberts will be making multiple appearances alongside the 92-year-old monarch, including at the upcoming Royal Ascot.
Related: Queen’s Birthday Honours – The trailblazing gay activists you should know about
In 2017, fans of the Royal family were delighted to finally discover that Queen Elizabeth’s favourite song was both a gay anthem and a bit of a pun.
(olroberts96 / Instagram)
BBC Radio 2 host Chris Evans has revealed a very special dinner he attended, where the Queen surprised everyone by revealing her favourite tune.
Evans, according to a close friend who has shared the story, was attending a dinner hosted by Her Majesty at Windsor Castle when the revelation emerged.
After dinner had been served and post-dinner speeches heard, music began to play in the room.
Trooping the Colour on Saturday (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
To many people’s surprise, the Queen looked delighted at the playing song – ABBA’s disco classic Dancing Queen.
The Queen apparently said quite audibly: “I always try to dance when this song comes on, because I am the Queen, and I like to dance.”
Dinner guests were said to be surprised, but delighted, to see the Queen show some flamboyance as she enjoyed the song.
“My goodness me, there is the Dancing Queen,” guests said.
The Queen supposedly makes a point of dancing whenever she hears the catchy number.
