Penelope Keith: At Her Majesty’s Service
Astronaut. Train driver. Wine taster. To the list of dream jobs we must now add Royal Herb Strewer. Laying fragrantly scented plants all about the high-born household, your task is to cover up the unpleasant odours that centuries past offered in all too great abundance. As we learn in Penelope Keith: At Her Majesty’s Service (Sunday, Channel 4, 8pm), the job is no longer full-time (nor are the woeful whiffs still lurking) yet at least for form someone has to take care of herbal business, and nowadays it’s Jessica Fellowes who’s charged with the strewing.This four-part series is, essentially, The Good Life’s Margo touring Britain’s palaces in honour of Her Majesty’s 90th birthday. What could be a worthier meeting of presenter and subject: Miss Keith’s imperious manner is as close as you can come to noble bearing without blue blood, plus, with an OBE, CBE and DBE, she’s a not infrequent visitor to the royal court. She presents a rare insight into the workings of the palaces and the arcane occupations that continue to the present day: never mind a Royal Falconer, don’t we all need a Washer of the Sovereign’s Hands (no doubt equipped with Imperial Leather)? Thanks to Miss Keith we can wonder at the magnificence of Windsor Castle and, as she delves into the archives of Elizabeth I, count ourselves lucky that there’s still something left of tradition to link namesake to namesake, four centuries on.
NOT TO BE MISSED...
MEET WHAT YOU EAT, Mon, C4, 8pm
Quality food is always worth hunting down, and Michelin starred chef Shaun Rankin braves Billingsgate Market to find us the best fish (above).
HANDMADE: By Royal Appointment, Mon, BBC4, 8.30pm
An object being chosen by Her Majesty must be the ultimate endorsement: now a new series celebrates the chosen few, beginning with Wedgwood vases (above).
MAKE! Craft Britain, Thurs, BBC4, 9pm
Discover the joys of embroidery and paper cutting with Martha Kearney as she meets beginners hoping to learn a new skill.