Grog and Slew wander over.

Grog:" Having been at court before and becoming a close friend of the family, I can tell you this much about her purse.  Takes a deep breath then begins talking:

 

Her Majesty does use her handbag as a security blanket. She carries it with her throughout the day as she moves from one room of the palace to another. She is rarely photographed without a handbag. All tables and her desk at Buckingham Palace and other royal residences are equipped with special hooks on which the Queen may hang her ubiquitous handbag. Finally, the Queen never uses a shoulder bag or clutch bag as these make shaking hands and accepting flowers awkward.

It's not only what's inside the monarch's bags that is significant, but the bag itself, for she uses it to communicate with her staff in a very subtle manner. Before dining with the Queen, a point is made to inform guests that dinner will end in about five minutes after she places her bag on the table top. On walkabouts, she holds the bag to one side to show she intends to move on, at which point a lady-in-waiting joins the conversation, allowing her to slip away without causing offence. When at a banquet, if the Queen's bag is placed on the floor, then it's a sign that she's not finding the conversation interesting, and wants nothing more than to escape. However, if the royal bag is dangling happily from the crook of her left arm, she is happy and relaxed.

The Queen carries a comb, a handkerchief, a small gold compact, and a tube of lipstick in her handbag. The Queen does carry money on Sundays--a folded note of unknown denomination which she discreetly places in the collection plate. One thing that can always be found in the Queen's handbags is an S-shaped metal meat hook that she places on the dinner table's edge to suspend her bag from so that it doesn't touch the floor.

Also to be found inside is a collection of good luck charms, including miniature dogs, horses, saddles and horsewhips - most of them gifts from her children, reports the Daily Express. Family photos are also present, the most treasured of which is a snap of Prince Andrew, from when he returned from the Falklands in 1982. Other things that the Queen never goes without are her mints, chocolate drops for her beloved corgis and a couple of crosswords, which her servants snip out of the papers for her. Also ever present is the metal make-up case, made by Prince Philip and presented to her as a wedding gift 60 years ago.

 

The Slew:" But of course there is one other special item that noone else knows about.  Not even the king.  But CR says she has been promised to see it tonight."