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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Rianne Ison & Jessica Sansome

The Queen's goddaughter reveals protocol followed behind closed doors as cousin says Royal family have 'ups and downs' like everybody else

The Queen's goddaughter has revealed what it's like to stay with the monarch - while a cousin has said the Royal family are "normal".

Members of Her Majesty's extended family have been speaking in a one-off ITV documentary which airs tonight (Monday).

The Queen and her Cousins has been made to mark the Queen's 95th birthday and follows Pointless host Alexander Armstrong as he meets with the Queen's cousins who share previously hidden details about the head of state.

But as well as cousins, goddaughter Victoria Pryor also speaks to Alexander about her own encounters with "The Firm," OK! reports.

"We’re all just perfectly ordinary people. The Queen Mother and my granny were very close and the Queen Mother was unbelievably fond of mummy and her siblings," she says in the programme.

"Mummy called her [the Queen] Lilibet but we call her Ma'am," Victoria also reveals.

“If she's staying then the first thing in the morning you curtsey, and then you don’t have to curtsey after that. That's the etiquette."

And with plenty of chatter about friction within the family, Lord Ivar Mountbatten tells Alexander they are just like anyone else.

Alexander Armstrong with The Queen’s third cousin, Princess Olga Romanoff (ITV)

When asked if in private they’re "a normal family" Lord Ivar says: "Yes, absolutely. That’s what everyone seems to forget."

He went on: "We all have our ups and downs, everybody has their own internal arguments - it’s the same anywhere."

The cousins also share private letters, personal photos and rare memorabilia as they recount treasured memories for the first time and Alexander learns more about royal life in modern Britain.

And, as he takes viewers on a road trip through the country and the dynasties, Alexander reveals he may have uncovered a new cousin who can take their place in the royal family tree.

*The Queen and her Cousins with Alexander Armstrong airs tonight at 9pm on ITV.

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