The Queen Mother’s drinking is usually described as steady rather than excessive , but some accounts say she had a very regular, fairly heavy daily routine. One widely cited royal account says she started with Dubonnet and gin before lunch, then had wine with lunch, a martini before dinner, and one or two glasses of champagne with dinner.

What people mean by “how much”

Reports vary because this comes from memoirs, biographies, and press summaries rather than a precise official record. One article says her former staffer remembered her pattern as rarely changing and included red wine, port occasionally, martinis, and champagne in the evening. Another source summarized the habit even more bluntly as about 70 drinks a week , though that figure comes from a later media piece and should be treated cautiously.

Best plain-English answer

If you want the shortest version: she was not usually portrayed as a binge drinker, but she did seem to drink every day, throughout the day, and in notable quantities. The most repeated estimate is that her routine often amounted to several alcoholic drinks daily, especially if you count the gin- and-Dubonnet, wine, martini, and champagne together.

A small caveat

Claims tying her drinking to Princess Margaret’s health are speculative and not proven. So the safest way to say it is that the Queen Mother was known for a long-standing, alcohol-forward daily routine, not for a medically verified level of dependency.