Elizabeth Taylor's Assistant Shares Stories of Her Travels with a 20-Person Entourage and Pet Parrot (Exclusive)

Elizabeth Taylor cherished sharing her emotion of recreation pinch those closest to her.

Speaking pinch PEOPLE astir nan precocious superstar's emotion of travel, her property cotrustee and erstwhile executive adjunct Tim Mendelson recalls nan star's emotion of walking large — pinch a batch of group and things successful tow.

"She'd want to return a batch pinch her," Mendelson tells PEOPLE.

"She ever traveled pinch tons of clothes, tons of suitcases, peculiarly pinch Richard [Burton, 1 of her husbands]. She usually had an entourage — hairdresser, animals, pets. When nan kids were young, you're talking astir an entourage of 20 people. They had a photographer that traveled everyplace pinch them, and security."

When it came to nailing nan manner moments she was celebrated for, Taylor "always took tons of jewels and different options successful position of clothing — a wardrobe afloat of things."

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"I deliberation she and Richard has 144 carpet bags. They had these trunks that they traveled with, positive nan kids and nan nannies and nan secretaries, and usually a hairdresser," Mendelson continues. "There were nan pets, nan animals. When I was pinch her, Sugar [her dog] ever came pinch us. But she had this parrot Alvin successful nan '80s, and I deliberation he would sometimes moreover recreation pinch her."

While immoderate celebrities mightiness drawback flack for specified excess, it added to nan mystique astir Taylor that caused her to beryllium revered by truthful galore adoring fans.

"When I was walking pinch Elizabeth, I observed that you tin beryllium rich, you could beryllium a multi-multi-billionaire, but you couldn't bargain nan benignant of attention, nan benignant of service, nan benignant of excitement [that came] astir her going places," Mendelson recalls.

"Elizabeth Taylor, she's global, beloved each astir nan world. The measurement that they would rotation retired nan reddish carpet for her and really everyone was truthful excited for her to beryllium there, that's what occurred to me," he shares. "It doesn't matter really overmuch money you have, you could ne'er get nan benignant of attention, and work and excitement. There was existent luxury astir her, really, because of nan measurement she was treated for illustration a queen."

Taylor enjoyed getting nan champion of nan champion treatment, but besides made judge that it was extended to everyone by her side.

"She didn't put group successful different classes," Mendelson continues. "I traveled pinch her and I ever sat adjacent to her. Everybody traveled first class, and she had a suite and we each stayed successful nan rooms correct adjacent to hers. She was very antiauthoritarian successful that sense. Sometimes it felt for illustration [a business where] we don't person to nonstop everyone first [class], but location was ne'er immoderate mobility astir that."

In return for her generosity, location was 1 point she asked of those who traveled pinch her.

"She wanted to make judge that we were taking advantage of wherever we were and doing things. You could get lazy, particularly if you're successful a really beautiful hotel, and not really want to spell out, but she decidedly encouraged america to study astir nan culture," he shares.

Mendelson recalls a travel to Thailand, wherever Taylor told nan group astir a peculiar value successful precocious hubby Mike Todd that she appreciated.

"She said 1 of nan things that she loved astir Mike Todd and respected astir him is that nan infinitesimal they would land, he started to inquire questions," Mendelson says. "If they were successful a cab aliases whoever nan driver was, by nan clip they sewage to nan destination of nan hotel, Mike would've learned astir nan section politics, nan economy, nan people, nan society. He conscionable was truthful nan funny and wanted to study astir everything."

He adds, "And I cognize nan logic she was telling america that is because, 'Hey, I brought you guys to Thailand, study astir it, return advantage of nan situation.' "