Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon[b] (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was concurrently the last Empress of India until the British Raj was dissolved in August 1947. After her husband died, she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother,[2] to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II.
| Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon | |
|---|---|
Portrait by Richard Stone, 1986 | |
| Queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions | |
| Tenure | 11 December 1936 – 6 February 1952 |
| Coronation | 12 May 1937 |
| Empress consort of India | |
| Tenure | 11 December 1936 – 15 August 1947[a] |
| Born | Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon[b] 4 August 1900 Hitchin or London, England, United Kingdom |
| Died | 30 March 2002 (aged 101) Royal Lodge, Windsor, Berkshire, England |
| Burial | 9 April 2002 King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle |
| Spouse | |
| Issue | |
| Noble family | Bowes-Lyon |
| Father | Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne |
| Mother | Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck |
| Signature | |
Born into a family of British nobility, Elizabeth came to prominence in 1923 when she married the Duke of York, the second son of King George V and Queen Mary. The couple and their daughters Elizabeth and Margaret embodied traditional ideas of family and public service.[3] The Duchess undertook a variety of public engagements and became known for her consistently cheerful countenance.[4]
In 1936, Elizabeth's husband unexpectedly became king when his older brother, Edward VIII, abdicated in order to marry the American divorcée Wallis Simpson. Elizabeth then became queen consort. She accompanied her husband on diplomatic tours to France and North America before the start of the Second World War. During the war, her seemingly indomitable spirit provided moral support to the British public. After the war, her husband's health deteriorated, and she was widowed at the age of 51. Her elder daughter, aged 25, became the new queen.
After the death of Queen Mary in 1953, Elizabeth was viewed as the matriarch of the British royal family. In her later years, she was a consistently popular member of the family, even at times when other royals were suffering from low levels of public approval.[5] She continued an active public life until just a few months before her death at the age of 101, seven weeks after the death of her younger daughter, Princess Margaret.
Early life
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the youngest daughter and the ninth of ten children of Claude Bowes-Lyon, Lord Glamis (later the 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne in the Peerage of Scotland), and his wife, Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck. Her mother was descended from British prime minister William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, and Governor-General of India Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley, who was the elder brother of another prime minister, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.[c]
The location of Elizabeth's birth remains uncertain, but reputedly she was born either in her parents' Westminster home at Belgrave Mansions, Grosvenor Gardens, or in a horse-drawn ambulance on the way to a hospital.[8] Other possible locations include Forbes House in Ham, London, the home of her maternal grandmother, Louisa Scott.[9] Her birth was registered at Hitchin, Hertfordshire,[10] near the Strathmores' English country house, St Paul's Walden Bury, which was also given as her birthplace in the census the following year.[11] She was christened there on 23 September 1900, in the local parish church, All Saints.
Elizabeth spent much of her childhood at St Paul's Walden and at Glamis Castle, the Earl's ancestral home in Scotland. She was educated at home by a governess until the age of eight, and was fond of field sports, ponies and dogs.[12] When she started school in London, she astonished her teachers by precociously beginning an essay with two Greek words from Xenophon's Anabasis. Her best subjects were literature and scripture. After returning to private education under a German Jewish governess, Käthe Kübler, she passed the Oxford Local Examination with distinction at age thirteen.[13]
On Elizabeth's fourteenth birthday, Britain declared war on Germany. Four of her brothers served in the army. Her elder brother, Fergus, an officer in the Black Watch Regiment, was killed in action at the Battle of Loos in 1915. Another brother, Michael, was reported missing in action on 28 April 1917.[14] Three weeks later, the family discovered he had been captured after being wounded. He remained in a prisoner of war camp for the rest of the war. Glamis was turned into a convalescent home for wounded soldiers, which Elizabeth helped to run. She was particularly instrumental in organising the rescue of the castle's contents during a serious fire on 16 September 1916.[15] One of the soldiers she treated wrote in her autograph book that she was to be "Hung, drawn, & quartered ... Hung in diamonds, drawn in a coach and four, and quartered in the best house in the land."[16] On 5 November 1916, she was confirmed at St John's Scottish Episcopal Church in Forfar.[17]
Marriage
Prince Albert, Duke of York—"Bertie" to the family—was the second son of King George V. He initially proposed to Elizabeth in 1921, but she turned him down, being "afraid never, never again to be free to think, speak and act as I feel I really ought to".[18] When he declared he would marry no other, his mother, Queen Mary, visited Glamis to see for herself the girl who had stolen her son's heart. She became convinced that Elizabeth was "the one girl who could make Bertie happy", but nevertheless refused to interfere.[19] At the same time, Elizabeth was courted by James Stuart, Albert's equerry, until he left the prince's service for a better-paid job in the American oil business.[20]
In February 1922, Elizabeth was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Albert's sister, Princess Mary, to Viscount Lascelles.[21] The following month, Albert proposed again, but she refused him once more.[22] Eventually in January 1923, Elizabeth agreed to marry Albert, despite her misgivings about royal life.[23] Albert's freedom in choosing Elizabeth, not a member of a royal family, though the daughter of a peer, was considered a gesture in favour of political modernisation; previously, princes were expected to marry princesses from other royal families.[24] They selected a platinum engagement ring featuring a Kashmir sapphire with two diamonds adorning its sides.[25]
The couple married on 26 April 1923, at Westminster Abbey. Unexpectedly,[26] Elizabeth laid her bouquet at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior on her way into the abbey,[27] in memory of her brother Fergus.[28] Elizabeth became styled Her Royal Highness The Duchess of York.[29] Following a wedding breakfast at Buckingham Palace prepared by chef Gabriel Tschumi, Elizabeth and Albert honeymooned at Polesden Lacey, a manor house in Surrey owned by the wealthy socialite and friend Margaret Greville. They then went to Scotland, where she caught "unromantic" whooping cough.[30]
Duchess of York (1923–1936)
After a successful royal visit to Northern Ireland in July 1924, the Labour government agreed that Albert and Elizabeth could tour East Africa from December 1924 to April 1925.[31] The Labour government was defeated by the Conservatives in a general election in November (which Elizabeth described as "marvellous" to her mother)[32] and the Governor-General of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Sir Lee Stack, was assassinated three weeks later. Despite this, the tour went ahead, and they visited Aden, Kenya, Uganda, and Sudan, but Egypt was avoided because of political tensions.[33]
Albert had a stammer, which affected his ability to deliver speeches, and after October 1925, Elizabeth assisted in helping him through the therapy devised by Lionel Logue, an episode portrayed in the 2010 film The King's Speech. In 1926, the couple had their first child, Princess Elizabeth—"Lilibet" to the family—who would later become Queen Elizabeth II. Albert and Elizabeth, without their child, travelled to Australia to open Parliament House in Canberra in 1927.[34] She was, in her own words, "very miserable at leaving the baby".[35] Their journey by sea took them via Jamaica, the Panama Canal and the Pacific; Elizabeth fretted constantly over her baby back in Britain, but their journey was a public relations success.[36] She charmed the public in Fiji when, as she was shaking hands with a long line of official guests, a stray dog walked in on the ceremony; she shook its paw as well.[37] In New Zealand she fell ill with a cold and missed some engagements, but enjoyed the local fishing[38] in the Bay of Islands accompanied by Australian sports fisherman Harry Andreas.[39] On the return journey, via Mauritius, the Suez Canal, Malta and Gibraltar, their transport, HMS Renown, caught fire and they prepared to abandon ship before the fire was brought under control.[40]
The couple's second daughter, Princess Margaret, was born at Glamis Castle in 1930.[41] The couple initially lived at White Lodge, Richmond Park, before moving to 145 Piccadilly.[42][43]
Queen consort (1936–1952)
On 20 January 1936, George V died and his eldest son, Edward, Prince of Wales, became King Edward VIII. Just months into Edward's reign, his decision to marry the American divorcée Wallis Simpson caused a constitutional crisis that resulted in his abdication. Elizabeth's husband, Albert, reluctantly became king in his brother's place on 11 December 1936 under the regnal name of George VI. Elizabeth and her husband were crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor and Empress of India, in Westminster Abbey on 12 May 1937, the date previously scheduled for Edward VIII. Elizabeth's crown was made of platinum and was set with the Koh-i-Noor diamond.[44]
Edward married Wallis Simpson, and they became the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, but while Edward was a Royal Highness, George VI withheld the style from Wallis, a decision that Elizabeth supported.[45] Elizabeth was later quoted as referring to Wallis as "that woman",[46] and Wallis referred to Elizabeth as "Cookie", because of her supposed resemblance to a fat Scots cook.[5] Claims that Elizabeth remained embittered towards Wallis were denied by her close friends; the Duke of Grafton wrote that she "never said anything nasty about the Duchess of Windsor, except to say she really hadn't got a clue what she was dealing with".[47]
Overseas visits
In summer 1938, a state visit to France by the King and Queen was postponed for three weeks because of the death of Elizabeth's mother, Lady Strathmore. In two weeks, Norman Hartnell created an all-white trousseau for Elizabeth, who could not wear colours as she was still in mourning.[48] The visit was designed to bolster Anglo-French solidarity in the face of aggression from Nazi Germany.[49] The French press praised the demeanour and charm of the royal couple during the delayed but successful visit, augmented by Hartnell's wardrobe.[50]
Nevertheless, Nazi aggression continued, and the government prepared for war. After the Munich Agreement of 1938 appeared to forestall the advent of armed conflict, the British prime minister Neville Chamberlain was invited onto the balcony of Buckingham Palace with the King and Queen to receive acclamation from a crowd of well-wishers.[51] While broadly popular among the general public, Chamberlain's policy towards Hitler was the subject of some opposition in the House of Commons, which led historian John Grigg to describe George VI's behaviour in associating himself so prominently with a politician as "the most unconstitutional act by a British sovereign in the present century".[52] However, historians argue that the King only ever followed ministerial advice and acted as he was constitutionally bound to do.[53]
In May and June 1939, Elizabeth and her husband toured Canada from coast to coast and back, the first time a reigning monarch had toured Canada.[54] They also visited the United States, spending time with President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House and his Hudson Valley estate.[55][56][57][58] First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt said that Elizabeth was "perfect as a Queen, gracious, informed, saying the right thing & kind but a little self-consciously regal".[59] The tour was designed to bolster trans-Atlantic support in the event of war, and to affirm Canada's status as an independent kingdom sharing with Britain the same person as monarch.[60][61][62][63]
According to an often-told story, during one of the earliest of the royal couple's repeated encounters with the crowds, a Boer War veteran asked Elizabeth, "Are you Scots or are you English?" She replied, "I am a Canadian!"[64] Their reception by the Canadian and U.S. public was extremely enthusiastic,[65] and largely dissipated any residual feeling that they were a lesser substitute for Edward.[66] Elizabeth told Canadian prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, "that tour made us",[67] and she returned to Canada frequently both on official tours and privately.[68]
Second World War
During the Second World War, the royal couple became symbols of the fight against fascism.[69] Shortly after the declaration of war, The Queen's Book of the Red Cross was conceived. Fifty authors and artists contributed to the book, which was fronted by Cecil Beaton's portrait of Elizabeth and was sold in aid of the Red Cross.[70] She also broadcast to the nation in an attempt to comfort families during the evacuation of children and the mobilisation of fighting-age men.[71] Elizabeth publicly refused to leave London or send the children to Canada, even during the Blitz, when the British Cabinet advised her to do so. She declared, "The children won't go without me. I won't leave the King. And the King will never leave."[72]
Elizabeth visited troops, hospitals, factories, and parts of Britain that were targeted by the German Luftwaffe, in particular the East End near London's docks. Her visits initially provoked hostility; rubbish was thrown at her and the crowds jeered, in part because she wore expensive clothes that served to alienate her from people suffering the deprivations of war.[5] She explained that if the public came to see her they would wear their best clothes, so she should reciprocate in kind; Norman Hartnell dressed her in gentle colours and avoided black to represent "the rainbow of hope".[73] When Buckingham Palace itself took several hits during the height of the bombing, Elizabeth said, "I'm glad we've been bombed. It makes me feel I can look the East End in the face."[74]
Though the King and Queen spent the working day at Buckingham Palace, partly for security and family reasons they stayed at night at Windsor Castle about 20 miles (32 km) west of central London with their daughters. The palace had lost much of its staff to the army, and most of the rooms were shut.[75] The windows were shattered by bomb blasts, and had to be boarded up.[76] During the "Phoney War" the Queen was given revolver training because of fears of imminent invasion.[77]
Adolf Hitler is said to have called Elizabeth "the most dangerous woman in Europe" because he viewed her popularity as a threat to German interests.[78] However, before the war both she and her husband, like most of Parliament and the British public, had supported appeasement and Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, believing after the experience of the First World War that war had to be avoided at all costs. After the resignation of Chamberlain, the King asked Winston Churchill to form a government. Although the King was initially suspicious of Churchill's character and motives, in due course both the King and Queen came to respect and admire him.[79][80]
Post-war years
In the 1945 British general election, Churchill's Conservative Party was soundly defeated by the Labour Party of Clement Attlee. Elizabeth's political views were rarely disclosed,[81] but a letter she wrote in 1947 described Attlee's "high hopes of a socialist heaven on earth" as fading and presumably describes those who voted for him as "poor people, so many half-educated and bemused. I do love them."[82] Woodrow Wyatt thought her "much more pro-Conservative" than other members of the royal family,[83] but she later told him, "I like the dear old Labour Party."[84] She also told the Duchess of Grafton, "I love communists."[85]
During the 1947 royal tour of South Africa, Elizabeth's serene public behaviour was broken, exceptionally, when she rose from the royal car to strike an admirer with her umbrella because she had mistaken his enthusiasm for hostility.[86] The 1948 royal tour of Australia and New Zealand was postponed because of George's declining health. In March 1949, he had a successful operation to improve the circulation in his right leg.[87] In summer 1951, Elizabeth and her daughters fulfilled the King's public engagements in his place. In September, he was diagnosed with lung cancer.[88] After a lung resection, he appeared to recover, but the delayed trip to Australia and New Zealand was altered so that Princess Elizabeth and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, went in the King and Queen's place in January 1952.[89] George VI died in his sleep on 6 February 1952 while Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh were in Kenya on a Commonwealth tour, and with George's death his daughter immediately became Queen Elizabeth II.[90]
Queen mother (1952–2002)
Widowhood
Shortly after George VI's death, Elizabeth began to be styled as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother because the normal style for the widow of a king, "Queen Elizabeth", would have been too similar to the style of her elder daughter, Queen Elizabeth II.[91] Popularly, she became the "Queen Mother" or the "Queen Mum".[92] She was devastated by her husband's death and retired to Scotland. However, after a meeting with Prime Minister Winston Churchill, she broke her retirement and resumed her public duties.[93] Eventually she became just as busy as queen mother as she had been as queen consort. In July 1953, she undertook her first overseas visit since the funeral when she visited the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland with Princess Margaret. She laid the foundation stone of the University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland—the current University of Zimbabwe.[94] Upon her return to the region in 1957, Elizabeth was inaugurated as the college's president, and attended other events that were deliberately designed to be multi-racial.[95] During her daughter's extensive tour of the Commonwealth over 1953–54, Elizabeth acted as a counsellor of state and looked after her grandchildren, Charles and Anne.[96] In February 1959, she visited Kenya and Uganda.[97][98]
Elizabeth oversaw the restoration of the remote Castle of Mey, on the north coast of Scotland, which she used to "get away from everything"[99] for three weeks in August and ten days in October each year.[100] She developed her interest in horse racing, particularly steeplechasing, which had been inspired by the amateur jockey Lord Mildmay in 1949.[101] She owned the winners of approximately 500 races. Her distinctive colours of blue with buff stripes were carried by horses such as Special Cargo, the winner of the 1984 Whitbread Gold Cup, and Devon Loch, which spectacularly halted just short of the winning post at the 1956 Grand National[102] and whose jockey Dick Francis later had a successful career as the writer of racing-themed detective stories. Peter Cazalet was her trainer for over 20 years. Although (contrary to rumour) she never placed bets, she did have the racing commentaries piped direct to her London residence, Clarence House, so she could follow the races.[103] As an art collector, she purchased works by Claude Monet, Augustus John and Peter Carl Fabergé, among others.[104]
In February 1964, Elizabeth had an emergency appendectomy, which led to the postponement of a planned tour of Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji until 1966.[105] She recuperated during a Caribbean cruise aboard the royal yacht, Britannia.[106] In December 1966, she underwent an operation to remove a tumour, after she was diagnosed with colon cancer. Contrary to rumours which subsequently spread, she did not have a colostomy.[107][108] She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1984 and a lump was removed from her breast. Her bouts with cancer were never made public during her lifetime.[109]
During her widowhood, Elizabeth continued to travel extensively, including on over forty official visits overseas.[110] In 1975, she visited Iran at the invitation of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The British ambassador and his wife, Anthony and Sheila Parsons, noted how the Iranians were bemused by her habit of speaking to everyone regardless of status or importance, and hoped the Shah's entourage would learn from the visit to pay more attention to ordinary people.[111] Between 1976 and 1984, she made annual summer visits to France,[112] which were among 22 private trips to continental Europe between 1963 and 1992.[113]
In 1982, Elizabeth was rushed to hospital when a fish bone became stuck in her throat, and had an operation to remove it. Being a keen angler, she calmly joked afterwards, "The salmon have got their own back."[114] Similar incidents occurred at Balmoral in August 1986, when she was hospitalised at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary overnight but no operation was needed,[115] and in May 1993, when she was admitted to the Infirmary for surgery under general anaesthetic.[116]
In 1987, Elizabeth was criticised when it emerged that two of her nieces, Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon, had been committed to a psychiatric hospital in Redhill, Surrey, in 1941 because they had severe learning disabilities.[117] However, Burke's Peerage had listed the sisters as dead, apparently because their mother, Fenella (Elizabeth's sister-in-law), "was 'extremely vague' when it came to filling in forms and might not have completed the paperwork for the family entry correctly".[118] When Nerissa died in 1986, her grave was originally marked with a plastic tag and a serial number. Elizabeth said that the news of their institutionalisation came as a surprise to her.[119]
Centenarian
In her later years, Elizabeth became known for her longevity. Her 90th birthday—4 August 1990—was celebrated by a parade on 27 June that involved many of the 300 organisations of which she was a patron.[120] In 1995, she attended events commemorating the end of the war fifty years before, and had two operations: one to remove a cataract in her left eye, and one to replace her right hip.[121] In 1998, her left hip was replaced after it was broken when she slipped and fell during a visit to Sandringham stables.[122]
Elizabeth's 100th birthday was celebrated in a number of ways: a parade that celebrated the highlights of her life included contributions from Sir Norman Wisdom and Sir John Mills;[123] her image appeared on a special commemorative £20 note issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland;[124] and she attended a lunch at the Guildhall, London, at which George Carey, the Archbishop of Canterbury, accidentally attempted to drink her glass of wine. Her quick admonition of "That's mine!" caused widespread amusement.[125] In November 2000, she broke her collarbone in a fall that kept her recuperating at home over Christmas and the New Year.[126]
On 1 August 2001, Elizabeth had a blood transfusion for anaemia after suffering from mild heat exhaustion, though she was well enough to make her traditional appearance outside Clarence House three days later to celebrate her 101st birthday.[127][128] Her final public engagements included planting a cross at the Field of Remembrance on 8 November 2001;[129] a reception at the Guildhall, London, for the reformation of the 600 Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force on 15 November;[130] and attending the re-commissioning of HMS Ark Royal on 22 November.[131][132][133]
In December 2001, aged 101, Elizabeth fractured her pelvis in a fall. Even so, she insisted on standing for the national anthem during the memorial service for her husband on 6 February the following year.[134] Just three days later, their second daughter Princess Margaret died. On 13 February 2002, Elizabeth fell and cut her arm in her sitting room at Sandringham House; an ambulance and doctor were called, and the wound was dressed.[135] She was still determined to attend Margaret's funeral at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, two days later on the Friday of that week,[136] even though the Queen and the rest of the royal family were concerned about the journey the Queen Mother would face to get from Norfolk to Windsor;[137] she was also rumoured to be hardly eating. Nevertheless, she flew to Windsor by helicopter, and so that no photographs of her in a wheelchair (which she hated being seen in) could be taken—she insisted that she be shielded from the press[137]—she travelled to the service in a people carrier with blacked-out windows,[138][139] which had been previously used by Margaret.[137][140]
On 5 March 2002, Elizabeth was present at the luncheon of the annual lawn party of the Eton Beagles, and watched the Cheltenham Races on television; however, her health began to deteriorate precipitously during her last weeks, after retreating to Royal Lodge for the final time.[141]
Death
On 30 March 2002, at 15:15 GMT, Elizabeth died at the Royal Lodge, Windsor, at the age of 101. Her surviving daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, was by her side.[133] The Queen Mother had been suffering from a chest cold since Christmas 2001.[135] At 101 years and 238 days old she was the first member of the British royal family to live past the age of 100. She was the longest-living member of the British royal family at the time of her death. Her surviving sister-in-law, Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester,[142] exceeded that, dying at the age of 102 on 29 October 2004.[143] She was one of the longest-lived members of any royal family.[144]
Elizabeth grew camellias in each of her gardens, and before her flag-draped coffin was taken from Windsor to lie in state at Westminster Hall, an arrangement of camellias from her own gardens was placed on top.[145] An estimated 200,000 people over three days filed past as she lay in state in Westminster Hall at the Palace of Westminster.[146] Members of the household cavalry and other branches of the armed forces stood guard at the four corners of the catafalque. At one point, her four grandsons–Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and Viscount Linley–mounted the guard as a mark of respect, an honour similar to the Vigil of the Princes at the lying in state of King George V.[147][148]
On the day of Elizabeth's funeral, 9 April, the governor-general of Canada, Adrienne Clarkson, issued a proclamation asking Canadians to honour Elizabeth's memory that day.[149] In Australia, Governor-General Peter Hollingworth read the lesson at a memorial service held in St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney.[150]
In London, more than a million people filled the area outside Westminster Abbey and along the 23-mile (37 km) route from central London to Elizabeth's final resting place in the King George VI Memorial Chapel beside her husband and younger daughter in St George's Chapel.[151] At her request, after her funeral the wreath that had lain atop her coffin was placed on the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, in a gesture that echoed her wedding-day tribute 79 years before.[152]
Legacy
Known for her personal and public charm,[18] Elizabeth was one of the most popular members of the royal family,[153] and helped to stabilise the popularity of the monarchy as a whole.[154][155]
Elizabeth's critics included Kitty Kelley, who falsely alleged that she did not abide by the rationing regulations during the Second World War.[156][157] This, however, was contradicted by the official records,[158][159] and Eleanor Roosevelt during her wartime stay at Buckingham Palace reported expressly on the rationed food served in the Palace and the limited bathwater that was permitted.[160][161] Claims that Elizabeth used racist slurs to refer to black people[156] were strongly denied by Major Colin Burgess,[162] the husband of Elizabeth Burgess, a mixed-race secretary who accused members of Prince Charles's Household of racial abuse.[163] Elizabeth made no public comments on race, but according to Robert Rhodes James in private she "abhorred racial discrimination" and decried apartheid as "dreadful".[164] Woodrow Wyatt records in his diary that when he expressed the view that non-white countries have nothing in common with "us", she told him, "I am very keen on the Commonwealth. They're all like us."[165] However, she did distrust Germans; she told Woodrow Wyatt, "Never trust them, never trust them."[166] While she may have held such views, it has been argued that they were normal for British people of her generation and upbringing, who had experienced two vicious wars with Germany.[167]
In his official biography, William Shawcross portrays Elizabeth as a person whose indomitable optimism, zest for life, good manners, mischievous sense of humour, and interest in people and subjects of all kinds contributed to her exceptional popularity and to her longevity. Sir Hugh Casson said Elizabeth was like "a wave breaking on a rock, because although she is sweet and pretty and charming, she also has a basic streak of toughness and tenacity. ... when a wave breaks on a rock, it showers and sparkles with a brilliant play of foam and droplets in the sun, yet beneath is really hard, tough rock, fused, in her case, from strong principles, physical courage and a sense of duty."[168] Sir Peter Ustinov described her during a student demonstration at the University of Dundee in 1968:
As we arrived in a solemn procession the students pelted us with toilet rolls. They kept hold of one end, like streamers at a ball, and threw the other end. The Queen Mother stopped and picked these up as though somebody had misplaced them. [Returning them to the students she said,] 'Was this yours? Oh, could you take it?' And it was her sang-froid and her absolute refusal to be shocked by this, which immediately silenced all the students. She knows instinctively what to do on those occasions. She doesn't rise to being heckled at all; she just pretends it must be an oversight on the part of the people doing it. The way she reacted not only showed her presence of mind, but was so charming and so disarming, even to the most rabid element, that she brought peace to troubled waters.[169]
Elizabeth was well known for her dry witticisms. On hearing that Edwina Mountbatten was buried at sea, she said: "Dear Edwina, she always liked to make a splash."[114] Accompanied by the gay writer Sir Noël Coward at a gala, she mounted a staircase lined with guards. Noticing Coward's eyes flicker momentarily across the soldiers, she murmured to him: "I wouldn't if I were you, Noël; they count them before they put them out."[170]
After being advised by a Conservative minister in the 1970s not to employ homosexuals, Elizabeth observed that without them, "we'd have to go self-service".[170] On the fate of a gift of a nebuchadnezzar of champagne (20 bottles' worth) even if her family did not come for the holidays, she said, "I'll polish it off myself."[171] Emine Saner of The Guardian suggests that with a gin and Dubonnet at noon, red wine with lunch, a port and martini at 6 pm and two glasses of champagne at dinner, "a conservative estimate puts the number of alcohol units she drank at 70 a week".[172] Her lifestyle amused journalists, particularly when it was revealed she had a multi-million pound overdraft with Coutts Bank.[173]
Elizabeth's habits were parodied by the satirical 1980s television programme Spitting Image.[174] This was the first satirical depiction on television; the makers initially demurred from featuring her, fearing that it would be considered off-limits by most of the viewing public.[175] In the end, she was portrayed as a perpetually tipsy Beryl Reid soundalike.[176] She was portrayed by Juliet Aubrey in Bertie and Elizabeth, Sylvia Syms in The Queen, Natalie Dormer in W.E., Olivia Colman in Hyde Park on Hudson, Victoria Hamilton (Seasons 1 and 2), Marion Bailey (Seasons 3 and 4) and Marcia Warren (Season 5)[177] in The Crown and in The King's Speech by Helena Bonham Carter, who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and won a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her portrayal.[178][179]
The Cunard White Star Line's RMS Queen Elizabeth was named after her. She launched the ship on 27 September 1938 in Clydebank, Scotland. Supposedly, the liner started to slide into the water before Elizabeth could officially launch her, and acting sharply, she managed to smash a bottle of Australian red over the liner's bow just before it slid out of reach.[180] In 1954, Elizabeth sailed to New York on her namesake.[181]
A statue of Elizabeth by sculptor Philip Jackson was unveiled in front of the George VI Memorial, off The Mall, London, on 24 February 2009, creating the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Memorial.[182]
In March 2011, Elizabeth's eclectic musical taste was revealed when details of her small record collection kept at the Castle of Mey were made public. Her records included ska, local folk, Scottish reels and the musicals Oklahoma! and The King and I, and artists such as yodeller Montana Slim, Tony Hancock, The Goons and Noël Coward.[183]
Eight years before her death, Elizabeth had reportedly placed two-thirds of her money (an estimated £19 million)[184] into trusts, for the benefit of her great-grandchildren.[185] In her lifetime, she received £643,000 a year from the Civil List, and spent an estimated £1–2 million annually to run her household.[186] By the end of the 1990s, her overdraft was said to be around £4 million.[184][186] She left the bulk of her estate, estimated to be worth between £50 and £70 million, including paintings, Fabergé eggs, jewellery, and horses, to her surviving daughter, Queen Elizabeth II.[185][187] Under an agreement reached in 1993,[188] property passing from monarch to monarch is exempt from inheritance tax, as is property passing from the consort of a former monarch to the current monarch, so a tax liability estimated at £28 million (40 percent of the value of the estate) was not incurred.[189] The most important pieces of art were transferred to the Royal Collection by Elizabeth II.[185] Following her death, the Queen successfully applied to the High Court so that details of her mother's will would be kept secret.[190] This brought criticism from the Labour Party politicians and segments of the public, and the Queen eventually released the outlines of her mother's will.[187]
Arms
Elizabeth's coat of arms was the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom (in either the English or the Scottish version) impaled with the canting arms of her father, the Earl of Strathmore; the latter being: 1st and 4th quarters, Argent, a lion rampant Azure, armed and langued Gules, within a double tressure flory-counter-flory of the second (Lyon); 2nd and 3rd quarters, Ermine, three bows stringed paleways proper (Bowes).[191] The shield is surmounted by the imperial crown, and supported by the crowned lion of England and a lion rampant per fess Or and Gules.[192]
| Coat of arms of Elizabeth, Duchess of York (1923–1936) | Coat of arms of Queen Elizabeth | Coat of arms of Queen Elizabeth (Scotland) |
Issue
| Name | Birth | Death | Marriage | Their children | Their grandchildren | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Spouse | |||||
| Elizabeth II | 21 April 1926 | 8 September 2022 | 20 November 1947 | Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh | Charles III | William, Prince of Wales Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex |
| Anne, Princess Royal | Peter Phillips Zara Tindall | |||||
| Prince Andrew, Duke of York | Princess Beatrice Princess Eugenie | |||||
| Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh | Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor James Mountbatten-Windsor, Earl of Wessex | |||||
| Princess Margaret | 21 August 1930 | 9 February 2002 | 6 May 1960 Divorced 11 July 1978 | Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon | David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon | Charles Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones |
| Lady Sarah Chatto | Samuel Chatto Arthur Chatto | |||||
Ancestry
| Ancestors of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother[193] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
See also
Notes
- ^ From the accession of her husband to the abolition of British India by the Indian Independence Act 1947. The title was abandoned on 22 June 1948.
- ^ a b The hyphenated version of the surname was used in official documents at the time of her marriage, but the family itself tends to omit the hyphen.[1]
- ^ Lady Colin Campbell claims Elizabeth's biological mother was the family cook, Marguerite Rodiere, by means of a surrogacy arrangement that was not uncommon in aristocratic families at the time. This theory is dismissed by royal biographers such as Michael Thornton and Hugo Vickers.[6] In an earlier allegation, published by Kitty Kelley in 1997, Elizabeth's mother is said to have been a Welsh maid.[7]
References
- ^ Shawcross, p. 8
- ^ "No. 55932". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 August 2000. p. 8617. "No. 56653". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 August 2002. p. 1. "No. 56969". The London Gazette. 16 June 2003. p. 7439.
- ^ Roberts, pp. 58–59
- ^ British Screen News (1930), Our Smiling Duchess, London: British Screen Productions
- ^ a b c Moore, Lucy (31 March 2002), "A wicked twinkle and a streak of steel", The Guardian, retrieved 1 May 2009
- ^ "Queen Mother was daughter of French cook, biography claims", The Telegraph, 31 March 2012, archived from the original on 10 January 2022
- ^ Beck, Joan (5 October 1997), "Royal Muck: $27 Down The Drain", Chicago Tribune, retrieved 16 February 2017
- ^ Weir, Alison (1996), Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy, Revised edition, London: Pimlico, p. 330, ISBN 978-0-7126-7448-5
- ^ Shawcross, p. 15
- ^ Civil Registration Indexes: Births, General Register Office, England and Wales. Jul–Sep 1900 Hitchin, vol. 3a, p. 667
- ^ 1901 England Census, Class RG13, piece 1300, folio 170, p. 5
- ^ Vickers, p. 8
- ^ Vickers, pp. 10–14
- ^ Shawcross, p. 85
- ^ Shawcross, pp. 79–80
- ^ Forbes 1999, p. 74.
- ^ "The Earl and Countess of Forfar visit Forfar". royal.gov.uk. 1 July 2019. from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
- ^ a b Ezard, John (1 April 2002), "A life of legend, duty and devotion", The Guardian, p. 18
- ^ Airlie, Mabell (1962), Thatched with Gold, London: Hutchinson, p. 167
- ^ Shawcross, pp. 133–135
- ^ Shawcross, pp. 135–136
- ^ Shawcross, p. 136
- ^ Longford, p. 23
- ^ Roberts, pp. 57–58; Shawcross, p. 113
- ^ , Vintage Royal Wedding, archived from the original on 31 October 2013, retrieved 13 April 2014
- ^ Shawcross, p. 177
- ^ Vickers, p. 64
- ^ Rayment, Sean (1 May 2011), "Royal wedding: Kate Middleton's bridal bouquet placed at Grave of Unknown Warrior", The Telegraph, archived from the original on 10 January 2022, retrieved 20 August 2012
- ^ Shawcross, p. 168
- ^ Letter from Albert to Queen Mary, 25 May 1923, quoted in Shawcross, p. 185.
- ^ Shawcross, pp. 218–219
- ^ Letter from Elizabeth to Lady Strathmore, 1 November 1924, quoted in Shawcross, p. 217
- ^ Shawcross, pp. 221–240
- ^ Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother> Royal tours, Official web site of the British monarchy, retrieved 1 May 2009
- ^ Elizabeth's diary, 6 January 1927, quoted in Shawcross, p. 264
- ^ Shawcross, pp. 266–296
- ^ Shawcross, p. 277
- ^ Shawcross, pp. 281–282
- ^ "Royal anglers", The Register, Adelaide: National Library of Australia, p. 9, 25 February 1927, retrieved 1 September 2012
- ^ Shawcross, pp. 294–296.
- ^ "No. 33636". The London Gazette. 22 August 1930. p. 5225.
- ^ "White Lodge, Richmond Park" (PDF), London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, retrieved 30 March 2023
- ^ "The Queen Mother's Residences", Royal Collection Trust, retrieved 29 November 2022
- ^ Shawcross, p. 397
- ^ Letter from George VI to Winston Churchill in which the King says his family shared his view, quoted by Howarth, p. 143
- ^ Michie, Alan A. (17 March 1941) Life Magazine, quoted by Vickers, p. 224
- ^ Hogg and Mortimer, pp. 84–85
- ^ Shawcross, pp. 430–433
- ^ Shawcross, p. 430
- ^ Shawcross, pp. 434–436
- ^ Shawcross, pp. 438–443
- ^ Hitchens, Christopher (1 April 2002) "Mourning will be brief", The Guardian, retrieved 1 May 2009.
- ^ Sinclair, David (1988), Two Georges: the Making of the Modern Monarchy, Hodder and Stoughton, p. 230, ISBN 978-0-340-33240-5
- ^ Powell, James. "The 1939 Royal Visit". The Historical Society of Ottawa. Ottawa. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
It was the first visit by a reigning sovereign to Canada...
- ^ Bell, Peter (October 2002), "The Foreign Office and the 1939 Royal Visit to America: Courting the USA in an Era of Isolationism", Journal of Contemporary History, 37 (4): 599–616, doi:10.1177/00220094020370040601, JSTOR 3180762, S2CID 159572988
- ^ Rhodes, Benjamin D. (2001), United States foreign policy in the interwar period, 1918–1941, Greenwood, p. 153, ISBN 978-0-275-94825-2
- ^ Reynolds, David (August 1983), "FDR's Foreign Policy and the British Royal Visit to the U.S.A., 1939", Historian, 45 (4): 461–472, doi:10.1111/j.1540-6563.1983.tb01576.x
- ^ Rhodes, Benjamin D. (April 1978), "The British Royal Visit of 1939 and the "Psychological Approach" to the United States", Diplomatic History, 2 (2): 197–211, doi:10.1111/j.1467-7709.1978.tb00431.x
- ^ Shawcross, p. 479
- ^ Galbraith, William (1989), "Fiftieth Anniversary of the 1939 Royal Visit" (PDF), Canadian Parliamentary Review, 12 (3): 7–8, (PDF) from the original on 3 July 2011, retrieved 14 December 2009
- ^ Bousfield, Arthur; Toffoli, Garry (1989), Royal Spring: The Royal Tour of 1939 and the Queen Mother in Canada, Toronto: Dundurn Press, pp. 65–66, ISBN 978-1-55002-065-6
- ^ Lanctot, Gustave (1964), Royal Tour of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in Canada and the United States of America 1939, Toronto: E. P. Taylor Foundation
- ^ Library and Archives Canada (28 February 2013), "The Royal Tour of 1939", A Real Companion and Friend: The diary of William Lyon Mackenzie King, Queen's Printer for Canada, retrieved 16 February 2017
- ^ Speech delivered by Her Majesty the Queen at the Fairmont Hotel, Vancouver, Monday, 7 October 2002 as reported in e.g. Joyce, Greg (8 October 2002) "Queen plays tribute to Canada, thanks citizens for their support", The Canadian Press
- ^ Shawcross, pp. 457–461; Vickers, p. 187
- ^ Bradford 1989, pp. 298–299.
- ^ Bradford 1989, p. 281.
- ^ , Government of Canada, 31 January 2017, archived from the original on 16 February 2017, retrieved 16 February 2017
- ^ Shawcross, p. 515
- ^ Vickers, p. 205
- ^ "Queen Elizabeth Speaks to The Nation as World War II Begins", British Pathé War Archives, 16 May 2012, retrieved 18 January 2023 – via YouTube
- ^ Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother > Activities as Queen, Official web site of the British monarchy, retrieved 1 May 2009
- ^ Hartnell, Norman (1955), Silver and Gold, Evans Bros., pp. 101–102, quoted in Shawcross, p. 526 and Vickers, p. 219
- ^ Wheeler-Bennett, Sir John (1958), King George VI: His Life and Reign, New York: Macmillan
- ^ Vickers, p. 229
- ^ Shawcross, p. 528
- ^ Bradford 1989, p. 321; Shawcross, p. 516
- ^ Langworth, Richard M. (Spring 2002), HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother 1900–2002, The Churchill Centre, retrieved 1 May 2010
- ^ Matthew, H.C.G. (2004), "George VI (1895–1952)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ^ Vickers, pp. 210–211
- ^ Shawcross, p. 412.
- ^ Pierce, Andrew (13 May 2006), "What Queen Mother really thought of Attlee's socialist 'heaven on earth'", The Times, London, UK, retrieved 1 May 2009
- ^ Wyatt, Woodrow (1998), Curtis, Sarah (ed.), The Journals of Woodrow Wyatt: Volume I, London: Macmillan, p. 255, ISBN 978-0-333-74166-5
- ^ Wyatt, Volume I p. 309
- ^ Hogg and Mortimer, p. 89
- ^ Bradford 1989, p. 391; Shawcross, p. 618
- ^ Shawcross, pp. 637–640
- ^ Shawcross, pp. 645–647
- ^ Shawcross, p. 651
- ^ The day the King died, BBC, 6 February 2002, from the original on 30 May 2018, retrieved 15 June 2022
- ^ McCluskey, Peter, , CBC News, archived from the original on 28 August 2013, retrieved 1 May 2009
- ^ Iyer, Pico (8 April 2002), , Time, archived from the original on 22 October 2010, retrieved 16 February 2017
- ^ Hogg and Mortimer, p. 161
- ^ Shawcross, pp. 686–688; Vickers, p. 324
- ^ Shawcross, pp. 710–713
- ^ Shawcross, pp. 689–690
- ^ Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother at the West of Kenya Show, Eldoret, Kenya Feb 1959, Royal Collection Trust, retrieved 1 August 2018
- ^ Visit of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Kenya, Uganda, 1959, Royal Collection Trust, retrieved 1 August 2018
- ^ Vickers, p. 314
- ^ , archived from the original on 25 April 2015, retrieved 6 March 2013
- ^ Shawcross, pp. 703–704
- ^ Shawcross, p. 790
- ^ Vickers, p. 458
- ^ , The Royal Collection, archived from the original on 21 September 2012, retrieved 31 October 2009
- ^ Shawcross, p. 806
- ^ Shawcross, p. 807
- ^ Queen Mother 'had colon cancer', BBC, 17 September 2009, retrieved 22 September 2009
- ^ Shawcross, p. 817
- ^ Shawcross, p. 875
- ^ "Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother". The Royal Family. 21 December 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
- ^ Shawcross, pp. 822–823
- ^ Shawcross, pp. 827–831
- ^ Shawcross, p. 835
- ^ a b "Queen of Quips", The Straits Times, 7 August 2000
- ^ Shawcross, p. 878; Vickers, p. 449
- ^ "Queen Mother recovers after operation", BBC News, 25 January 1999, retrieved 8 August 2013
- ^ Vincenty, Samantha (23 November 2020). "All About Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon, the Queen's Hidden Cousins". Oprah Daily. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
- ^ MacKay, Neil (7 April 2002), , The Sunday Herald, archived from the original on 22 May 2013, retrieved 13 February 2007
- ^ Summerskill, Ben (23 July 2000), "Princess the palace hides away", The Guardian, retrieved 1 May 2009
- ^ Shawcross, pp. 732, 882
- ^ Shawcross, pp. 903–904
- ^ Shawcross, p. 912
- ^ Birthday pageant for Queen Mother, BBC, 19 July 2000, retrieved 1 May 2009
- ^ Commemorative Bank Note for 100th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Rampant Scotland, retrieved 1 May 2009
- ^ Vickers, p. 490
- ^ Shawcross, p. 925
- ^ Queen Mother leaves hospital, BBC, 2 August 2001, retrieved 28 August 2013
- ^ Queen Mother's 101st birthday, BBC, 4 August 2001, retrieved 28 August 2013
- ^ Queen Mother attends memorial event, BBC, 8 November 2001, retrieved 15 September 2013
- ^ Pictures of the decade: the Royal family, The Telegraph, 18 December 2009, retrieved 15 September 2013
- ^ "Queen Mother celebrates ship's return". BBC News. 22 November 2000. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- ^ Queen Mother 'better all the time', BBC, 27 January 2002, retrieved 1 May 2009
- ^ a b "Queen Mother dies peacefully, aged 101", The Guardian, 30 March 2002, retrieved 28 March 2019
- ^ Vickers, p. 495
- ^ a b Queen Mother hurt in minor fall, BBC, 13 February 2002, retrieved 1 May 2009
- ^ Shawcross, p. 930; Vickers, pp. 497–498
- ^ a b c Vickers, pp. 497–498
- ^ BBC News bulletin after Queen Mother dies, YouTube, 30 March 2002, archived from the original on 14 November 2021, retrieved 1 May 2009
- ^ Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother: Frailty fails to dim devotion to duty; Reaching old age., The Birmingham Post, 1 April 2002, retrieved 30 August 2013
- ^ Davies, Caroline (16 February 2002), "Bell tolls for Margaret's final journey", The Telegraph, archived from the original on 10 January 2022, retrieved 22 September 2013
- ^ Vickers, pp. 498–499
- ^ Walker, Andrew (20 August 2003), "The longest-lived Royal in history", BBC News, retrieved 30 June 2017
- ^ Alderson, Andrew (31 October 2004), "Princess Alice, the oldest ever royal, dies at 102", The Telegraph, archived from the original on 10 January 2022, retrieved 30 June 2017
- ^ Coke, Hope (21 April 2021). "The top 10 longest-living royals in history". Tatler. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ Bates, Stephen (3 April 2002), "Piper's farewell for Queen Mother", The Guardian, retrieved 1 May 2009
- ^ Lying-in-state, UK Parliament, retrieved 29 June 2017
- ^ Bates, Stephen (9 April 2002), "Grandsons hold vigil as public files past", The Guardian, retrieved 29 June 2017
- ^ "Charles returns for second tribute", BBC News, 9 April 2002, retrieved 29 June 2017
- ^ Government of Canada Publications (4 April 2002), "Proclamation Requesting that the People of Canada Set Aside April 9, 2002, as the Day on Which They Honour the Memory of Our Dearly Beloved Mother, Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Who Passed Away on March 30, 2002" (PDF), Canada Gazette Part II Extra, 136 (5), (PDF) from the original on 14 April 2013, retrieved 16 February 2017
- ^ Memorial Service for HM Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, Sydney Anglicans, 9 April 2002, retrieved 2 March 2011
- ^ Queues at Queen Mother vault, CNN, 10 April 2002, retrieved 1 May 2009
- ^ Mourners visit Queen Mother's vault, BBC, 10 April 2002, retrieved 1 May 2009
- ^ Monarchy/Royal Family Trends – Most Liked Members of the Royal Family, Ipsos MORI, 19 November 2012, retrieved 9 May 2015
- ^ Goldman, Lawrence (May 2006) "Elizabeth (1900–2002)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/76927, retrieved 1 May 2009 (Subscription required)
- ^ Shawcross, p. 942
- ^ a b Kelley, Kitty (1977), The Royals, New York: Time Warner
- ^ Picknett, Lynn; Prince, Clive; Prior, Stephen; Brydon, Robert (2002), War of the Windsors: A Century of Unconstitutional Monarchy, Mainstream Publishing, p. 161, ISBN 978-1-84018-631-4
- ^ The memoirs of the Rt. Hon. the Earl of Woolton C.H., P.C., D.L., LL.D. (1959) London: Cassell
- ^ Roberts, p. 67
- ^ Goodwin, Doris Kearns (1995), No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II, New York: Simon & Schuster, p. 380
- ^ Shawcross, pp. 556–557
- ^ Burgess, Major Colin (2006), Behind Palace Doors: My Service as the Queen Mother's Equerry, John Blake Publishing, p. 233
- ^ Royal secretary loses race bias case, BBC, 7 December 2001, retrieved 1 May 2009
- ^ Rhodes James, Robert (1998), A Spirit Undaunted: The Political Role of George VI, London: Little, Brown and Co, p. 296, ISBN 978-0-316-64765-6
- ^ Wyatt, Woodrow (1999), Curtis, Sarah (ed.), The Journals of Woodrow Wyatt: Volume II, London: Macmillan, p. 547, ISBN 978-0-333-77405-2
- ^ Wyatt, Volume II, p. 608
- ^ Bates, Stephen (1 April 2002), "Enigmatic and elusive, she lent a mystique to upper-class strengths and failings", The Guardian; retrieved 1 May 2009.
- ^ Hogg and Mortimer, p. 122
- ^ Hogg and Mortimer, pp. 212–213
- ^ a b Blaikie, Thomas (2002), You look awfully like the Queen: Wit and Wisdom from the House of Windsor, London, UK: HarperCollins, ISBN 978-0-00-714874-5
- ^ Taylor, Graham (2002), Elizabeth: The Woman and the Queen, Telegraph Books, p. 93
- ^ Saner, Emine (25 July 2006), "Bring back the magic hour", The Guardian, retrieved 24 March 2011
- ^ Morgan, Christopher (14 March 1999), The Sunday Times
- ^ "Spitting Image creator John Lloyd: 'Television lacks satire'", BBC News, retrieved 1 July 2017
- ^ "'Spitting Image' fuses politics with puppetry, 1984", Financial Times, 6 September 2008, archived from the original on 10 December 2022, retrieved 4 July 2018
- ^ "Dead ringers", The Guardian, 23 June 2006, retrieved 4 July 2018
- ^ "Who plays the Queen Mother in The Crown season 5?". Express. 7 November 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
- ^ "King's Speech reigns over Bafta awards", BBC News, 14 February 2011, retrieved 1 July 2017
- ^ , CNN International, 18 January 2011, archived from the original on 9 May 2021, retrieved 1 July 2017
- ^ Hutchings, David F. (2003) Pride of the North Atlantic. A Maritime Trilogy, Waterfront.
- ^ Harvey, Clive (25 October 2008) RMS "Queen Elizabeth": The Ultimate Ship, Carmania Press.
- ^ Prince hails Queen Mother tribute, BBC, 24 February 2009, retrieved 6 March 2013
- ^ "The Queen Mother's regal taste in music", The Telegraph, 14 March 2011, archived from the original on 10 January 2022, retrieved 6 March 2013
- ^ a b Bates, Stephen (2 April 2002), "The gamble that foiled the taxman", The Guardian, retrieved 2 June 2018
- ^ a b c "Queen Inherits Queen Mother's Estate", BBC News, 17 May 2002, retrieved 1 May 2009
- ^ a b Alderson, Andrew (12 May 2002), The will without a bill, The Daily Telegraph, archived from the original on 10 January 2022, retrieved 2 June 2018
- ^ a b Bates, Stephen (17 May 2002), "Palace reveals details of Queen Mother's £50m will", The Guardian, retrieved 2 June 2018
- ^ Wilson, Jamie (6 May 2002), "Tax loophole will save Queen £20m on her mother's will", The Guardian, retrieved 2 June 2018
- ^ Chamberlain, Gethin (7 May 2002), "Queen to escape £28 million inheritance tax", The Scotsman
- ^ Queen Mother's will to be secret, BBC, 8 May 2002, retrieved 2 June 2018
- ^ Brooke-Little, J. P. (1978) [1950], Boutell's Heraldry (Revised ed.), London: Frederick Warne, p. 220, ISBN 978-0-7232-2096-1
- ^ Pinches, John Harvey; Pinches, Rosemary (1974), The Royal Heraldry of England, Heraldry Today, Slough, Buckinghamshire: Hollen Street Press, p. 267, ISBN 978-0-900455-25-4
- ^ Wagner, A. R. (1940), "Some of the Sixty-four Ancestors of Her Majesty the Queen", Genealogist's Magazine, 9 (1): 7–13
Bibliography
- Bradford, Sarah (1989), The Reluctant King: The Life and Reign of George VI, St Martin's
- Forbes, Grania (1999), My Darling Buffy: The Early Life of The Queen Mother, Headline Book Publishing, ISBN 978-0-7472-7387-5
- Hogg, James; Mortimer, Michael, eds. (2002), The Queen Mother Remembered, BBC Books, ISBN 978-0-563-36214-2
- Howarth, Patrick (1987), George VI, Century Hutchinson, ISBN 978-0-09-171000-2
- Goldman, Lawrence (May 2006). "Elizabeth (1900–2002)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/76927. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- Longford, Elizabeth (1981), The Queen Mother, Weidenfeld & Nicolson
- Roberts, Andrew (2000), Fraser, Antonia (ed.), The House of Windsor, Cassell and Co., ISBN 978-0-304-35406-1
- Shawcross, William (2009), Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother: The Official Biography, Macmillan, ISBN 978-1-4050-4859-0
- Shawcross, William (2012), Counting One's Blessings: Selected Letters of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Macmillan, ISBN 978-0-230-75496-6
- Vickers, Hugo (2006), Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, Arrow Books/Random House, ISBN 978-0-09-947662-7
External links
- Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother at the official website of the Royal Family
- Queen Elizabeth at the official website of the Royal Collection Trust
- Newspaper clippings about Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW