All of us women love family life, our homes and our children, and you may be sure that our men overseas are thinking just as wistfully of these homes as we are – some of the dear and familiar homes they left behind, others of the new homes they mean to make for the young wives of the future. These men – both at home and abroad – are counting on us at all times to be steadfast and faithful. I know that we shall not fail them, but, fortified by the great experience in this war of our strength in unity, go forward with them, undismayed, into the future.
I feel that in all the thinking and planning which we are doing for the welfare of our Country and Empire – yes, and concern for other Countries too – we women as home-makers have a great part to play in re-building family life as soon as the war ends.
I would like to add, with my fullest conviction, that it is on the strength of our spiritual life that the right re-building of our national life depends.
In these last tragic years many have found in Religion the source and mainspring of the courage and selflessness that they needed. On the other hand we cannot close our eyes to the fact that our precious Christian heritage is threatened by adverse influences. It does indeed seem to me that if the years to come are to see some real spiritual recovery, the women of our Nation must be deeply concerned with Religion, and our homes the very place where it should start; it is the creative and dynamic power of Christianity which can help us to carry the moral responsibilities which history is placing upon our shoulders. If our homes can be truly Christian, then the influence of that spirit will assuredly spread like leaven through all the aspects of our common life, social, industrial, and political.
The King and I are grateful to think that we and our family are remembered in your prayers. We need them and try to live up to them. And we also pray that God will bless and guide our people in this Country and in our great family throughout the Empire, and will lead us forward, united and strong, into the paths of victory and peace.
13 April 1943 to Winston Churchill
Buckingham Palace
My dear Mr Churchill
Please accept my most grateful thanks for your contribution to my broadcast to our women. I put it in, just as you wrote it, and am certain that those words will comfort many an aching heart.
I am so sorry not to be at the ‘Picnic’* today, & hope that conversation will flow unchecked by that incessant prowl round the table by attentive varlets!
With all my thanks for so kindly helping me with my message,
I am, Yours very sincerely,
Elizabeth R
15 April 1943 to May Elphinstone
Buckingham Palace
My Darling May
Thank you so very much for your angelic letter about my broadcast message. It was so very difficult to know what to say – the field is so enormous, & what to put in, & what to put out was a nightmare! If you really thought it helpful I feel very happy. One does so long to tell women how truly brave & self sacrificing they are, & perhaps by praise making the very few butterflies feel a little ashamed!
You have done such wonderful work, & your example has I know meant a great deal to the women who work with & for you – very hard too I know.
Goodbye darling,
Your v. loving
E
18 April 1943 to Sir Alan Lascelles
Windsor Castle
My dear Tommy
I expect that you have seen in today’s papers that the Prime Minister has sent a message to the Viceroy of India congratulating the Indian troops on their great work in Africa during the last year or so. I do feel that this is so very wrong, for it is certainly for the King to send such a message, the first one, and not for the P.M.* It is so troublesome, as I know that the King was waiting for an opportunity to send a personal word of congratulation on the work of his troops, for I believe they are very loyal to the K. Emperor. I do wish that you would raise this matter with the King tonight or tomorrow, as I am sure it is a suitable thing to bring up with the P.M.’s private secretary, saying, that the King was wishing to send his message etc. Of course, the King will send a special word some time I imagine, but it looks so very bad for the Prime Minister to butt in with words addressed to the Princes & peoples of India. It makes people angry, & does undermine the King’s position. What a bore in the future, if we have Stafford Cripps* sending such messages on his own, without waiting for the head of the State to do it. We must not let all these things go by; up Private Secretary and at ‘em.
Please try & do something – it can be very friendly & polite. ER
Undated [11 June 1943] 11.15 a.m. to Queen Mary
Windsor Castle
My Darling Mama,
I have just heard that Bertie has landed somewhere in Africa† & taken off again for his destination, so I hope that the major part of his journey is safely over. I have had an anxious few hours because at 8.15 I heard that the plane had been heard near Gibraltar, and that it would soon be landing. Then after an hour and a half I heard that there was a thick fog at Gib, and that they were going on to Africa. Then complete silence until a few minutes ago, when a message came that they had landed in Africa and taken off again. Of course I imagined every sort of horror, and walked up and down my room, staring at the telephone! It was unlucky not being able to land at Gibraltar, and one gets so anxious over the oil running low & other things, but I believe that he ought to be at Algiers (I suppose) by lunch time, & getting into a hot bath and having a good meal.
He took Alex [General Alexander] with him last night, & Mouse Fielden* too, who I have great faith in. I will let you know any news I get, but fear it will be very sparse, & Bertie will be on the move for the next ten days.
What a relief it will be to have him back again. I already feel that he has been away for days, & it is barely 12 hours!
Thank you a thousand times for the notes on the trains. I have put the paper with the lace ones.
Much love, darling Mama, ever your loving
Elizabeth
14 June 1943 to King George VI
Windsor Castle
12 o’clock
My Darling Angel
I have just received your telegram, and Eric† tells me that if I send a note up to London by 2.30, it will probably get to you. I am so thankful that you had a comfortable journey, and I do hope that you weren’t too tired. I was very relieved to hear that you had arrived safely, as it seemed an endless time waiting here! It seems weeks since you went off, and I am counting the days until you return. I do hope that the warm sun will do you good, and that the change of everything will be a real tonic – I am sure you badly need it after these 4 years of grinding work and anxiety. I don’t like to write very freely, as one never knows what might happen to letters in these days! So I am very discreet.
At the moment it is raining! Eric is being so very kind and helpful, & so far I have signed 4 little ERs, and so I trust have not let you down yet! Noël Coward is doing a film, in which one scene is the lying in state of Papa, and they want to borrow 4 Yeoman of the Guard and a standard so as to get details right. I felt sure that you would wish these ‘objets’ lent, as otherwise they are bound to make a mess of it. The lying in state scene is very short, & nobody says a word, so I imagine it will be quite moving & not annoying.
Lilibet is in bed with a cold, & Margaret has gone down to Frogmore to help the Sea Rangers cook their lunch! I shall be back in London Wed: morning, & if a chance comes will send you another little note.
I think of you all the time, and do pray that you will have a really interesting & not too exhausting time. All my love darling, from your very loving E
Have you seen Clare Vyner? I wonder if you’ll get a chance. If you see any of my regiments, do give them a special word of greeting & congratulation from me.
I miss you terribly.
17 June 1943 to King George VI
Buckingham Palace
My Darling Angel
Here is another letter which I hope you will ge
t soon.
The news of your arrival in Africa has given everyone a great thrill here, and thank goodness the papers have big headlines and news of your doings (4 days old naturally) today. Everybody is very interested, and I am sure it would have been a great mistake to keep it all dark until your return. As it is, there is great excitement and admiration combined. I do hope that you are keeping well. From the account of your first two days you seem to be leading a very strenuous life – please don’t get overtired, & do save up all the tit bits & amusing or interesting things to tell me when you get home.
I took the children to the ballet yesterday which they loved. We all miss you terribly, and Buckingham Palace feels very lonely and more lugubrious than ever! Eric has been quite excellent, & so helpful and kind. Tommy takes over today, and I have only signed about half a dozen papers each day, so not much happening.
I don’t like to write too freely as I said before, not knowing what might happen to this letter, but I think of you all the time, & am so happy to know what pleasure you are giving to everybody in Africa, as well as everybody here. I look forward enormously to your return, but don’t hurry back now that you are out there, & take in every bit of sunshine possible.
I wonder how your lunch with the Americans went off? It sounded a lovely meal.
Goodbye darling, all my love
& everything from your very
very loving
Elizabeth
24 June 1943 to Queen Mary
Buckingham Palace
My Darling Mama,
I have just heard that Bertie is likely to arrive in England early tomorrow morning, so I hasten to send you this line to let you know the pleasing news.
I have had no direct news at all from Africa, beyond two wireless messages from Bertie to say he was well, and that he was having a very strenuous and interesting time. The accounts in the various newspapers are really the best news until he gets home.
I enclose a message received late Tuesday evening from Joey* which you might care to see. I would have loved to see Malta & Tripoli. It must have been a very emotional moment & full of feeling & drama. Of course we will send a message the moment he arrives, and unless the weather gets bad I trust with all my heart that he will be home by breakfast time. I feel that the trip has been very exhausting for him – those thousands of miles & endless inspections & heat. He looks very thin in photographs, but [I] hope he will have a quiet day in Algiers yesterday, and not feel the strain too much.
Much love darling Mama, I know how relieved you will be when he is safely home again, ever your loving daughter in law
Elizabeth
17 October 1943 to David Bowes Lyon
Buckingham Palace
My Darling David
Thank you so much for your letter safely received. I shall be very glad to see Miss McGeachy, and will talk to her about the Churchy Women, tho’ honestly darling I don’t think that I feel very holy at the moment, & just couldn’t think of a word to say to them. Just because I said last spring that I believed in Christianity & home life, I am considered practically a mother superior, & clergymen raise their hats to me with sort of special gusto! But I really will try & broadcast some time, if only I could find the right reason & the right moment.
[…]
The children are very well, and what a beastly time it is for people growing up. Lilibet meets young Grenadiers at Windsor, & then they get killed, & it is horrid for someone so young. So many good ones have gone recently, including poor Wigram’s son, Francis. He was a nice clever boy, just the sort we shall need so badly after the war. Well darling, I must stop.
Lots of love to Rachel & yourself,
from your very loving
Buffy
23 October 1943 to Queen Mary
Buckingham Palace
Darling Mama
I was so glad to receive your kind letter at Balmoral, and I have told Bertie of your suggestion about the underground factories. They sound most interesting, and I know that he wants to see them some time. He has been very busy lately, and it has been so difficult to make any plans. Somehow the war seems to have got to such a tremendous moment – so anxious and with such possibilities, and yet such dangers. One feels quite exhausted by the immensity of the huge battlefields, stretching right across the world, and by the great amount of misery caused by the Germans. What people – words fail one. […]
We saw the Archbishop of York* the other day. He was quite interesting about his trip to Russia, but I think one of his most vivid memories was of the vast quantities of food & drink he had to assimilate! Apparently the Russians still entertain their important guests with endless eating & vodka – very difficult to cope with, fresh from this rationed & austere country! […]
With so much love darling Mama, ever your very loving daughter in law
Elizabeth
20 November 1943 to Queen Mary
Windsor Castle
My Darling Mama
I cannot tell you what a joy it was to be with you at Badminton, or how much I loved our talks & the opportunity of discussing so many things & events. It was all so delightful, and you were so angelically kind as usual, and we were so happy during our short visit.
It was a particular pleasure to us that we were able to bring Lilibet, as owing to the war we so seldom go away together, and she did so enjoy herself.
Our Arabian luncheon went off very well, & the two brothers were most beautiful, true Arabs with marvellous dignity and lovely manners. It was rather a strain having to talk through an interpreter, but it all seemed to go smoothly. They brought Bertie a diamond studded sword from King Ibn Saud,† & they were very pleased when Bertie drew out its curved blade and said that it would do to cut Hitler’s head off!
Field Marshal Smuts* has arrived here, & we have had a most interesting talk. He seems pleased with Lilibet, which is nice, as I think he is a good judge. This morning he gave us a talk in Chapel instead of the Dean’s sermon. It was very kind of the old man, & is something which the soldiers who heard him will never forget. He put into such fine & plain words the great things for which we are all fighting, truly the Freedom of Man, and it was most inspiring.
I am very busy here turning out boxes & drawers to find old bits of stuff for the dresses in the Pantomime. Luckily Chinese clothes are easy to make from odds & ends, & I hope they will be successful.
With all my love darling Mama, & with my loving thanks for our delightful visit, we do so love being with you, ever your loving daughter in law
Elizabeth
30 November 1943 to Sir Osbert Sitwell†
Buckingham Palace
My dear Sir Osbert,
I write to thank you for the most charming book of poems‡ which you have so kindly sent me. I am enjoying them immensely. […]
Thank you also for your last letter. Yes, I have read the Gentleman from San Francisco§ and thought it a wonderful story – it remains in the memory.
Have you read Arthur Koestler’s last book?* I did not like it quite so much as Darkness at Noon, and during a slight attack of influenza I read a most horrid thing called Between the Thunder and the Sun,† which left an unpleasant taste in that it gave importance to all the things & people which & whom I look upon with contempt & distrust. Most unimportant anyway. I am now reading Mrs Gaskell’s Wives & Daughters‡ to help me back!
The children are busy with their pantomime§ and all the oldest jokes are being resurrected & used boldly once more. We are making the clothes from old curtains & black-out stuff, and tho’ the panto is ‘Alladin’, or is it ‘Aladin’, some dreadfully Japanese touches are creeping in, including such atrocities as Nip off to Nippon & such things! If you are in London on the 17th or 18th Dec:, it might amuse you to go to see it one of those afternoons, & perhaps stay the night at Windsor? Do let me know if this were possible, as I hope to be there and it would give us the greatest pleasure to see you again.
I am so glad you wrote ‘England Reclaimed’, those deligh
tful characters should be preserved – I do hope that radio & press & films won’t destroy all individualism in England. At Sandringham there exist still a few very original country people, quite untouched by modern vulgarities, but I suppose that Norfolk is still far away enough to preserve such delights.
I am, Yours very sincerely
Elizabeth R
11 February 1944 to Sir Kenneth Clark
Buckingham Palace
Dear Sir Kenneth,
Thank you so much for your letter which I received before Xmas – and I delayed writing to you until I knew a little more about all the postwar projects for exhibiting our pictures. It is very sad to think that you cannot do the arrangements, but as I do not think the Exhibition at the Royal Academy will take place for some time yet, there will be plenty of time to discuss it all, and I hope you will come & see me one day soon, when we can at least get a rough idea mapped out, and speak also, of finding your successor. It is too sad but I quite see that you must get the National Gallery going again, & therefore that you cannot give enough time to our pictures. I suppose they really need cataloguing too.
I am so pleased with the new set of Piper drawings, some of them are really exquisite, and on the whole I think I like them better than the first set. The King likes them enormously too, and altogether I am delighted.
A few months ago I bought a strange & rather fascinating picture by Paul Nash,* which he calls the ‘Landscape of the Vernal Equinox’. It is slightly ‘magic’, & changes towards evening in a most mysterious manner. In fact, I sometimes expect to see a new tree, or a mysterious elemental coming out of the wood! I wonder what you would think of it. If you are free, could you come & see me on Friday 18th afternoon next at about 2.45. If you are engaged, please do not hesitate to say so, and I can suggest an hour next week instead.
With again my thanks for your kind letter of Dec 21st.
I am, Yours very sincerely,
Elizabeth R
Counting One's Blessings Page 37
