A Brief History of the Private Life of Elizabeth II

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A Brief History of the Private Life of Elizabeth II Page 24

by Michael Paterson


  The Queen’s own death is something she has always contemplated with equanimity. Devout in her Christian beliefs, she has no qualms about passing on to what Victoria called ‘a more equal world’, though as Alan Bennett has her remark in his play An Englishman Abroad: ‘I suppose, for someone like me, heaven will be a bit of a come-down.’ Plans for her eventual funeral have been in readiness ever since she came to the throne, though this is standard for all senior royals. They are updated annually by a committee, and known by the code-name ‘London Bridge’. (The Queen Mother’s funeral arrangements were ‘Tay Bridge’, and Prince Philip’s are ‘Forth Bridge’.) Once approved by this, the details are sent to the groups that would be affected: the City of Westminster, the Ministry of Defence and, naturally, the police. This is necessary because of what would be involved: the inviting of Heads of State from all over the world, the need to accommodate the international media, the deployment of troops and the closing off of parts of central London. The Queen’s executors need not worry over where she will be buried or what the inscription on her tomb will say. All of that has long-since been settled. She has chosen her coffin, and apparently took great pleasure in fine-tuning the arrangements. It is a curious fact that Royals often do enjoy planning their own funerals. Lord Mountbatten had worked out in exhaustive detail how his was to be conducted.

  When the Queen’s funeral actually takes place – when ‘London Bridge’ is put into effect – the outpouring of affection will be massive. It will be on a scale not witnessed in Britain since the death of Victoria, and – since we are a more emotional people than the late-Victorians – probably greater. It will be a bigger event than anything in more recent times except, perhaps, the funeral of Gandhi.

  When King George VI died the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, laid a wreath on which were the simple words: ‘For Valour’. This is the motto engraved on the Victoria Cross. For the King’s daughter, whose overwhelming personal attribute has been undaunted, persistent personal courage, no lesser tribute would do.

  Is Elizabeth II the best monarch Britain has ever had? It is difficult to say, for such a judgement must be conditional. There have been others who fitted the spirit of their age and who displayed the qualities necessary to lead the country through difficult or even catastrophic times. There is, in any case, no British Mount Rushmore on which the best few are represented. It is something of a cheap journalistic trick to say that the Queen’s reign has been one of ‘unprecedented change’, for there is no era in modern history that has seen anything other than furious, ceaseless change, and contemporaries no doubt always thought of this as ‘unprecedented’. What cannot be denied is that since the Second World War, Britain’s position as a great power has collapsed with the loss of Empire and the shrinking of its ability to influence world affairs. This has meant that, to an extent no one could have foreseen, the burden of maintaining national prestige has fallen upon her shoulders. She has succeeded in carrying that burden for 60 years without making a single error, and that is a monumental attainment. Her calming influence, her tact and wisdom, her ability to make friends for Britain and to preside over the Commonwealth (an organisation that would almost certainly not still exist were it not for her devotion) have gained for her, and by extension her country, a continuing status. For the country this will rise and fall according to circumstance. For Queen Elizabeth it is something that time is very unlikely to erode. She has been blessed by Fortune with a temperament suited to her unique role, a series of good advisors, a supportive husband who has made his own contribution to history, and a reign that has lasted long enough for her to build great achievements. By any yardstick, and in any aspect of her life and work, she is a truly great figure, and those of us who are her subjects will always have good reason to be thankful that we have been New Elizabethans. The moment it has ended, her reign will be seen as a golden age – a time of stability and prosperity and creativity. Rather from awaiting that signal for an outburst of nostalgia, we would be wise to appreciate now the time in which we live.

  FURTHER READING

  Bradford, Sarah – Elizabeth, QPD (Quality Paperbacks Direct), London, 1996

  Colville, John – The New Elizabethans, 1952–1977, William Collins, 1977

  Clark, Brigadier Stanley, OBE – Palace Diary, Geo. Harrap, 1958

  Crawford, Marion – Happy and Glorious, George Newnes, 1953

  Crawford, Marion – The Little Princesses, Cassell & Co., 1950

  Dimbleby, Jonathan – The Prince of Wales, Little, Brown & Co., 1994

  Duncan, Andrew – The Reality of Monarchy, William Heinemann, 1970

  Edwards, Anne – The Queen’s Clothes, Express/Elm Tree Books, 1976

  Fisher, Graham and Heather – The Queen’s Life, Robert Hale, 1976

  Hall, Unity – Philip: The Man Behind the Monarchy, Michael O’Mara Books, 1987

  Harris, Leonard – Long to Reign Over Us?, William Kimber, 1966

  Harris, Marion – The Queen’s Windsor, The Kensal Press, 1985

  Hoey, Brian – The Royal Yacht Britannia, Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1995

  Hoey, Brian – Her Majesty: Fifty Regal Years, Harper Collins, 2002

  Jay, Antony – Elizabeth R., BBC Books, 1992

  Kenny, Mary – Crown and Shamrock, New Island, Ireland, 2009

  Kiggell, Marcus, and Blakeway, Denys – The Queen’s Story, Headline, 2002

  Longford, Elizabeth – Elizabeth R., Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 1983

  Morrah, Dermot – The Work of the Queen, William Kimber, 1958

  Nickolls, L.A. – The Queen’s Majesty, Macmillan, 1957

  Noakes, Michael & Vivien – The Daily Life of the Queen, Ebury Press, 2000

  Oakey, David – The Queen’s Year: A Souvenir Album, Royal Collection Publications, 2010

  Piggott, Peter – Royal Transport, The Dundrun Group, Toronto, 2005

  Pimlott, Ben – The Queen: A Biography of Elizabeth II, John Wiley & Sons, 1997

  Prokashka, Frank – The Eagle and the Crown: Americans and the British Monarchy, Yale University Press, 2008

  The Royal Tour: A Souvenir Album, Royal Collection Publications, 2009

  Shawcross, William – Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother: The Official Biography, Macmillan, 2009

  Whiting, Audrey – Family Royal, W. H. Allen, 1982

  INDEX

  A

  Abdication crisis ref1, ref2, ref3

  Aga Khan ref1

  Ajca, Mehmet Ali ref1

  Albert, Prince ref1

  Alice, Princess of Greece ref1

  Altrincham, Lord ref1

  Andrew, Prince see York, Andrew, Duke of

  Andrews, Anthony ref1

  Anglican Church ref1, ref2, ref3

  Anne, Princess Royal

  birth ref1

  and Queen’s Coronation ref1

  passion for riding and eventing ref1, ref2, ref3

  education ref1, ref2

  character ref1

  marriage ref1, ref2

  attempted kidnap of ref1

  created Princess Royal ref1

  It’s A Royal Knockout ref1

  Olympic sportswoman ref1

  divorce ref1

  apartheid ref1, ref2

  Armstrong-Jones, Antony see Snowdon, Earl of

  Ascot Week ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service) ref1

  Aureole (Queen’s horse) ref1

  Australia

  Queen visits ref1, ref2, ref3

  constitutional crisis ref1

  republicanism ref1

  Charles and Diana visit ref1

  B

  Badminton ref1

  Baillie-Grohman, Vice-Admiral Harold ref1

  Ball, Ian ref1

  Balmoral ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  ‘Balmoral test’ ref1

  Queen’s honeymoon at ref1

  BBC

  Christmas broadcasts ref1, ref2

  Royal Family ref1

  Elizabeth R re
f1

  Diana’s Panorama interview ref1

  Beatles ref1

  Beaton, Jim ref1

  Beatrice, Princess ref1

  Benenden ref1

  Benn, Anthony Wedgwood (Tony) ref1

  Bennett, Alan ref1

  Berlin Wall ref1

  Blair, Tony ref1, ref2, ref3

  Blitz ref1, ref2

  Blunt, Anthony ref1

  Boston, Massachusetts ref1

  bouquets ref1

  Brabourne, Lord ref1

  Bradley, Omar ref1

  Brazil ref1

  Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth ref1

  British Empire

  Princess Elizabeth’s broadcast to ref1

  dissolution of ref1

  British Guiana ref1

  Broadlands ref1

  Bryan, John ref1

  Buckingham Palace

  Princess Elizabeth moves to ref1

  wartime bombing of ref1, ref2

  Queen moves to ref1

  garden parties ref1

  Queen’s office ref1

  opens to the public ref1

  daily routine at ref1

  Buckingham Palace Guide Troop ref1

  Burgess, Guy ref1

  Burmese (Queen’s horse) ref1, ref2

  C

  Callaghan, James ref1

  Cambridge University ref1, ref2

  ‘Camillagate’ ref1

  Canada ref1

  visits to ref1, ref2, ref3

  separatist movement ref1, ref2

  Casson, Hugh ref1

  Ceausescu, Nicolae ref1

  centenarian telegrams ref1

  Channon, Sir Henry ‘Chips’ ref1

  Charles, Prince of Wales

  birth ref1

  childhood and upbringing ref1, ref2, ref3

  and Queen’s Coronation ref1

  education ref1, ref2, ref3

  emergency appendectomy ref1

  closeness to Queen Mother ref1

  sensitivity ref1, ref2

  relationship with parents ref1, ref2

  investiture as Prince of Wales ref1, ref2

  walkabouts ref1

  coordinates Silver Jubilee celebrations ref1

  meets and marries Lady Diana Spencer ref1

  character ref1, ref2, ref3

  married unhappiness ref1

  ‘war of the Waleses’ ref1, ref2

  public criticisms of ref1

  Camillagate ref1

  public humiliation ref1

  agrees to pay income tax ref1

  Dimbleby interview ref1

  admits adultery ref1

  divorce ref1

  marries Camilla Parker Bowles ref1

  Charteris, Martin ref1, ref2

  Cheam school ref1

  Child, Sir Hill ref1, ref2

  Children’s Hour ref1

  Christmas broadcasts ref1, ref2

  Churchill, Winston ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8

  Civil List ref1, ref2, ref3

  Clarence House ref1, ref2

  class politics ref1

  Clinton, Bill ref1

  Cold War ref1, ref2

  Colville, Sir John ref1, ref2

  Colville, Commander Richard ref1

  Commonwealth ref1, ref2

  postwar changes ref1, ref2

  Princess’s broadcast to ref1

  Commonwealth Games ref1

  Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference ref1, ref2

  Communist Bloc, collapse of ref1

  Concorde ref1, ref2

  Connaught, Duke of ref1

  corgis ref1, ref2, ref3

  Cornwall, Camilla, Duchess of ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  Coronation Chicken ref1

  Coronation Coach ref1

  coronations

  George VI ref1, ref2

  Queen ref1

  televising of ref1

  Coty, René ref1

  Court Circular ref1

  Coventry ref1

  Crawford, Marion ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7

  Crossman, Richard ref1

  Crown jewels ref1

  D

  Dad’s Army ref1

  Daley, Janet ref1

  Davis, George ref1

  debutantes, presentation of ref1

  Derby (horse race) ref1

  Diana, Princess of Wales ref1, ref2

  marriage ref1, ref2

  qualities ref1

  unhappiness ref1, ref2, ref3

  celebrity status ref1, ref2, ref3

  friendship with Sarah Ferguson ref1

  Diana: Her True Story ref1

  bulimia and self-harming ref1

  ‘war of the Waleses’ ref1, ref2

  divorce ref1

  ex-Royal ref1, ref2

  Panorama interview ref1

  public affection for ref1

  death of ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  Dimbleby, Jonathan ref1

  divorce, public attitudes towards ref1, ref2

  Douglas-Home, Alec ref1

  Dunfermline (Queen’s horse) ref1

  dynastic marriages ref1

  E

  Eden, Anthony ref1

  Edward the Confessor ref1

  Edward, Prince see Wessex, Edward, Earl of

  Edward, Prince of Wales see Windsor, Edward, Duke of

  Edward VII ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  Edward VII (TV) ref1

  Edward VIII see Windsor, Edward, Duke of

  Eisenhower, Dwight D. ref1, ref2

  Eliot, T.S. ref1

  Elizabeth I ref1, ref2

  Elizabeth II, Queen

  CHARACTER & ATTITUDES

  charm ref1, ref2

  economy of speech and emotion ref1, ref2

  mystique ref1

  sense of service ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  dutifulness ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  tidiness ref1, ref2

  wit and humour ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  awareness of protocol ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  shyness and reserve ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  non-confrontational nature ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  professionalism ref1, ref2, ref3

  apparent aloofness ref1, ref2

  dislike of facial hair on men ref1, ref2

  considerate of staff ref1, ref2

  hospitality ref1, ref2, ref3

  voice and diction ref1, ref2

  talent for mimicry ref1

  thriftiness ref1, ref2, ref3

  apolitical ref1, ref2

  political awareness ref1, ref2, ref3

  courage ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6

  ability to judge the public mood ref1, ref2

  timelessness ref1, ref2

  fixed tastes and habits ref1, ref2, ref3

  food and drink preferences ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  Christian beliefs ref1

  FINANCES

  Civil List ref1, ref2

  Philip’s comments on ref1, ref2

  income tax exemption ref1, ref2

  Parliamentary Enquiries ref1

  public criticisms of ref1

  Queen’s personal wealth ref1

  Windsor Castle fire ref1

  agrees to pay income tax ref1

  decommissioning of Britannia ref1

  INTERESTS

  outdoor activities ref1

  politics ref1, ref2

  reading ref1

  horses ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8

  dogs ref1, ref2, ref3

  jigsaw puzzles and crosswords ref1, ref2, ref3

  television ref1

  art and antiques ref1, ref2

  PERSONAL LIFE

  clothes and style see wardrobe

  family tragedies and adversities ref1

  never interviewed ref1

  birth ref1, ref2

  early public interest in ref1, ref2, ref3

  early years ref1

  first public appearance ref1

&nbs
p; biographies ref1, ref2

  ‘Lilibet’ ref1

  family homes ref1

  childhood amuseuments ref1, ref2

  education and training ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5

  and the Abdication crisis ref1, ref2

  childhood expeditions ref1

  moves to Buckingham Palace after father’s accession ref1

  and George VI’s coronation ref1

  wartime life ref1

  first broadcast ref1

  theatricals ref1

  Colonel of the Grenadier Guards ref1

  Councillor of State ref1, ref2

  joins the ATS ref1

  driving abilities ref1, ref2

  first public speech ref1

  marriage speculation ref1, ref2

  21st birthday ref1

  ‘Commonwealth’ speech ref1

  first married home ref1

  birth of Charles ref1

  in Malta ref1

  birth of Anne ref1

  first transatlantic flight ref1

  and Margaret’s relationship with Townsend ref1

  birth of Andrew ref1

  birth of Edward ref1

  Christmas celebrations ref1

  church attendance ref1

  motherhood beliefs ref1

  Silver Jubilee ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  Scottish cruise ref1

  grandchildren ref1

  good health ref1, ref2

  intruder at Buckingham Palace ref1

  annus horribilis ref1

  appearance ref1, ref2

  and the death of Diana ref1

  50th wedding anniversary ref1, ref2

  Golden Jubilee ref1, ref2

  80th birthday celebrations ref1

  daily routine ref1

  president of Sandringham Women’s Institute ref1

  correspondence ref1

  ‘London Bridge’ (funeral arrangements) ref1

  PUBLIC LIFE

  meeting the Queen ref1

  place in world history ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  ubiquity in British life ref1

  workload ref1, ref2

  charitable patronage ref1

  visits South Africa ref1

  visits Canada ref1

  visits USA ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4

  in Kenya ref1

  Privy Councillor ref1

  becomes Queen ref1

 

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