HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (1900-2002)

[Mermaid1962]

I believe that she did some work for the Red Cross when the Duke was Governor of the Bahamas. Of course, at that time, the work wasn't really "voluntary"; she would have been expected to do that kind of work as the Governor's wife. But yes, when they were in Europe after the Abdication, there doesn't seem to be any evidence that they did anything except complain about Wallis's lack of status and be fashionable. Had Wallis been a kind and generous woman, there would have been more than enough to keep her occupied with helping others in Paris.

[Iluvbertie]

There is an arugment that had she taken on that sort of role the King may have even relented and felt that as she was working the way a wife of a Prince of the Realm should behave that she might have been given the HRH later in life but as she, and he, did nothing but complain they didn't deserve any consideration.

[iowabelle]

I have to agree that Wallis might have chosen to do something more purposeful with her life in exile. IMO that's what was wrong with their lives, they couldn't find something meaningful to do with themselves. If George VI refused to find them something to do, they could have volunteered to do all sorts of charitable works; instead, they chose to be jetsetters and lived a vacuous existence.

[Mermaid1962]

Yes, the erstwhile Edward VIII seems to have forgotten the concept of noblesse oblige.

[iowabelle]

While I was grocery shopping today, I started to think about the Queen Mother and a contrast to Princess Diana.

When the Queen Mother was 36, she was the Duchess of York and 4 months later she was dealing with the abdication crisis and becoming queen (and only 3 short years later helping her husband with the war effort). In contrast, at 36 Diana's purpose was uncertain and she was attempting to free herself from the restrictions of royal life. In 2 months she would be gone and we would never know what she meant to do next.

I wonder if Elizabeth ever contemplated the comparison herself.

[Dierna23]

Originally Posted by NGalitzine

Wallis was not beautiful by any streatch of the imagination but with the right clothes and jewels she did have a kind of glamour.

I would disagree. Wallis is not absolutely my cup of tea, but in pictures like this one I find her beautiful:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bbc75Sa1S6...pson_-1936.jpg

The thing is - during the abdiction crisis and when she married Edward her best days were over. There are woman who get more and more beautiful the older they get, but Wallis matured not so well IMO, maybe because of all her diets...

[Russophile]

Originally Posted by iowabelle

While I was grocery shopping today, I started to think about the Queen Mother and a contrast to Princess Diana.

When the Queen Mother was 36, she was the Duchess of York and 4 months later she was dealing with the abdication crisis and becoming queen (and only 3 short years later helping her husband with the war effort). In contrast, at 36 Diana's purpose was uncertain and she was attempting to free herself from the restrictions of royal life. In 2 months she would be gone and we would never know what she meant to do next.

I wonder if Elizabeth ever contemplated the comparison herself.

She may have. She was tough as nails and always did her duty. I'll bet Queen Mary adored her!

[Warren]

Stories relating to the new Shawcross biography should be posted in the The Queen Mother - the Official Biography thread in the Royal Library.

[Marsel]

The Queen Mother? That spiteful old soak dedicated herself to making our lives hell


Some excerpts (all from Michael Thornton's "Royal Feud: The Queen Mother and the Duchess of Windsor"):

The Duke, who appeared vaguely uncomfortable with this topic, murmured: 'Well, it's hard to explain. But, yes, Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) was rather fonder of me than she ought to have been. And after I married Wallis, her attitude towards me changed.

'My sister-in-law is an arch-intriguer, and she has dedicated herself to making life hell for both of us.'

The Duke of Windsor insisted he possessed 'proof positive' that the Queen Mother had personally engineered the Duchess's exclusion from royal rank - an action now judged constitutionally illegal and known to historians as 'the Depriving Act'. 'It was her doing entirely,' said the Duke. 'It was not something my brother, the King, would ever have done, left to himself. But he deferred to her influence, just as her daughter does now.'

The Windsors' most astonishing claim concerned their visit to the United States in 1941.
The Queen Mother, they alleged, enlisted the help of Special Branch in London; of her brother, David (later Sir David) Bowes Lyon, who was posted to the British Embassy in Washington; of the British Ambassador, Lord Halifax; and of her friends, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor, to have them followed and spied on 24 hours a day by FBI agents.

But the Duke of Windsor told me: 'Between these four walls, you do realise, don't you, that she is an alcoholic? She begins drinking at ten o'clock in the morning, which doesn't make her any easier to deal with.'

Although I am well prepared to acknowledge that the Queen Mother was hardly the kind and sweet grandmother she had been portrayed for many decades, I find it extremely hard to believe even the small part of what is mentioned in the article (and the book).
One thing that rather amuses me is the number of times the Duke of Windsor (allegedly) repeats 'between these four walls', 'between us', 'not for print', etc: surely, if he and Wallis wanted to maintain some sort of dignified salience, not telling anything to a journalist would have been the most prudent thing to do?! Of course they knew that sooner or later whatever they said was going to be printed: it sounds like a petty attempt of revenge to me (again, if everything written is true).

I can't help but think that if Wallis and the Duke of Windsor behaved themselves in a different way, the 'reconciliation' might have taken place eventually. As it was, if someone said all those things about me (and I doubt the journalists would have been the first or last person they 'confided in'), I'd be less than happy at the prospect of seeing their faces. Ever.

[Vecchiolarry]

Hi Marsel,

I agree with you 100%. It's all a lot of sour grapes, especially on his part.
I've heard and read that Wallis didn't really give a fig about the title, only he did, as it amounted to a slap in his face.

If he didn't want all this grief, he should have stayed on the Throne and kept her as a paramour (my polite name for what she actually was!!).....

Also, I rather think that Queen Mary also had something to say about what Wallis was called (titled).. I can't see her keeping her mouth shut for long about how she'd handle things.

The Queen Mother was, after all, a human being - not all good and not all bad - and she saw to it that the Monarchy survived, no matter who didn't get what or what had to be done to accomplish this end.
Brava, QM!!!

Larry

[Wisteria]

Something that seems to be missed these days is that while bombs were falling on London the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were bombarding the Prime Minister with petty messages about Wallis not being titled HRH. It reminds me a little of Nero fiddling away while Rome burned.
The Queen mother was there in the thick of it, giving her support to her husband and his people. As you said Larry - Brava QM.

[Mermaid1962]

The Windsors were shallow people living shallow lives.

[Skydragon]

THE Queen Mother was hugely upset by the criticism of the Queen after the death of Princess Diana, a close friend has revealed.

Daily Express | UK News :: Queen Mother's shock at backlash over Diana

[Mermaid1962]

A mother is a mother is a mother, even a Queen Mother. Had she not been upset by the way her daughter was treated by the press during that week, she would have to have been a very cold person.

Originally Posted by Skydragon

THE Queen Mother was hugely upset by the criticism of the Queen after the death of Princess Diana, a close friend has revealed.

Daily Express | UK News :: Queen Mother's shock at backlash over Diana

[Emeralds and Opals]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/highlands_and_islands/8337507.stm

"Rare images of Royal visit online."

"Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother had visited the Dounreay nuclear power plant in Caithness in 1957 and 1961."

[lumutqueen]

Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd - New on-line photo library reveals Queen Mother inside DFR
Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd - November Dounreay News online today

More pictures. The Queen Mother looks so wonderful.
http://www.dounreay.com/UserFiles/Fi...ber%202009.pdf

Pages 8 & 9 have more beautiful pictures.