loonytick
Courtier
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2016
- Messages
- 755
- City
- Tennessee
- Country
- United States
I think her letters make it very clear that Elizabeth did not want to be queen. She'd found the "sweet spot" as Duchess: a degree of attention, wealth, and duty that kept life interesting balanced out with a relative freedom to enjoy some degree of normalcy when desired. What's more, her husband chafed under royal duties as Prince and then Duke; the much heavier responsibility of the crown weighed very heavily on him. She loved him and hated to see him struggle. And struggle he did. His entire time on the throne was a difficult one for the UK and it wasn't always clear or obvious what the king could or should do to help maintain positive spirits in the face of the abdication, WWII, or the post-war privations. That had to have been hard for her to watch.
So I understand how she could feel that the increased burden of kinghood lead to an early demise. I'm not sure that actually hurried his death, but I can see how grief and years of watching him stress over his position would make her feel that way. She does seem to have vocalized that feeling by making Wallis the scapegoat for the whole abdication mess. David would be a more logical whipping boy for that decision, but he was family and had once been someone Elizabeth had quite enjoyed. Wallis was an outsider and Elizabeth hadn't really spent that much time with her. In sadness, loss and hurt complicated by a tricky history, Wallace was the easiest target.
So I understand how she could feel that the increased burden of kinghood lead to an early demise. I'm not sure that actually hurried his death, but I can see how grief and years of watching him stress over his position would make her feel that way. She does seem to have vocalized that feeling by making Wallis the scapegoat for the whole abdication mess. David would be a more logical whipping boy for that decision, but he was family and had once been someone Elizabeth had quite enjoyed. Wallis was an outsider and Elizabeth hadn't really spent that much time with her. In sadness, loss and hurt complicated by a tricky history, Wallace was the easiest target.
Last edited: