King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (nee Bowes Lyon)

[Eddie_uk]

It may well be that QE's comments about Wallis were uttered in private and thus have not enjoyed the longevity of Wallis's bon mots; more likely they were simply not as entertaining......

Don't bet on that. Her comments on Edwina Mountbatten certainly where.

[ArchDss Louise-Henriette]

Martyn, that nickname makes me cringe !      - But we all are different and that is what makes us each unique 

[Leuchtenberg]

It may well be that QE's comments about Wallis were uttered in private and thus have not enjoyed the longevity of Wallis's bon mots; more likely they were simply not as entertaining......

Don't bet on that. Her comments on Edwina Mountbatten certainly where.

Cookie's hatred of Edwina Mountbatten fell somewhere between her hatred of Wallis Simpson and  Marina, Duchess of Kent.

[emeraldeyes1969]

Interesting isn't it?  She portrayed such a saccharine image and yet she seems to have had a 'hierarchy of hatred'.  She must have mellowed a good deal with age to have morphed into 'everyone's favourite gran'.

Does anyone have a list of the people she actively disliked/hated?

[aleksandr pavlovich]

"emeraldeyes" :  Is your avatar a picture of the so-called "Panther Bracelet" of the Duchess of Windsor?   AP

[emeraldeyes1969]

Why yes, aleksandr pavlovich, it is one of Wallis' 'great cats'.  What sharp eyes for emerald eyes you have...

To keep this on topic, here is the cover of the book 'Daylight Upon Magic' that I mentioned earlier in the thread.





And a picture from the parliamentary dinner.  Note that the tiara is the Teck Crescent - rarely seen.  Also note the visible frame.  Ick.

[aleksandr pavlovich]

Thank you, "emeraldeyes", for your response.  Best regards,  AP.

[Constantinople]

I would say that the image most people have of the Queen Mother was a carefully calculated persona.  When I had lunch in the royal suite at the Grand national, I could see a wide range of personalities in her.  When she lost her pencil she became extremely autocratic and was ordering the ex foreign minister around like a foot servant.  I can well imagine that she had a hate list. I also think she was much more intelligent than people think she was. All royalty are humans but well indulged ones. They have prejudices and subjective views on things and people.  They are also smart enough, with the possible exception of Prince Philip, to hide  their views.  Of course, having servants everywhere does not help keep those things secret.

[mcdnab]

I think hate's quite a strong word - with regard Edwina Mountbatten - my favourite of the Queen Mother's comments on Edwina was at her death and burial at sea - its quite a famous one - "Dear Edwina always liked to make a splash" and i think there's another from during the war when Edwina wanted to see the Queen in connection with the red cross - along the lines of "nothing more tiresome than a reformed .....!" can't remember the word female equivelant of rake or something like that!  Disapprove perhaps but hate i don't think so?

I think its fairly well known that the Queen Mother and the present Queen found Louis Mountbatten far too pushy and that the Late George VI was well aware of his cousin's pretensions (and Louis spent his whole life emphasising his Royal Connections - there are accounts of him at meetings in Whitehall ending them abruptly with the statement that he was expected at the Palace or was due to see the King).  Also George VI was well aware how Louis had switched his affection from Bertie then Duke of York to Edward Prince of Wales back in the early 20's.

In fact one thing that did unite the Queen Mother and The Duchess of Windsor was their distrust of Louis Mountbatten.

As to the Queen Mother's "hatred" of Wallis - i am still not sold on it being hate - distaste, dislike perhaps the odd moment of hate but pure unadulterated hatred takes a lot of energy and to be honest particularly in her later years the QM was shall we say rather more fond of putting her feet up.

Both the Windsor's preferred to lay the blame for their treatment on the "wife who hates us both" ie Queen Elizabeth aswell as David's mother Queen Mary - it suited their view of Bertie (George VI) as the henpecked weak husband - the reality is that George VI was quite clear minded and determined about how they should or should not be treated. 

I think many of the biographies that have been published over the last thirty years have over emphasised the idea of a "feud" - bitterness, dislike, resentment on both sides is certainly true - hatred i am not convinced.
 

[Victor]

Mcdnab-nicely phrased reply.Hate is too strong an emotion to maintain for long.Dislike and disaproval are much easier to live with,especially when one is busy with other things anyway,as the QM was,like being a wife and mother and a Queen and being popular and loved.

[grandduchessella]

Interesting isn't it?  She portrayed such a saccharine image and yet she seems to have had a 'hierarchy of hatred'.  She must have mellowed a good deal with age to have morphed into 'everyone's favourite gran'.

Does anyone have a list of the people she actively disliked/hated?

I dont' think it was mellowing--she always had a tremendous popular appeal. People just didn't see/hear about the more complex reality of her personality.

[Constantinople]

I also think that the public didnt want to see the more complex side of her personality.  I got a taste of it during that lunch and it was a different side than the personna that most people know.  But being an historian and I love searching for the truth rather than things that reinforce my assumptions and preconceived prejudices, so it was nice to see another side.
  A friend of mine in Australia spend about a month on a day to day basis with Queen Elizabeth as her press secretary when she went to open the new opera house in the 1980s.  He was very discrete and never provided me with any anecdotes worth retelling.

[Martyn]

I also think that the public didnt want to see the more complex side of her personality.  I got a taste of it during that lunch and it was a different side than the personna that most people know.  But being an historian and I love searching for the truth rather than things that reinforce my assumptions and preconceived prejudices, so it was nice to see another side.
  A friend of mine in Australia spend about a month on a day to day basis with Queen Elizabeth as her press secretary when she went to open the new opera house in the 1980s.  He was very discrete and never provided me with any anecdotes worth retelling.

I think that you're right about that.  The public cast her in the comfy cosy genial little old lady role and she took to it like a duck to water.  The title 'Queen Mother' has a comforting motherly feel to it, expressly chosen by her as opposed to 'Dowager', which is what in fact she was.

What a shame that your friend didn't dish the dirt on her.  Perhaps he did and you just don't want to share??!!    Perhaps there isn't anything of interest to be known?

[TampaBay]

What a shame that your friend didn't dish the dirt on her.    Perhaps there isn't anything of interest to be known?

I am sure there was much of interest to INQUIRING MINDS! 

TampaBay

[mcdnab]

Her name choice effectively was designed to double "Queen" her - Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother" - Both Queen Mary and Queen Alexandra had on occassion been styled Queen Mother - though both continued to be known simply as Queen Mary or Queen Alexandra - the idea that she would be confused with her daughter wasn't really a reason for the new style since a monarch is always simply "The King" or "The Queen".

British Queen Consorts weren't often styled as "Dowager" in address.

She had an absolute gift for presenting an image that best suited herself and those around her throughout her life.  She was a consummate actress and was very clever about not letting the daylight in.

Its always been quite amusing to me that The Windsor families dislike of the Duchess of Windsor was based on their perception of her dominance of David particularly in the years building up to the abdication and afterwards.  The King and Queen's views were that whilst "dear david" wouldn't do anything bad "she might make him".  It was largely the view that the Duke and Duchess had of the King's relationship with the Queen. In essence both men adored their wives and trusted them above anyone else.

Queen Elizabeth was essentially a product of her time - she came from a generation where women of her background were not expected to be any thing more than good wives and mothers and that was the image she presented to the world at large.  However genuinely she hadn't wanted to be Queen up to 1936 she would have minded very much not been Queen after her husband's accession.  There is plenty of evidence that she had strong ideas, firmly held views and was very conservative (with a small c) - a complete aristocrat and not as apolitical as her husband or daughter.