Here’s how she learned of her father’s death. AFP/Getty Images Queen Elizabeth never expected to take the throne at such a young age. In fact, she was completely oblivious about the state of her father’s health.
Unfortunately, nearly everyone on earth found out about his death well before she did. King George VI died sometime in his sleep on Feb. However, Queen Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip had embarked on a royal tour at the behest of her father and were in the remote Treetops Hotel in Kenya’s Aberdare National Park when the news broke., “She breakfasted on bacon and eggs and tossed bananas to baboons below. It wasn’t until early afternoon that a reporter from a local newspaper called and told Philip that King George had died.” Next: Rolling the dice A gambling queen.
Queen Elizabeth may be frugal, but not when it comes to appeasing her family. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images It is said the queen feels a great deal of guilt over being called to serve her country over raising her children. Therefore, though she’s very tight with her own budget, she indulges her children out of guilt., In her own financial matters, she is tight, but she’s been very extravagant with her children – she’s indulged them terribly. She allowed Andrew and Sarah to build that house in Ascot when there were perfectly good homes available elsewhere.
So far as I could see, they couldn’t have cared less about the budget, but the Queen didn’t come down on them; she just paid up, and that was very wrong. On that count, she’s guilty in spades. Next: Between cousins Her husband, her cousin. We saw a shift in traditional gender roles.
Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images When Queen Elizabeth was officially crowned in 1953, the duke did not receive a title change. In fact, he did not become a prince until 1957, but at the queen’s coronation, he dedicated himself to her., he said, “I, Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, do become your liege man of life and limb, and of earthly worship; and faith and truth I will bear unto you, to live and die, against all manner of folks.
So help me God.” The years following his wife’s coronation were not easy for Prince Philip, who grew up at a time when men had the final say. Apparently, he felt emasculated and restless. The sophomore season of Netflix’s The Crown depicts the tension in the royal marriage. The prince was given a new title by his wife in 1957 in hopes that it would ease the mounting tension in their marriage. Next: A broken lineage Not even royal. When things changed, she stepped up to become Queen.
Terry Disney/Express/Getty Images The proper royal chain was shattered well before Queen Elizabeth’s uncle decided to risk it all for love. After the DNA testing was done, scientists discovered that they could not link the remains to any paternal relatives. This means that somewhere along the line, someone had an affair and an illegitimate heir was put in power. If you think about it, this means that Queen Elizabeth II actually has no business ruling.
Next: Rumors of infidelity An unfaithful prince. According to rumors, Prince Philip had an affair. AFP/Getty Images It has been rumored that over the years, Prince Philip hasn’t exactly been faithful to the queen. There have been many whispers about the Duke of Edinburgh’s various relationships with other women. That stated that the prince was “romantically involved with an unnamed woman whom he met on a regular basis in the West End apartment of a society photographer.” There has never been any evidence of his infidelity, but even The Crown nods towards it. Next: Ignoring the bad Turning the other cheek.
She doesn’t get involved in her family’s private business. Chris Jackson/Getty Images The ’90s were a rough era for the royals. Princess Anne divorced her husband after he fathered a child outside of his marriage, Prince Andrew divorced Duchess Sarah Ferguson after she was photographed getting her toes sucked by an American business mogul, and of course, Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s marriage crumbled. The future king had long since been carrying on an affair with his now wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, and everyone including the queen knew. Some blamed Queen Elizabeth for not putting a stop to it., “It spoke volumes that the Queen did nothing about the fact that her son was sleeping with a married woman, when she was the one person in the world who, I knew from experience, could have done something about it.” Next: A reluctant matriarch Never putting her foot down. She isn’t as strict as she looks.
Fiona Hanson/AFP/Getty Images Though the queen was more than capable of handling the business of the crown (including her many wayward Prime Ministers), she found being the head of her family much more difficult, which annoyed the royal staff., She was always terribly diffident on family issues. She doesn’t like rows and is in no way a feminist, so she was more than happy to leave everything either to her husband or us. You’d put a family issue to the Queen, and she’d say, “Have you asked Philip, Charles, Andrew?” – whoever it happened to be – and you felt like saying: “No, Ma’am, it’s up to you.” But she always wanted someone else to do it, because she knew there’d be a humdinger of a reaction. It was left to courtiers to take the flak. Next: A puzzling future The last monarch. Has she prepared her family for the future? Chris Jackson/Getty Images Since much of the queen’s focus in her life has been making sure the country runs smoothly, she has not prepared herself, her family, or her country for a smooth transition once she steps down.
According to one of Prince Charles’ aids, it has been one of her most significant failings., “In some ways, the Queen has behaved as if she is the only one who matters. She has not planned for the future very well – she almost seems to see herself as the last sovereign. Everything has been about what was good for her, not what was good for the monarchy in the long term.” Follow Aramide on Twitter. Read more: Check out on Facebook!