From flowers to photos on the desk: all the “secret messages” of the queen

Because of the position he holds, Elizabeth II it does not usually take political positions. And also for the character and the education received, the ninety-five-year-old sovereign has always been careful not to openly show her feelings. Yet over the course of her seventy-year reign, the queen has used subtle tricks to throw encrypted messages. By taking advantage of clothes, jewelry or the surrounding environment. The latest demonstration of his ability to communicate without using words took place last week. Receiving the Canadian Prime Minister at Windsor Castle Justin Trudeau – first engagement in presence after defeating Covid – Elisabetta had her photograph taken in front of a large bouquet of blue and yellow flowers, the colors of the Ukrainian flag.

In such a dramatic moment, the sovereign managed to make her voice heard while not uttering a word. The flowers, and the particularly hot political situation, bring to mind another episode that dates back to 21 June 2017, when the queen participated in theinauguration of the Parliament wearing a lively blue hat with yellow flowers. At that moment, the debate on the consequences of the Brexit vote was raging in the UK. In the Queen’s speech, balanced and attentive as always, Elizabeth illustrated the program of Theresa May’s government, explaining: “The priority for the United Kingdom is to arrive at the best agreement for the exit from the EU”. However, many noticed how his hat impressively recalled the EU flag. A message of disappointment for the outcome of the referendum, many wrote. Although in 2019, in the book The other side of the coin: The Queen, the dresser and the wardrobethe queen’s seamstress, Angela Kelly, he insisted that it “never occurred to Queen Elizabeth” that the hat resembled the flag.

In another dramatic moment for the world, in the midst of pandemicattracted attention one brooch worn by Elisabetta. It was April 5, 2020, most of the world had entered lockdown to stem the spread of the coronavirus. And the sovereign was called to hold one of the most difficult speeches of his reign. A speech in which she spoke of the unprecedented nature of the pandemic being fought all over the planet: “I am speaking to you in a time that I know to be of growing difficulty”, began Elizabeth, who then concluded: “We must comfort ourselves by thinking that better days will return: that we will be with our friends again, we will be with our families again and we will meet again ». For that speech the queen wore a beautiful one brooch of turquoise and diamonds that once belonged to her grandmother Queen Mary. A stone which, as the experts later explained, according to tradition it would promote healing and love, as well as enhance leadership powers.

More recently, another brooch she was chosen by Her Majesty as the bearer of a message. On the occasion of the last Christmas speech to his subjects, the queen made an extraordinary one tribute to her beloved husband, the prince Philip. Pinned to her red dress, Elizabeth had in fact the chrysanthemum brooch with sapphire that he had previously worn only in happy moments with the Duke of Edinburgh. Twice she had been seen in public with that pin: on their honeymoon in 1947 and on the occasion of his 73rd wedding anniversary in 2020.