The solidity of Queen Elizabeth is due (also) to her mother

The last year of Elizabeth II it was certainly not easy: the death of Philiphis health problems, the allegations of Meghan Markle worldwide from Oprah Winfreythe judicial troubles of the favorite son Andrew and finally, the icing on the cake, the Covid. But yet, never once, in these months, His Majesty gave signs of subsidence.

The merit, according to the royal biographer Sally Bedell SmithAnd not only of his temper but also of the mother, the Queen Mother Elizabeth. “” Concentrate on the positive things “she told her: this is one of the first lessons that her Majesty learned from her as a child,” Bedell Smith told People, who dedicates this week’s cover to Queen Elizabeth. ““If there is something bad, there is also something beautiful”: and the Queen has always been very good at following this teaching ».

Elizabeth II with Queen Mother Elizabeth in 1990John Shelley Collection / Avalon / Getty Images

That Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, wife of the king George VI and mother of the current British sovereign, was an energetic woman of great charisma – which he practiced effectively above all on his family – was told by cinema (a film about all: the extraordinary The king’s speechin which the queen consort was played by Helena Bonham Carter) but he proved it above all history.

It was she who brought her husband, suffering from stutteringfrom a speech therapist so that he could develop more confidence in speaking to the Nation, it was she who, before the outbreak of World War II, managed to strengthen the ties between the UK and the United States, and it was always she who establish that the royal family would remain in London even under the bombing Nazis. It is said that she was feared even by Adolf Hitler, who apparently called her “the most dangerous woman in Europe”.

The eldest daughter, although very close to her father, could not help but have as her own main model his mother and it is therefore not surprising that i royal watchers attribute above all to the late Queen Mother – who died in 2002 at the age of 101 – the merit of having put it on the right path the heir to the throne.

The Queen is part of that generation that was taught to grit their teeth: duty first of allConfirm the court insiders. And Elizabeth was diligent in her study: “The Queen is very good at managing what her life has in store for her,” continues Bedell Smith, “she knows that the most important thing is convey a positive image to the subjects“. Just as her mother had done, during the War, with the British people under German bombs.

Source: Vanity Fair

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