The Queen Mother: Part I

If you haven’t seen the wonderful Colin Firth movie The King’s Speech, you really should.  It’s got some fantastic actors; it’s moving, heartwarming, educational, and wonderfully funny at times.  (Caveat: There’s a bit of swearing, one scene is loaded with it, but it’s for speech therapy reasons.) It also has perhaps the most normal character Helena Bonham Carter has ever played – Queen Elizabeth.  Not Queen Elizabeth I or Queen Elizabeth II, but Queen Elizabeth, known as the Queen consort of King George VI, and after his death, the Queen Mother.  She was an incredible lady.  Hers was a life of generous, loving service, devoted to her husband, her children, and her country. 

                Her father was a member of the Scottish aristocracy (descended from the Scottish King Robert the Bruce – yes, the one in Braveheart), so she was born Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.  She was born in the year 1900, and was the ninth child of ten children of the Lord and Lady Glamis.   The family was very well off, owning a number of castles, including a large house in the very heart of the fashionable side of London.  During World War I, when Elizabeth was a young teenager, the family home, Glamis Castle, was converted to a convalescent home for wounded soldiers.  She was too young to act as a full-fledged nurse, but she did her best to help with the running of the hospital and keeping the men comfortable – reading to them, and writing letters for them.   Many of the soldiers wrote to her after the war, and she always took the time to reply.

(Her brother, to whom she was always very close.)

                This idyllic childhood was a stark contrast from some of her early playmates, the children of the Royal Family.  There were five boys and a girl: David, Albert (Bertie), Mary, Henry, George, and John (who did not survive to adulthood).  King George V lived by the philosophy that when it came to his children, it was better to be feared by them rather than loved.  It worked.  His children were terrified of him.  Some of them were emotionally scarred, ranging from digestive trouble, to Bertie having a stammer.  Bertie was shy, timid, insecure, terrified of crowds and public events.  He was, however, a competent naval officer during World War I. 

                After the war, Elizabeth was old enough to be on the marriage market, and she was one of the most highly sought after debutants.  She was charming, intelligent, lively, an accomplished pianist, and quite attractive.  She had that ability of speaking to a person as if he were the only person in the world.  Elizabeth met Princess Mary again, as adults now, and the two became good friends.   Both of their mothers realized the advantages of such a friendship, as both had multiple children who needed suitable spouses, and so their friendship was encouraged.  Elizabeth was even a bridesmaid for Princess Mary’s wedding.  Elizabeth was then formally presented at court, so she attended the same balls as the princes did, and Prince Albert, now the Duke of York, was invited to visit her family at Glamis Castle. 

(Bertie and Elizabeth)

                Bertie very quickly fell in love with the charming Elizabeth, but despite her feelings for him, Elizabeth was not prepared to become a princess.  Bertie was determined, however, that Elizabeth would be his wife.  His first two proposals were refused, mainly because Elizabeth could not bear the idea of giving up her freedom and independence in order to live the restrained life of a member of the Royal Family.  Finally, she accepted his third proposal.  She recognized all of his good qualities and realized that the happiness they would have together would outweigh any sacrifices she would be called upon to make.

They were married in April 1923.  They were a charming, good-looking couple, and very popular with the press and the people.   Elizabeth was now the Duchess of York, the fourth highest ranking lady in the country, and entitled to curtseys and all other royal tributes.  By 1930, they had two daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret.  Married life suited Bertie very well.  He had Elizabeth to rely on for support and stability.  She always knew exactly how to help him.  He was never at ease in public, but with Elizabeth’s strong, calm presence, public appearances became easier for him.  Theirs was a very successful marriage, with both Bertie and Elizabeth truly loving and supporting each other.

(The Happy Couple)

Elizabeth was a woman of strong moral principles, and held herself and others to very high standards of personal behavior.  Especially now that she was a member of the Royal Family, she recognized the duty she owed to her people to be a considerate and gracious lady.  She expected other members of the Royal Family to behave similarly.  She greatly disapproved of the behavior of the heir to the throne, David.  Instead of finding a respectable wife, settling down and raising a family like his younger brother, David enjoyed London society to the fullest, forming attachments to various beautiful women, and neglecting his state duties.  He was inconsiderate of his personal staff, often doing exactly what he wanted instead of what was expected or required.  (To his credit, we must admit that he helped his younger brother George get out of his own bad lifestyle of drugs and unnatural behavior.)

Meanwhile, Elizabeth and Bertie were raising their daughters with as much normalcy as possible.  They were gentle, loving parents, quite indulgent by standards of the day.  Instead of living in an elaborately decorated palace, they lived in a large country estate, but simply furnished.  They were a happy family, and spent lots of their time enjoying their garden.  Bertie also began seeing a speech therapist, which greatly helped with his stammer, though he never fully overcame it, and as always he was fully supported by his wife. 

(With their daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret)

But this idyllic life was not to last, and it was that twice-divorced American women, Mrs. Wallace Simpson, that was responsible for disrupting their peace and tranquility. 

That’s the end of Part 1 of the Queen Mother.  Next week we’ll talk more about what she’s perhaps best known for, her courage during World War II.