The Queen Mother: the official biography

1135 Pages·2009·13.69 MB·English

by  William Shawcross

Praise for William Shawcross’s
THE QUEEN MOTHER
“A portrait of a remarkable life lived in step with a century of sweeping change.”
—Bloomberg News
“A colossal book about a colossal life, a spectacular journey across the entire twentieth century through the eyes of a thoughtful woman who took the hand of a shy royal understudy and was
propelled through modern history.”
—Daily Mail (London)
“A behind-the-scenes glimpse at the Royal Family.… Fascinating reading.… Shawcross has written a remarkable book.”
—Tucson Citizen
“A wonderful book, authoritative, frank and entertaining. It sets new standards for royal biography.… Anyone who finds royal biographies dull and dutiful is in for a surprise.”
—The Daily Telegraph (London)
“[Written] with unprecedented access to the private papers of the Queen Mother.… Her life is seen here as a mirror of the twentieth century.”
—New York Post
“Shawcross has been given access to the Royal Archives and they have yielded a rich harvest.… [There is an] immense amount of new material here.… He is to be congratulated for selecting
so many juicy tidbits.”
—A. N. Wilson, Daily Mail
“Engaging.… Colorful.… Delightful as well as dignified.”
—The Washington Times
“The correspondence in [The Queen Mother] is illuminating for both royal watchers and historians.… Divulges the Queen Mother’s opinions on topics ranging from feminism to
homeopathy.”
—Associated Press
“Impressively researched.… Shawcross avoids the traps [of] hagiography.… He succeeds in the difficult task of keeping his subject resolutely centre stage in an elegant account.”
—The Independent (London)
“Shawcross’s journalistic skills are evident in the innumerable dabs of pointilliste detail.… There are many unexpected vignettes.… He serves his subject well.”
—The Sunday Telegraph (London)
“Offers new and fascinating insights into the woman behind the pearls and pastel dresses.”
—Mail on Sunday
WILLIAM SHAWCROSS
THE QUEEN MOTHER
Born in 1946, William Shawcross is an internationally renowned writer and broadcaster who appears regularly on television and radio. His articles have appeared in leading newspapers and
journals throughout the world. He lives in London.
www.williamshawcross.com

FIRST VINTAGE BOOKS EDITION, NOVEMBER 2010
Copyright © 2009 by William Shawcross
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Vintage Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York. Originally published in Great Britain in slightly different form as Queen Elizabeth the
Queen Mother: The Official Biography by Macmillan, an imprint of Pan Macmillan Ltd., London, and subsequently published in hardcover in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random
House, Inc., New York, in 2009.
Vintage and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Extracts from the letters of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother by courtesy of
The Royal Archives © Her Majesty The Queen.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the Knopf edition as follows:
Shawcross, William.
The Queen Mother : the official biography / William Shawcross.—1st ed.
p. cm.
1. Elizabeth, Queen, consort of George VI, King of Great Britain, 1900–2002. 2. Queens—Great Britain—Biography. I. Title.
DA585.A2 S46 2009
2009934986
eISBN: 978-0-307-27331-4
www.vintagebooks.com
v3.1
She had all the royal makings of a Queen.
Shakespeare, King Henry VIII, IV, i, 87
CONTENTS
Cover
About the Author
Title Page
Copyright
Epigraph
List of Illustrations
P
REFACE
P
ROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
AN EDWARDIAN CHILDHOOD 1900–1914
CHAPTER TWO
TENDING THE WOUNDED 1914–1918
CHAPTER THREE
PRINCE ALBERT 1918–1923
CHAPTER FOUR
A ROYAL WEDDING 1923
CHAPTER FIVE
DUCHESS OF YORK 1923–1924
CHAPTER SIX
ON SAFARI 1924–1925
PHOTO INSERT 1
CHAPTER SEVEN
BIRTH OF A PRINCESS 1925–1927
CHAPTER EIGHT
AN AUSTRALASIAN ASSIGNMENT 1927
CHAPTER NINE
THE LONG WEEKEND 1927–1936
CHAPTER TEN
ABDICATION 1936–1937
CHAPTER ELEVEN
QUEEN CONSORT 1937–1939
PHOTO INSERT 2
CHAPTER TWELVE
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC 1939
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
THE QUEEN AT WAR 1939–1941
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
YEARS LIKE GREAT BLACK OXEN 1942–1945
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
WAR TO PEACE 1945–1947
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
JOY AND SORROW 1947–1952
PHOTO INSERT 3
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
QUEEN MOTHER 1952–1955
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
FAVOURITES 1956–1960
CHAPTER NINETEEN
THE HEART OF THE MATTER
CHAPTER TWENTY
AT HOME
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
QUEEN VOYAGER 1961–1967
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
UNDER SCRUTINY 1968–1981
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
POETRY AND PAIN 1981–1999
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CENTENARIAN 1999–2002
E
PILOGUE
Appendix A: Family Trees
Appendix B: Queen Elizabeth’s Patronages
N
OTES
S B
ELECT IBLIOGRAPHY
C A
OPYRIGHT CKNOWLEDGEMENTS
List of Illustrations
1 Lord Strathmore (By courtesy of the Earl of Strathmore, digital image by P.J. Buxton)
2 Lady Strathmore (By courtesy of the Earl of Strathmore, digital image by P.J. Buxton)
3 Elizabeth Bowes Lyon in 1902 (By courtesy of the Earl of Strathmore, digital image by P.J. Buxton)
4 The Strathmores at Glamis in 1907 (By courtesy of the Earl of Strathmore, digital image by P.J. Buxton)
5 Elizabeth aged two (By courtesy of the Earl of Strathmore, digital image by P.J. Buxton)
6 Elizabeth and David (By courtesy of the Earl of Strathmore, digital image by P.J. Buxton)
7 Elizabeth with her brother Patrick and sister Rose (By courtesy of the Earl of Strathmore, digital image by P.J. Buxton)
8 Elizabeth with her father on the cricket pitch at Glamis (By courtesy of the Earl of Strathmore, digital image by P.J. Buxton)
9 Elizabeth in the gooseberry patch at St Paul’s Walden Bury (By courtesy of the Earl of Strathmore, digital image by P.J. Buxton)
10 Beryl Poignand in 1915 (By courtesy of Richard Hall)
11 Elizabeth with convalescent soldiers at Glamis in January 1915 (By courtesy of the Earl of Strathmore, digital image by P.J. Buxton)
12 Elizabeth with convalescent soldiers at Glamis in 1916 (RCIN 2585074 © Reserved/The Royal Collection)
13 A house party for the Forfar Ball (RCIN 2585027 © Reserved/The Royal Collection)
14 Elizabeth with Arthur Penn and Freddy Dalrymple Hamilton (RCIN 2585042. Reserved/The Royal Collection)
15 Elizabeth with her sister Rose Leveson Gower and friends (By courtesy of the Earl of Strathmore, digital image by P.J. Buxton)
16 With the Duke of York (RCIN 2585031.f © Reserved/The Royal Collection)
17 The Duke of York and Elizabeth at Glamis (By courtesy of the Earl of Strathmore, digital image by P.J. Buxton)
18 The Duke of York and Elizabeth (By courtesy of the Earl of Strathmore, digital image by P.J. Buxton)
19 A society page cutting showing the Duke of York as a guest at Glamis (By courtesy of the Earl of Strathmore, digital image by P.J. Buxton)
20 Elizabeth at her first royal engagement (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
21 The Duke of York and Elizabeth (Popperfoto/Getty Images)
22 Elizabeth leaving Bruton Street for the Abbey (By courtesy of the Earl of Strathmore, digital image by P.J. Buxton)
23 The bridal party immediately after the wedding (By courtesy of the Earl of Strathmore, digital image by P.J. Buxton)
24 The bride and groom’s carriage (By courtesy of the Earl of Strathmore, digital image by P.J. Buxton)
25 The wedding party on the balcony at Buckingham Palace (RCIN 2000694 © Reserved/The Royal Collection)
26 Honeymooning at Polesden Lacey (Popperfoto/Getty Images)
27 Arthur Penn’s characteristic souvenir of the wedding © The Estate of Arthur Penn, digital image by P.J. Buxton)
28 On safari in Africa (RCIN 2585236.c © Reserved/The Royal Collection)
29 On safari in Africa, February 1925 (RCIN 2585236.e © Reserved/The Royal Collection)
30 The Duke and Duchess on safari (RCIN 2585241.c © Reserved/The Royal Collection)
31 The Duchess holding a monkey (RCIN 2585286 © Reserved/The Royal Collection)
32 The Duchess with the Duke in tribal headdress (RCIN 2585256 © Reserved/The Royal Collection)
33 Visiting the Makwar Dam (Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
34 The Duke and Duchess driving through Belfast (RCIN 2111407 © Reserved/The Royal Collection)
35 The Duchess fishing at Tokaanu (Central Press/Getty Images)
36 With the Duke at the State Opening of the Australian Parliament (Central Press/Getty Images)
37 Returning from the Continent (RCIN 2585291 © Reserved/The Royal Collection)
38 The Duke and Duchess (RCIN 2112042 © Reserved/The Royal Collection)
39 The first photograph of the Duchess and the newborn Princess Elizabeth (RCIN 2111596 © Reserved/The Royal Collection)
40 The Duchess with Princess Margaret and Princess Elizabeth (RCIN 2112011 © Reserved/The Royal Collection)
41 The Duchess with the King and the Duke of York (Central Press/Getty Images)
42 The Duke and Duchess visiting a shipyard (Central Press/Getty Images)
43 The Duchess receiving an honorary D.Litt (Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)
44 The Duchess with the Black Watch (By courtesy of the Trustees of the Black Watch Museum)
45 Laying a wreath at the Cenotaph (RCIN 2111398 © Reserved/The Royal Collection)
46 With disabled veterans of the First World War (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
47 The Duchess with Girl Guides and Brownies (RCIN 2591477 © Press Association Images. Photograph: The Royal Collection)
48 The Duchess lighting lamps for new branches of Toc H (Central Press/Getty Images)
49 The Duchess of York playing with Princess Elizabeth (By courtesy of the Earl of Strathmore, digital image by P.J. Buxton)
50 The Duchess, the Princesses and the Duchess of Kent (Keystone/Getty Images)