The Queen Mother would have turned 125 years old on Monday, August 4, and throughout her life, the late royal was known for her wit, steely nerves and love of a good gin and Dubonnet. She represented an era of stoicism and discretion, but as the 1990s unfolded, the marriages of three of her grandchildren unraveled in full (and messy) public view. Whether it was Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s tabloid troubles or Princess Diana’s shocking BBC interview, the Queen Mother is said to have been dismayed by the way her grandkids and their spouses ignored her “never complain, never explain” philosophy.
In his official biography of the Queen Mother (via the Daily Mail), William Shawcross explored her feelings on the divorces of Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Charles—and how the Queen Mother helped her daughter, Queen Elizabeth, cope during a time that rocked the monarchy.
“She had been sympathetic to both the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of York over the enormous pressure they faced from the media,” Shawcross wrote of the Queen Mother. “But the washing of dirty linen in public was utterly abhorrent to Elizabeth. Her entire life was based upon obligation, discretion and restraint.”
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The Queen Mother is seen holding a baby Prince Andrew as Princess Anne and Prince Charles stand nearby.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Princess Diana and Prince Charles are seen with the Queen Mother and Queen Elizabeth during a happier time in Scotland.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The Queen Mother: the Official Biography
After Princess Diana was interviewed by Martin Bashir on the BBC’s Panorama program, the Queen Mother was reportedly disappointed, with Shawcross writing that Diana’s “public rejection of her husband and his life was contrary to everything that Elizabeth believed and practiced.”
The late royal also “regretted” King Charles—then the Prince of Wales—giving interviews to journalist Jonathan Dimbleby. “It’s always a mistake to talk about your marriage,” the Queen Mother said.
But it was her daughter, Queen Elizabeth, who most worried the Queen Mother. “She also talked almost daily to her daughter the Queen, who was distraught about what was happening to her children and the fact that it was taking place so publicly,” Shawcross wrote. According to the biography, the Queen Mother “often asked members of the Household, ‘Is the Queen alright?'”
While Queen Elizabeth was distressed over three of her four children divorcing, Shawcross wrote that it was her mother that helped see her through tough times. The biographer wrote that staff “recognized that the frequent conversations between mother and daughter helped the Queen to maintain her sangfroid and sense of perspective.”
