With the recent loss of Queen Elizabeth II, the whole world has been enveloped in mourning. But, before we envision a future without her majesty, let’s look at the past to learn from her first.
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Her reign lasted 70 years and 216 days, and while we all know her as a figure of strength, the late Queen also had a hidden playful side. After her passing, palace staff and her family reveal small gems of tidbits about her life and how Queen Elizabeth II truly lived.
How She Dealt With The Public
You are bound to have accumulated a few funny tales when you have been a public figure for as long as Queen Elizabeth II. However, her former protection officer, Richard Griffin, revealed his favorite incident that he witnessed regarding the late Queen managed to deal with the ever-curious public.
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He recounted how a group of American tourists once approached Her Majesty close to her residence in Balmoral, Scotland. She was wearing a plain headscarf at the time and asked Queen Elizabeth II, “Have you ever met the Queen?”
Her Sense Of Humour
Rather than get offended or dismiss such an odd question, Griffin recalls how Her Majesty told them, “No.” She smiled at her old protection officer and told them, “But he has.” Griffin recounts the shocked look on the tourist’s faces as they scrambled toward him for more information.
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Griffin remembers being unable to control his emotions and even chuckled at the Queen’s remark. He also mentioned that the late Queen would use this line several times, with the public never being any wiser!
A Man Once Snuck Into Her Room
Apart from dealing with tourists, Queen Elizabeth was also acclimated to managing dangerous situations. During her reign, a man named Michael Fagan broke into her bedroom!
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The Late Quee displayed wit and calm in the face of danger and managed to busy the man in conversation as she secretly called her security. While the incident might scar many, Elizebeth was unbothered by it and was sure that Fagan did not mean any harm.
A Young Princess
For most people, this was the only version of Queen Elizabeth II that they knew o,f but in her youth as a princess, she used to be a carefree teenager or at least tried to live like one. It is known that both Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret snuck out of Buckingham Palace together.
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The girls used this chance to be able to interact with the members of the general public without getting noticed. And while we don’t know how often the princess managed to sneak into public life without getting caught, we do know of one incident that the Late Queen and Princess Margaret recall.
World War II
It was during World War II, a time when the royal family showed their true strength and love for the people. Unlike most children, the royal princesses remained in London. Queen Elizabeth’s mother said, “The children won’t go without me. I won’t leave without the King. And the King will never leave.”
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Apart from providing moral support, Elizabeth did her part in the war effort. She served as a second subaltern in the Auxiliary Territorial Service and even went on to reach the junior commander rank. She is still the only female British royal family to have served.
Her Life In The Military
Elizabeth worked as a truck driver and received mechanic training during the war. While we are confident that she never saw active combat, there were still risks with her role. However, all of this shows that the Late Queen, at only 18 years old,d was fully invested in serving her country in every way.
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So, when in May 1945, Nazi Germany finally officially surrendered. You can imagine that Elizebeth,h just like the rest of the world,d was thrown into a frenzy of celebration! Associated Press reported that over 100,000 people assembled to watch the King and the royal family.
Royal Response
To celebrate with the crowds, King George VI, together with his wife and the two princesses, made an appearance on the balcony. Later, Queen Elizebeth told BBC, “My parents went out on the balcony in response to the huge crowds outside. I think we went on the balcony every hour – six times.”
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“I remember the thrill and relief,” Her Royal Highness went on. Queen Elizabeth II added, “And when the excitement of the floodlights being switched on got through to us, my sister and I realized we couldn’t see what the crowds were enjoying… so we asked my parents if we could go out and see for ourselves.”
Allowed To Have Fun
This was an unheard request, and despite the large crowds outside, the King and Queen at the time allowed them to go out. “Let the darlings have some fun.” were the exact words her mother used that the Queen forever remembered.
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At the time, Elizabeth was 19 years old. Her younger sister Margaret was just 14 years old. Of course, the teenagers wanted to venture out alone to celebrate the war’s end, but they had a group of sixteen people in the future. That included guards, friends, family, and palace help.
A Beautiful Night
Margaret Rhodes, the cousin of the princesses, was also part of the crew and shared her experience in a documentary. A royal aide called Jean Woodroffe did too. “We crossed the forecourt at Buckingham Palace and got to the railings, and there were these masses and masses of people.”
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“There was a general thing of, ‘We want the King and Queen!’ which we all frantically joined in with and were amazed when, five or ten minutes later, the windows opened,d and they came out onto the balcony,” Margaret explained.
Wild Streets
“People were kissing and even making love. I was shocked by it. I hadn’t experienced that thing before,” said Jean Woodroffe. But, while the royal cousins could immerse themselves in the magic of the night, the heir to the royal throne couldn’t.
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In 1985, the monarch told the BBC that she focused on ensuring no one found her real identity. “We were terrified of being recognized, so I pulled my uniform cap well down over my eyes,” Her Royal Highness shared.
Scolded
However, her attempts were in vain “A Grenadier officer among our party of about 16 people said he refused to be seen in the company of another officer improperly dressed, so I had to put my cap on normally,” she said.
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We can’t help but smile at the thought of a young queen Elizabeth II getting scolded over her cap! “We cheered the King and Queen on the balcony, then walked miles through the streets. I remember miles of unknown people linking arms and walking down Whitehall – all of us just swept along on a tide of happiness and relief,” she said.
Stealing
The crowd’s energy influenced the royal entourage and even got into mischief. Margaret Rhodes shared that the group managed to steal a sailor’s hat during that escapade!
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She said, “My abiding memory is of this poor man following u,s trying to get his hat back.” And when she was asked if the man had any idea who the group was, she replied, “Probably not. You have to remember that 75 percent of the people on the streets would have been in uniform, so [Elizabeth] wouldn’t have stood out. She was invisible,”
There Were A Lot Of People There
Apart from some harmless fun, the royal party decided to wine and dined in luxury. “Trafalgar Square was jammed. It was a joyful whoopeescene– full of people kissing police officers and other people. It was complete mayhem but rather nice mayhem,” Margaret said.
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The princesses decided to go to the Ritz Hotel. “For some reason, we decided to go in the front door of the Ritz and do the conga. The Ritz was so stuffy and formal – we rather electrified the stuffy individuals inside,” said Margaret.
The Diners Were Surprised
“There were old ladies looking faintly shocked as one conga-ed through. Eyebrows were raised, but we carried on in our very loud way.” She continued, “It was great fun. I don’t think anyone realized who we were. To them, it was just a group of rather drunk young mad people,”
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Can you imagine that all those people at the Ritz had no idea that they were in the presence of British royalty? We wonder if the teenage princesses ever had another chance to fully immerse themselves into public life as they did on that fateful day.
A Suprise Appearance
The group is rumored to have stayed out far too late than they had intended. They were all lost in the bubble of happiness, and even the King and Queen decided to have some fun that night.
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The public was thrilled when King George VI made another surprise appearance for everyone waiting outside the palace. Only decades later, it was revealed that the group had a big hand in this.
Just For Them
The royal company had wanted to see what the public saw on the balcony and thus gave a tip-off to the palace. The King, always ready to please his daughters, swiftly arranged to make an appearance on the balcony so his girls could see him.
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In 1985, the Queen confirmed this rumor. “We… cheated slightly because we had sent a message into the house to say we were waiting outside,” she explained. We love hearing such sweet stories about the Late Queen and her childhood.
It Was Time To Head Back In
It was only after seeing their parents on the balcony like the rest of the public did the royal entourage finally make it back into Buckingham Palace. In an article in the Daily Mail Weekend magazine, a person celebrating that night explained what it had been like to modern readers.
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She shared, “My five pals and I went to London on the train. Peace was declared not long after we arrived. It had been very dim during the blackout – with only searchlights in the sky and very tiny traffic lights – and suddenly, there was this sudden blaze of light. It was so exciting! Everything had been so dim, dim, dim. And now it was a splurge, splurge, splurge!”
The Queen Did Not Go Unnoticed
The source of this quote had quite close relations with the royal family and ended up noticing Princess Elizabeth on the streets. “I had a friend who was a bodyguard of the Queen, so I noticed her and Princess Margaret as they walked the streets. But they were people like anyone else – we didn’t notice them,” she shared with the Daily Mail Weekend magazine.
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“It was really rather clever of the King and Queen – and enormous credit to them for letting the girls go out on the wild. It would have been tragic if they hadn’t been given a chance to join in with the people and have that blast of freedom. And it was such a wonderful night. I still remember it all these years on,” she said in a documentary.
A Full Life
“It was a wonderful escape for the girls,” recalled Margaret. “I don’t think they’d ever been out and walked with a million other people. It was great freedom – the freedom to be an ordinary person for the first time.”
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Let us hear it from Queen Elizabeth II herself. “I think it was one of the most memorable nights of my life,” she admitted to the BBC. Knowing that the Late Queen managed to experience the small joys of life during her long reign makes our hearts happy and softens her loss just a little bit.