41. She Demanded A Title
During these widowed years, the 51-year-old Elizabeth never lost sight of her worth, and she demanded her daughter Elizabeth give her the unprecedented title “Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother". This wasn’t just to avoid confusion, oh no. It was mostly because our Elizabeth wanted everyone to know she was still a Queen, dangit. And the next phase of her life certainly echoed that…
42. She Had Witty One-Liners
Elizabeth also had a razor sharp wit well into her old age. When she attended a gala with the gay playwright Noel Coward, they passed a line of guards on their way up the stairs. After slyly watching Coward check out the men, she whispered pertly, "I wouldn't if I were you, Noël; they count them before they put them out".
43. She Had Extravagant Tastes
Elizabeth didn’t fade away in her twilight years, let me tell you, and in 1998, the newspapers broke a scandalous story. The aging Queen Mum somehow had an incredible 4 million pound overdraft at her bank, indicating the extravagance of her spending. In a truly boss move, the day the article came out, the Queen Mother went to the races. But then again, as we'll see, she had other secrets...
44. She Was “Impossible”
If nothing else, Elizabeth had stacks of self-awareness. When Margaret Thatcher stepped down, the Queen Mum asked a Tory minister why they sacked her. He answered, “Well, frankly Ma'am, towards the end she became completely impossible”. Quick as a flash, Elizabeth quipped back, “Oh, then I think I should be thankful you're not responsible for me”.
45. She Had A Naughty Birthday Surprise
In the end, the Queen Mother became one of the longest-lived royals in history, and her 100th birthday in 2000 was cause for celebration all over the Commonwealth. It was also case for personal celebration for the centenarian herself; Elizabeth insisted on having a splash of gin (or two) in the icing on her momentous birthday cake. Priorities: straight.
46. She Had A Wicked Sense Of Humor
Sadly, Elizabeth’s waning years were marked by accidents and tragedies. She suffered several broken bones in her old age, and underwent a slew of procedures in the hospital. Somehow, though, she managed to retain her sense of humor. When a fish bone got stuck in her throat and she rushed to hospital, the keen fisherwoman managed to joke, “The salmon got their own back".
But in private, Elizabeth wasn't so full of bravado.
Century of Queen Mother - 100 Years in 100 Minutes: A Celebration (2000), Imagicians
47. She Was On The Cutting Edge
Some of Elizabeth’s biggest accomplishments had to do with the care she provided for others. In order to help her husband Bertie get over his pronounced stammer, Elizabeth supported him through his speech therapy work with the pioneering Lionel Logue. As you might know, the Oscar-winning film The King’s Speech dramatized this period of their lives.
48. She Was Charming
The Queen Mother could charm crowds wherever she went, but one instance in particular is worthy of the history books. One time while on public duty, Elizabeth was in a long receiving line, shaking hands, when a stray dog wandered into the ceremony. Without skipping a beat, Elizabeth delightfully picked up the dog’s paw and shook it as well.
49. She Never Spoke
One of Elizabeth’s greatest legacies was a bizarre one: She hardly ever spoke in public. As a young newlywed, people called her “The Smiling Duchess” for her cheery, wordless demeanor, and she kept up the image throughout her husband’s reign. To Elizabeth, to be silent was to be an eternal figurehead; she called the strategy being “utterly oyster".
Century of Queen Mother - 100 Years in 100 Minutes: A Celebration (2000), Imagicians
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50. She Had A Sad Downfall
Although she lived an incredibly long life, Elizabeth’s end was tragic. As she grew weaker, she started shielding her aging body from the public. When she eventually had to travel by wheelchair, she demanded to fly in and out of Windsor castle via helicopter, just so the public would never see a photograph of her in a vulnerable state.
51. She Feuded With Princess Diana
In the 1980s, the royal family went through one of their most legendary crises when Prince Charles and Princess Diana got married, got dysfunctional, and then got divorced. But few know the Queen Mother’s unsettling role in the tragedy. She herself learned to utterly despise Diana and her scandals, once commenting, “I know she's very young, she ought to have known better”. Yet Elizabeth might have had other reasons to dislike her new in-law…
52. She Thought Princess Diana Was “Foul”
As the base of it, the Queen Mum was against everything Diana stood for as “the People’s Princess”. A traditionalist until the bitter end, Elizabeth thought that Diana and her controversies were “fouling up” the monarchy. Even in Diana's worst moments, she made no secret of her dislike of the young woman. Note: You do not want Elizabeth as your enemy.
53. She Went Through One Final Controversy
At the very end of her time, one last scandal threatened to ruin Elizabeth’s immaculate legacy, and this one was a doozy. In 1987, one of her biggest family secrets was exposed. Two of her nieces, Katherine and Nerissa Bowles-Lyon, had been presumed dead for years—until the press found out that they had actually been hidden in psychiatric hospitals this whole time. The plot only thickened from there.
Century of Queen Mother - 100 Years in 100 Minutes: A Celebration (2000), Imagicians
54. She May Have Hid A Secret “Shame”
As it turned out, Katherine and Nerissa weren’t mentally ill; they were mentally handicapped. People immediately (and rightly) accused Elizabeth and her family of hiding them away in shame, and then covering their tracks with death certificates. The family claimed the death notification was simply an error on a form, and Elizabeth denied all knowledge of the events entirely. Many are skeptical of both claims.
55. She Went Out With A Bang
On March 30, 2002, Elizabeth passed at her apartments near Windsor Castle. Ever mindful of her image, the Queen Mum’s last wishes were ingenious and touching. Her funeral contained a wreath of camellias from her own garden, and she instructed her aides to place the decoration at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior once more, just as she had done on her wedding day nearly 80 years before. A class act, even from beyond the grave.
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