The Queen Mother in her own
Prince Charles, in a personal tribute to his grandmother, talked about her wit and capacity for fun. Here, taken from the Daily Mirror, are some words of wisdom from the Queen Mother . . . .
On Age . . .
As the Royal Family planned for her 100th birthday celebrations she appeared a little embarrassed by the fuss. ‘Do you think anyone will come?’ she asked.
On her household . . .
Overhearing two footmen having an argument she remarked: ‘When you old queens are quite finished, this old Queen wants her drink!’
On her health . . .
A keen angler, she almost died after choking on a fish bone. After surgeons removed it she joked: ‘After all these years, the fish are having their revenge.’
‘If you ignore illness, it goes away.’
On her husband . . .
When the future King George VI proposed for a third time, she told him: ‘If you are going to keep it up forever I might as well say yes now.’
Shortly after his death she wrote: ‘How small and selfish is sorrow. But it bands one about until one is senseless.’
After her beloved Bertie died she restored the remote Castle of Mey in Scotland. She said: ‘It stood all alone, just like me.’
On the Queen . . .
During a row with her daughter: ‘Who do you think you are?’
To the Queen, who was having a glass of wine with lunch: ‘Is that wise? You know you have to reign this afternoon.’
On the war . . .
When it was suggested that the Royal Family should flee to Canada during the Second World War she refused. ‘The Princesses will never leave without me. I will not leave without the King, and the King will never leave,’ she said.
When Buckingham Palace was hit she said: ‘I’m almost glad we were bombed – now I can look the East End in the face.’
In a letter to her mother-in-law, Queen Mary, she later wrote: ‘The destruction is so awful and the people are so wonderful. They deserve a better world.’
On politics . . .
On Boer anti-British sentiment, she said: ‘I understand. We feel very much the same in Scotland.’
On the European Union: ‘Oh no, I think it is rather a good idea. We have so much to teach them.’
‘Nobody has kissed me on the lips since my husband died’ – reprimanding former US President Jimmy Carter for his unwanted greeting.
On the Arts . . .
On TS Eliot she commented: ‘We had this rather lugubrious man in a suit and he read a poem. At first the girls got the giggles, then I did, then even the King.’
About hearing the National Anthem on television: ‘Do turn it off. So embarrassing unless one is there. Like hearing the Lord’s Prayer when playing canasta.’
On modern living . . .
Referring to her frequent helicopter trips, she said: ‘Travel by helicopter? I think the chopper has changed my life, rather as it did Anne Boleyn’s.’
wise and witty words
Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother
1900 - 2002
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02-04-02 02-04-02 02-04-02 01-04-02 31-03-02 31-03-02 30-03-02 read on
Highland lament for Queen Mother
'My magical grandmother'
Queen Mother's final journey begins
Gun salutes for Queen Mother
Palace announces funeral details
Princes fly home to pay their respects
The Queen Mother is dead
Copyright (c) 2000-2002 Sue Kelly