Dolby Karen - The wicked wit of Queen Elizabeth II

OTHER TITLES IN THE SERIES

The Wicked Wit of Winston Churchill

The Wicked Wit of Jane Austen

The Wicked Wit of Charles Dickens

The Wicked Wit of Oscar Wilde

First published in Great Britain in 2015 by
Michael OMara Books Limited
9 Lion Yard
Tremadoc Road
London SW4 7NQ

Copyright Michael OMara Books Limited 2015

All rights reserved. You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN: 978-1-78243-365-1 in hardback print format
ISBN: 978-1-78243-366-8 in e-book format

www.mombooks.com

Interior images Alpha-Globe Photos, Inc/ImageCollect

Cover design by vaguelymemorable.com

Designed and typeset by Tetragon, London

W hen we think of the Queen our perception is one of dignity and authority. She is a serious figure: Her Majesty, the British monarch and head of the Commonwealth. But as anyone who has ever met her will tell you, in person she is very warm and human with a well-developed sense of humour. Look at it another way, could she have survived all these years doing what she does without being able to see the funny side of life?

The former Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams has said that the Queen can be extremely funny in private. Having never had any contact with royalty before taking up his post, he had no idea what to expect. During numerous meetings he discovered someone with real personality: I have found in the Queen someone who can be friendly, who can be informal, who can be extremely funny in private and not everybody appreciates how funny she can be. He also realized she is quite prepared to tease and to be teased and who, while retaining her dignity always, doesnt stand on her dignity in a conversation.

At her coronation on 2 June 1953 in Westminster Abbey, Queen Elizabeth II took the coronation oath vowing to serve her people and maintain the laws of God. What none of the 8,000 guests packed into the Abbey or the millions watching on television sets around the world heard was the Queens frantic whisper to Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher to Get me started! Friction between her heavy state robes and the carpet had her firmly fixed to the spot and she needed a firm push to get her going.

In a radio broadcast later that evening Elizabeth pledged, Throughout all my life and with all my heart I shall strive to be worthy of your trust. For over sixty years she has done just that. And what a reign. Born in a time when one did ones duty, didnt spill the beans and emotions were kept in check, Elizabeth has seen society change beyond all recognition.

When she ascended the throne Britain was a drab place still in the grip of post-war austerity and rationing. The coronation gave a huge boost to sales of television sets strictly black and white with only the BBC until 1955. Only 30 per cent of homes had washing machines, a mere 15 per cent owned a fridge and fewer still possessed a telephone. The world has changed rapidly since that time, for the Queen as much as for her subjects.

The swinging sixties, with their message of peace and love, gave way to the strikes and three-day week of the seventies, the shoulder-padded get-rich eighties, the poll tax riots of the nineties and the hope of a new millennium. Prime ministers have come and gone the Queen has appointed and met with them all, coming close to the record set by her ancestor George III who saw off fourteen.

The royal family has faced ructions, rifts, scandals, divorces and deaths, including that of Princess Diana, when the fate of the monarchy itself seemed precarious. Following the emotional outpouring after Dianas death, the monarchy had to adapt. The past formality had to be relaxed and gradually the public has been allowed in to see the real person behind the crown. The Queen learned to show more of the warmth and cheeriness, the human side of her character that friends and family who were close to her had always known was there.

As Richard Crossman, the socialist politician and diarist, wrote after meeting the Queen in the 1960s, I noticed this time even more than last how shy she can be ... She laughs with her whole face and she cannot just assume a mere smile because shes really a very spontaneous person ... When she is deeply moved and tries to control it, she looks like an angry thundercloud. So very often when she has been deeply touched by the plaudits of the crowd she merely looks terribly bad-tempered.

The Queen does not give interviews and those who know her best are trusted for a reason and simply dont talk. There is a suspicion that most of her best lines are said off-camera to her close inner circle. We catch glimpses and the odd unguarded remark. But watching her excitement at the races when one of her horses romps home to victory, or hearing how she danced a jig of delight at the news of an England test cricket victory, its impossible to doubt she likes to have fun.

A certain twinkle in the royal eye, a flash of icy disapproval, the occasional cutting comment and quick quip all suggest a wicked wit. Like the rest of her family shes not above poking fun at herself and no one is safe from her love of a good joke. The Queen has been known to terrorize unsuspecting guests with her wild driving and is said to be a good mimic. When off-duty with her family she enjoys practical jokes and has a great sense of the absurd.

And besides, shes married to Prince Philip, at her side throughout all those banquets, royal performances, state occasions and visits. Someone who has chosen as her consort the gaffe-prone prince, whose comments have landed him in hot water on more than one occasion, cannot fail to have a well-developed sense of humour.

And her public love her for it. After scenes of adoring crowds lining the streets hoping for a glimpse of the Queen as her golden carriage rolled past at her Diamond Jubilee, or on the balcony after William and Kates wedding, her position has never seemed more secure.

This book looks at the Queens funny side through her own words as well as stories the rest of the family tell about her and the odd aside from Prince Philip. Occasionally unintentional, sometimes sarcastic and at other times downright silly, royal humour touches on every aspect of life. And over the years there has been ample opportunity for a right royal laugh.

Let us not take ourselves too seriously.

None of us has a monopoly on wisdom.

THE QUEEN

speaking in her Christmas broadcast, 1991