Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch

Nov. 8, 1948.

    8. Around 9 P.M. senior members: Major Thomas Harvey, private secretary to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, “Notes on the birth of Prince Charles,” Nov. 14, 1948.

    9. “I knew she’d do it!’: Ibid.

  10. “any spare pages”: Ibid.

  11. “Glad it’s all over”: Ibid.

  12. “never been so pleased”: Ibid.

  13. “just a plasticene head”: Ibid.

  14. “I had no idea that one”: Daily Telegraph, March 31, 2011.

  15. “fine, long fingers”: Anthony Holden, Charles Prince of Wales, p. 67.

  16. “when someone complained”: Bradford, p. 145.

  17. “Philip is terribly independent”: Shawcross, QEQM, pp. 630–31.

  18. “suspended from a crown”: Dean, p. 113.

  19. “In England the upper class”: Pamela Hicks interview.

  20. “some of the darkest evils in our society today”: Pimlott, p. 160.

  21. “were advised that conditions”: Dean, p. 121.

  22. At the outset she fulfilled: Gaumont British Newsreel (Reuters), “Princess Elizabeth Leaving for Malta”; “Princess Joins Duke in Malta”; “Princess Elizabeth Visits Mdina Cathedral in Malta”; “Princess Elizabeth Unveils War Memorial and Visits Maternity Hospital.”

  23. “I think her happiest time”: Margaret Rhodes interview.

  24. “noticed that she was slow”: Longford, Elizabeth R, p. 160.

  25. The royal couple lived: Pamela Hicks interview.

  26. Elizabeth dispensed: Dean, pp. 121–22.

  27. They cheered: Pamela Hicks interview; Gaumont British Newsreel (Reuters), “Lady Pamela Mountbatten Wins Ladies Race”; “Princess Goes Dancing and Views U.S. Warship.”

  28. “loathed”: Pamela Hicks interview.

  29. “a very fast, very dangerous”: Ibid.

  30. “Don’t say anything”: McDonald, The Duke documentary.

  31. who was enraptured: Gay Charteris interview.

  32. “vulgar”: Pimlott, p. 138.

  33. “giving himself an ecstatic hug”: Shawcross, QEQM, pp. 644–45.

  34. he helped his wife: Time, Feb. 18, 1952.

  35. for the first time she took the salute: Gaumont British Newsreel (Reuters), June 1951, “The Royal Family Watches Trooping the Colour Parade.”

  36. “the happiest of my sailor life”: Dean, p. 130.

  37. “I thought I was going to have a career”: Brandreth, p. 178.

  38. The double-decker plane: Gaumont British Newsreel (Reuters), Oct. 1951, “The Royal Stratocruiser and Crew.”

  39. “one of the largest military parades”: Ibid., “Royal Tour Reaches Quebec,” October 1951.

  40. in Toronto: Ibid., “Royal Tour Continues to Toronto and Niagara Falls.”

  41. “comfort, softness, and discretion”: Confidential interview.

  42. “My face is aching”: Pimlott, p. 171.

  43. When the royal couple watched: Gaumont British Newsreel (Reuters), “Royal Tourists in the Cowboy Country.”

  44. “a good investment”: Longford, Elizabeth R, p. 165.

  45. “much refreshed and strengthened”: Shawcross, QEQM, p. 650.

  46. “He was impatient”: Brandreth, p. 208.

  47. “This will ruin my hair!”: Gaumont British Newsreel (Reuters), “Royal Tour Continues to Toronto and Niagara Falls.”

  48. when she saw the skyline: Ibid., “Royal Tour Continues in Windsor and Winnipeg.”

  49. “recovered so promptly”: Ibid., “Washington Hails the Princess.”

  50. “tells me when everyone”: Ibid. 58 “fairy princess”: Pimlott, p. 172.

  51. “free men everywhere”: Gaumont British Newsreel (Reuters), “Washington Hails the Princess.”

  52. She later told Martin: Betty Beale, Power at Play: A Memoir of Parties, Politicians and the Presidents in My Bedroom, p. 34.

  53. a reception at the Statler Hotel: Gaumont British Newsreel (Reuters), “Washington Hails the Princess.”

  54. “welcome ornament”: Ibid., “Busy Days in Washington.”

  55. Only Elizabeth managed: Dean, p. 140.

  56. “Where is your sword?”: Gaumont British Newsreel (Reuters), “The Royal Couple Return to Buckingham Palace After Their Trip to Canada.”

  57. “Britain’s heiress presumptive puts her duty first”: Ibid.

  58. When the City of London: Ibid., “City Welcomes Princess and Duke.”

  59. The red-brick facade: Country Life, May 28, 2008.

  60. “sturdily philistine”: Elizabeth Longford, The Queen Mother: A Biography, p. 157.

  61. “HEAD & FACE ONLY”: Deborah Devonshire and Patrick Leigh Fermor, In Tearing Haste: Letters Between Deborah Devonshire and Patrick Leigh Fermor, edited by Charlotte Mosley, p. 212.

  62. The King felt well enough: Shawcross, QEQM, p. 651. 61 Dressed in khaki trousers: Dean, p. 147.

  63. “Look, Philip, they’re pink!”: Time, Feb. 18, 1952.

  64. After a pleasant day shooting hares: Shawcross, QEQM, pp. 652–53. 62 “the most appalling shock”: Shawcross, Q and C, p. 16.

  65. “pale and worried”: Dean, p. 148.

  66. “Oh, thank you”: Pamela Hicks interview.

  67. “seized her destiny with both hands”: Shawcross, Q and C, p. 17.

FOUR: “Ready, Girls?”

    1. “What are you going to call yourself?”: Longford, Elizabeth R, p. 176.

    2. “It was all very sudden”: E II R documentary.

    3. “she looked as if she might”: Dean, p. 149.

    4. “was like the Rock of Gibraltar”: Turner, p. 41.

    5. “Lilibet, your skirts are much too short”: Dean, p. 149.

    6. “by the sudden death”: BBC, “On This Day,” Feb. 8, 1952, news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday.

    7. by several accounts she was in tears: Morrow, p. 73; Bradford, p. 168.

    8. “protection and love”: Longford, Elizabeth R, p. 180.

    9. “I cannot bear to think of Lilibet”: Shawcross, QEQM, pp. 654–55.

  10. “I tried to cheer him up”: Gilbert, p. 697.

  11. “my father realized very quickly”: Mary Soames interview.

  12. “He was impressed by her”: Brandreth, p. 217.

  13. “Extraordinary thing”: Longford, Elizabeth R, p. 196.

  14. “a fair and youthful figure”: Gilbert, p. 700.

  15. “if, as many earnestly pray”: Shawcross, Q and C, p. 121.

  16. “People need pats on the back”: E II R documentary.

  17. “gallantry and utter contempt”: “Investiture at Buckingham Palace” on Wednesday, 27th February 1952, at 11 o’clock a.m.: To be Decorated: Private William Speakman, The King’s Own Scottish Borderers. Buckingham Palace Press Office.

  18. “my little lady”: Dean, p. 60.