This wasn’t meant to happen

She was never meant to be Queen.  When her Grandfather George V died the heir was Uncle David (Edward V11) and the ‘spare’ her father Bertie (George V1) - with his paralysing stammer. But then David met Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee and it all went to pot.

Even when her father was King there was always the possibility a male heir could have been born but her grand-parents, with some foresight, always instilled in her a strong sense of duty.  She had a happy childhood with her younger sister Margaret Rose as playmate and then aged 13 she met and fell in love with a handsome 18 year old sailor Philip – a distant cousin and a lucky escape from all the chinless wonders around Mayfair at the time.  He gave up his titles Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark to marry her.

During WW2 she joined the A.T.S. and qualified as a motor mechanic.  Her father wanted to make sure their love was real so she had to wait till she was 21 to get married and Charles and Anne were born within a year or two.  In 1952 she and her husband were watching wildlife from a treetop platform in Kenya when her father died in his sleep and she became Queen.  Philip broke the news to her and they returned home.  That was 60 years ago today.

There have been difficult times; Philip was furious when the Queen refused to take his name of Mountbatten and he earned the Queen Mother’s disapproval when he went on one of his long wild-life trips leaving the Queen alone over Christmas.  Then she had her ‘annus horribilis’ during which three of her four children’s marriages foundered and Windsor Castle – the place she regards as home – was almost destroyed by fire.  In 1996 her son and heir Prince Charles was divorced and a year later Diana – her daughter in law, was killed. For a time her popularity was at an all time low, but gradually people began to see the Queen for what she has always been:  a good woman who always strives to do the best for the country and its people whom she loves.

Her first prime minister was Churchill and he and all subsequent prime ministers have benefited from her wise counsel and support.  Where else could they speak freely knowing it would go no further?

Her passions are horse breeding and horse racing and dog breeding and dog calling.  She is acknowledged to be one of the best dog callers in the world and if it were not for her unbending sense of duty I’ve no doubt she would be quite happy to live the life of a country woman and forget the interminable visits she is required to make. 

Over the years she has acknowledged the invaluable support she has from her husband and as her grandson Prince Harry said recently:

‘Regardless of whether my grandfather seems to be doing his own thing, sort of wandering off like a fish down the river, the fact that he’s there – personally, I don’t think that she could do it without him, especially when they’re both at this age’.

The Queen is 86 and Philip 90.

The Queen is a deeply religious person and I was pleased this year when delivering her Christmas address - in the stifling atmosphere of political correctness - that she spoke openly of the biblical aspect of Christmas.

God bless her and God Save the Queen