The relationship Of The Queen Mother and King Charles III

 In this blog I will look at the relationship between King Charles III and his grandmother Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. 

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother was the mother of Queen Elizabeth II and the wife of King George VI. On the 14th November 1948 her first grandson Prince Charles Philip Arthur George was born. 

From Charles's birth she was smitten with him. Growing up he was always in the company of his grandparents when his parents were away on tours and engagements. 

On 6th February 1952 her husband King George VI passed away at the age of 53 years old from lung cancer. In heartbreak and grief Elizabeth turned to her 2 grandchildren Charles and Anne for distraction. Their cheeky personalities and their playfulness kept her going through her grief and heartbreak. 

Charles has always been a sensitive child and Elizabeth took him under her wing and provided a shoulder to cry on for him. People who have looked at the relationship between grandson and grandmother stated that Charles potentially reminded Elizabeth of her husband King George VI who was also very very sensitive. 

When his mother became Queen she toured the commonwealth Charles and Anne stayed with nannies and also spent a lot of time with their Grandmother and Auntie. 

Elizabeth absolutely doted on Charles. When Charles started school with Gordonstoun it was Elizabeth who was concerned of Charles in being the sensitive child he was that the school was too tough for him but his father Prince Philip insisted that he would attend to his old school to toughen him up. 

When it came to his love life his grandmother was trying to match Charles up with various women along with Lord Mountbatten. Charles dated all these women until he laid eyes on Camilla Shand. She and Charles clicked straight away and would go on dates all of the time. Charles liked her love of nature and her fun and witty personality. 

However Charles and Camilla's relationship didn't last. His grandmother Elizabeth didn't like the fact that Camilla had a past and her partying personality so she asked her family to arrange a marriage between her and Andrew Parker Bowles. She came up with this idea along with Lord Mountbatten. 

In December 1936 King Edward VIII abdicated from the throne due to marrying a divorcee. Elizabeth reckoned that his abdication stressed her husband out and caused his early death. This is why she didn't approve of her grandson's relationship with Camilla. She was worried that it would cause a big scandal like the abdication. But the decision to get Camilla married to another man caused an even bigger scandal. 

On the 29th July 1981 Charles married Lady Diana Spencer. Unfortunately this was a forced marriage as his family pushed him to marry a virgin so that he could produce an heir. At the time of his marriage to Diana everyone was hyped to see a marriage that came out of a fairy tale. However things were not as they seemed in the marriage. 

I did write a blog on Charles and Diana and their relationship a few months ago which can be found on my main blog page. 

Charles was completely depressed and down during his marriage to Diana. His grandmother was very supportive but encouraged him to keep going in his marriage and to keep trying. During his marriage with Diana he began seeing Camilla again after Diana started having an affair with a guy called James Hewitt. 

In 1997 Charles and Diana got a divorce, Elizabeth was very very disappointed with the news but felt sorry for her grandson for the press attention that he received during this time. In August Lady Diana tragically passed away in a car accident, all Elizabeth did was stay with her grandson and her young great grandsons who lost their mother. 

In 1999 Charles and Camilla's relationship went public when they left together at The Ritz Hotel after a birthday party. The true feelings of Elizabeth's reaction to the public relationship was unknown but it has been said that Elizabeth detested Camilla for getting between Charles and Diana. 

After all the scandals with Charles and Diana she was still incredibly close to her grandson. 

In her later years Charles took care of his grandmother by helping her to walk by being seen arm in arm with his grandmother. When she went into hospital in her later life it was Charles who visited her first and who picked her up and took her home and took care of her. When she reached 100 years old on the 4th August 2000 Charles was the one who stayed by his grandmother's side throughout the whole celebration including the pageant. 

In February 2002 Elizabeth's youngest daughter passed away at the age of 71 years old from a stroke. Charles was the one who rushed to his grandmother's side to comfort her and support her. 

On the 30th March 2002 on Good Friday, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother passed away at Royal Lodge Windsor at the age of 101. She passed away from old age and from a continuous cold that she contracted in December of 2001. 

Charles was holidaying in the Klosters. He found out during a phone call with his mother, He was absolutely heartbroken and devastated over his beloved grandmother's death. Apparently Harry once said of his father's reaction as that he never saw his father so heartbroken before. 

He and his two sons cut their holiday short to get back to the UK. Charles apparently really minded that he wasn't at his grandmother's side for her final hours. 

A few days after her death he made a televised tribute to his "Magical grandmother" by complimenting his grandmother's sense of humour and her love to her family and how she helped the nation during the Second World War he also mentioned how she understood the British Character. During the tribute it was very clear by his body language and voice that he was heartbroken and struggled to think of things to say with the pauses between words. He also said that he dreaded this moment and he never thought that her death would come. 

He also mentioned that he learnt so much from her and how he adored her as a child. She and Charles would write letters to each other and he would call her letters "sparkling." He also used to laughed with her until they cried and he stated that he "shall miss those laughs" 

At her funeral you could see how heartbroken he was. Various newspapers at the time stated that he gripped onto his sword incredibly tightly that people actually feared that he would fall on his knees. During the sermon the papers also noted that his lip started trembling and his eyes were pricked with tears and he flinched everytime the archbishop mentioned her name. Luckily at the funeral his longtime companion Camilla Shand was invited by Queen Elizabeth II as a family friend but I think the real reason was for her to show her support in a distance way to her eldest son who was really really struggling. 

After her funeral Charles inherited Birkhall her Scottish retreat on the Balmoral estate to him, Clarance house in London and the Castle Of Mey in Scotland. He goes to these places very often and currently resides in Clarance house with his wife Camilla who moved in with him in 2003. 

Birkhall was also the place where he proposed to Camilla in December 2004. Camilla's engagement ring was The Queen Mother's that was given to her by Queen Mary as a wedding gift. 

Now as we look back on Elizabeth's relationship with Charles it has become very clear that his now second wife Queen Camilla supports him in the exactly the same way as his grandmother by being there for him and not leaving his side. 

To this day he spends her birthdays at the Castle Of Mey at the start of August every single year. He still uses Birkhall as a retreat during his wedding anniversary to Camilla and every summer. 

The Life and Legacy Of Princess Anne

 As it's Princess Anne's 75th Birthday on the 15th August I'd thought I'd write a blog on her life so far and how she's a great asset to the monarchy. 

Princess Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise was born on the 15th August 1950 at Clarance House. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. She was born 2 years before her mother became Queen and King George VI did meet her. 

It was known in the inner circles that Anne was her father's favourite as she has the same mannerisms as him and that she is strong like Prince Philip. 

Anne was baptised in the music room of Buckingham Palace on the 21st October 1950. When she was born she was 3rd in line to the British throne after her mother Princess Elizabeth and older brother Prince Charles. After her grandfather's death in 1952 she became second in line after her brother Charles. in 2025 she was 18th in line to the throne. 

Growing up her and Charles were incredibly close and when their parents were on tours her and Charles was looked after by nannies and their Grandmother The Queen Mother and their Auntie Princess Margaret. In 1953 Princess Anne who was two at the time did not attend her mother's coronation because she was too young. Her brother however was old enough to attend.

When she was 9 years old she became a brownie as part of the Buckingham Palace pack, She followed the suit of her mother and aunt. 

A governess Catherine Peebles was appointed to look after Anne and was responsible for her early education and tutored her at Buckingham Palace. In 1963 Anne was enrolled into a boarding school called Benenden School. In 1968 she left school with 6 GCE O levels and two A levels. 

By 1965 she also became an older sister to both Prince Andrew and Prince Edward which in turn meant that she was now 4th in line to the throne. 

Princess Anne is the 7th Princess Royal which is a title for the eldest daughter of a Monarch she became The Princess Royal in 1987. 

At the age of 18 she began to take on royal engagements to help her mother out. In 1970 Princess Anne briefly dated Andrew Parker Bowles who was the future husband of Camilla Shand. Camilla later became the second wife and Queen to her elder brother King Charles III. 

Princess Anne was a very accomplished horse rider who started riding in various shows and even made it into the Olympic Games in 1976. In 1971 Anne finished 4th at the Rushhall Horse Trials. At age 21 she won the individual title at the European Eventing Championship with her home bred horse Doublet. In 1971 she was also voted at the BBC Sports Personality Of The Year. 

She also rode winners with horse racing in the Grand Military Steeplechase at Sandown Park Racecourse and The Diamond Stakes at The Royal Ascot. For more than five years Anne also competed with the British Eventing Team winning a silver medal in both individual and team disciplines in 1975. In 1976 Anne participated in the Montreal Olympics riding The Queen's horse Goodwill. Unfortunately Anne suffered a concussion halfway through the course, she remounted the horse and did finish the event. She couldn't remember what happened after she fell but could only remember the jumps. 

In 1987 Anne became the first British royal to appear as a contestant on a television quiz show on the BBC panel game A Question Of Sport. Very recently in 2024 Anne was taken to hospital in Bristol due to a horse incident where she suffered minor injuries and concussion. 

In 1968 Anne met Mark Philips a lieutenant in the 1st Queen's Dragoon Guards at a party for horse lovers. They dated for a few years before they announced their engagement on the 29th May 1973 she would become the first of Queen Elizabeth II's children to marry. 

They got married on the 14th November 1973 at Westminster Abbey in a televised ceremony with an estimated audience of 100 million. They also appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to which the crowd cheered them. At that same balcony appearance the crowd also sang Happy Birthday to her brother Charles whose birthday coincided with her wedding he turned 25 that day. 

Together they had 2 children Peter who was born in 1977 and Zara who was born in 1981. Anne and Peter have 5 grandchildren between them. On 31st August 1989 Anne and Mark announced that they will be separating they had been together out in public before and they were interested in other people romantically. They said that they would share custody of their children and there were no plans to divorce yet. But On the 12th April 1992 Buckingham Palace announced that Anne had filed for divorce which was finalised 10 days later. 

Anne met Sir Timothy Laurence while he was serving on The Royal Yacht Britannia. In early 1989 their relationship blossomed when Sir Timothy was appointed as equerry to her mother. In 1989 there were some private letters from Anne to Timothy that were revealed in The Sun newspaper. 

On The 12th December 1992 the couple married in Scotland on the Balmoral Estate a total of 30 guests were invited to the private wedding. They got married in Scotland because The Church Of Scotland accepted remarriage after divorce back then. 

On 20th March 1974 Princess Anne and her then husband Mark were on their way back to Buckingham Palace when a car forced the rolls royce to stop on The Mall. The driver of the car jumped out and began firing a pistol. Anne's police protection officer jumped out of the car and began to shield her. 

The kidnapper approached Anne's car and intended on kidnapping her for a ransom of £2 million or £3 million which he claimed that he would give the money to the NHS. The kidnapper told Anne to get out the car to which Anne replied with "Not bloody likely!" 

She reportedly considered hitting him. Eventually Anne exited the other side of the car and a passing pedestrian, a former boxer named Ron Russell punched the kidnapper and led Anne away from the scene. At that point Micheal Hills happened to be on the scene before and was shot by the kidnapper he had already called the police for backup. 

Since the age of 18 Anne has been a great supporter of the crown and has done a lot of engagements. She would do state visits on behalf of her mother as Queen and now her Brother as King. She has been in the top 3 of the most hardest working royals coming in first in 2024. 

Princess Anne is the patron to over 200 charities and organisations. She works for Save The Children she has been president of the charity between 1970 to 2017 and has been patron ever since Princess Anne would visit places where children were struggling like parts of Africa way before her ex sister in law Diana was even on the scene. 

As a result for her incredible work for charity,she was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 1990. With Anne being an olympian herself she had become a British representative in the International Olympic Committee as an administrator she was also a member of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games for the London 2012 Olympics. 

Anne has been described as the trustiest anchor in The Royal Family with very few scandals and her no nonsense approach to things. She has carried out more than 20,000 engagements since her 18th birthday. In her early adulthood she was also cited as a "royal renegade" for choosing to forgo titles for her children and grandchildren. 

Despite being the "spare" she has proved herself and the royal who just gets on with life and not to get upset over everything. She is also very very outspoken as she tends to tell people how she feels and is not afraid to speak out on matters close to her heart. 

On 8th September 2022 her mother passed away in Scotland and she was the only one of the Queen's children who was by her bedside when she died. Charles her elder brother was on the estate but didn't make it in time so he found out that he was king on the road on the way to Balmoral Castle. 

She was the one who followed her mother's journey from Scotland to Windsor during those few weeks. On the 12th September 2022 she became the first female royal to stand vigil at her mother's coffin in Scotland and then again in Westminster Hall on the 16th September 2022. Through her own grief she wanted to make sure her eldest Brother in particular was supported as he is more emotional than her younger brothers. 

As her Brother's reign began she supported him as much as she supported her mother during her reign for Charles's coronation in 2023 she was Gold Stick In Waiting which is the King's personal bodyguard during big events like the coronation and trooping the colour. 

In February 2024 it was announced that her brother King Charles III was diagnosed with a type of cancer and was advised to postpone and cancel his public engagements. Two ladies of the royal family held the fort for him and that was his wife Queen Camilla and his sister Princess Anne. Between the two of them they handled the fort amazingly. 

As we celebrate her 75th birthday this year we should reflect on how Anne is an amazing royal who works tirelessly for the crown, country and the Commonwealth. She is a royal who should not be messed with. As she celebrates her milestone birthday I don't think she has any intentions of slowing down yet.