The Queen Mum, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon

Queens of Europe the Queen Mother Elizabeth bowes-lyon thank you to the great courses plus for sponsoring this video Elizabeth bowes-lyon was the first non-royal to be married to an English monarch in 400 years she took on the unexpected mantle of Queen when her brother-in-law abdicated amid scandal and was a national symbol of strength in world war ii as Queen Mother she bolstered the reign of her daughter Queen Elizabeth the second Elizabeth was the ninth of 10 children born to Claude bowes-lyon later the 14th Earl of Strathmore and kinghorn in Scotland and lady Cecelia Cavendish Bintang the family had extensive coal mining interests and her father had a particular pride in their noble Scottish lineage Elizabeth was born on August 4th 1941 saan the way to the hospital from her parents London mansion in fashionable Belgravia the children spent most of their time at the family's English country estate st. paul's walden dairy and glamis castle their ancestral home in scotland where they were educated by a german jewish governess if you're a fan of Downton Abbey this is the same time period and lifestyle in which the three Crowley girls were brought up Elizabeth was especially fond of field sports dogs and horses at the age of eight she was sent to school in London where she impressed her teachers with her precociousness at 13 she passed the Oxford local examination with distinction but as was customary for upper-class girls of the time her formal education ended there on Elizabeth's 14th birthday Britain declared war on Germany four of her older brothers served in World War one and one furgus was killed in action another Michael went missing in action and after several agonizing weeks the family received word that he was wounded but alive in a prisoner of war camp he was able to return home at the war's conclusion much like Downton Abbey Glamis castle was converted into a convalescent home for wounded soldiers which the teenage Elizabeth helped to run in 1916 a serious fire broke out in the castle and young Elizabeth kept a cool head and was instrumental in organizing the evacuation and of saving many valuable antiques from destruction after the war's conclusion in 1918 Elizabeth officially came out as a debutante in London High Society she was a charming young woman with a perpetual smile and her mother predicted that she would break many hearts her group of girlfriends called themselves the Mad Hatter's and young men buzzed about them one suitor who was particularly keen was James Stewart who served as a query or personal assistant to King George the fifth second son Prince Albert Duke of York the prince was known by family and friends as Bertie when he first met his employees paramour he fell head-over-heels for her he became a frequent guest at the bowes-lyon home and joined Elizabeth's father for many shooting parties in order to spend more time getting to know Elizabeth Bertie proposed in 1921 and although Elizabeth was very fond of him she turned him down as she feared if she were to join the royal family she would never never again be free to think speak and act as I feel I really ought to disappointed Bertie declared that he would marry and no other his mother Queen Mary of Teck was curious about the young woman who had stolen her son's heart and went to Scotland to meet her she came away convinced that Elizabeth was the one girl who could make her son truly happy family and friends on both sides saw how contented the pair were together and encouraged their union the following year Elizabeth served as a bridesmaid to Birdy's sister Princess Mary and Bertie took the opportunity to further woo her despite her misgivings about becoming a royal she agreed to marry him and they chose a sapphire and diamond engagement ring the couple married in Westminster Abbey on April 26 1923 during her walk down the aisle Elizabeth unexpectedly stopped and laid her wedding bouquet on the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in honor of her brother Fergus this touching gesture became a tradition of her royal brides ever since the children of George v were the first to be allowed to marry outside of the royal houses of Europe this was both a refreshing change and a practical one as many European monarchies fell in the wake of the First World War so there weren't many eligible young princesses available the princes marriage to a British girl was a joy to the people still reeling from the horrors of the war though the newly founded BBC was denied permission to broadcast the ceremony on the radio as it might be listened to by men in pubs wearing hats the light-hearted and funny Elizabeth was a breath of fresh air to the strict and formal Windsor family she never allowed herself to be intimidated by her Stern father-in-law the king and was an ideal companion and support for shy Bertie who suffered a stutter after a lifetime of intimidation and discipline bordering on abuse from his father the newlyweds made a four-month official visit to Kenya Uganda and Sudan which they found relaxing despite being much less luxurious than they were used to Elizabeth made an effort to learn Swahili her charisma made up for Birdy's uneasiness during their many public engagements but his stammer made public speaking a painful ordeal so Elizabeth encouraged him to seek the help of speech therapist Lionel Logue the Prince continued treatment with Loeb for nearly two decades and his speech was greatly improved as documented in the 2010 film The King's Speech on April 21st 1926 the couple welcomed their first child Elizabeth known to the family as Lou birdy wrote to his parents saying that he hoped they weren't disappointed with the granddaughter as he and Elizabeth had wanted a baby girl when lillibet was a few months old her parents were sent on a royal tour of Australia and New Zealand and her mother was very miserable at leaving the baby back home four years later Princess Elizabeth was joined by a baby sister Margaret on January 20th 1936 George the fifth died and Bertie's elder brother became King Edward the eighth before his death King George expressed his concern about his heir saying I pray God that my eldest son will never marry and that nothing will come between birdie and lilibet and the throne the elder son had always been the black sheep of the family no one was surprised that Bertie was happily married while Edward was still a playboy in his 40s but Edward also had a common touch with the people he was concerned about the plight of the poor and supported labour unions which was not the Royal Way at the time of his ascension Edward was romantically involved with an American divorcee named Wallis Simpson because the British monarch is also the head of the Church of England which didn't allow divorced people to remarry and because Wallis had connections to the Nazi Party she was seen as an unacceptable wife for the king after only ten months on the throne and without consulting his brother and heir Edward decided to abdicate in his public address he stated I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as King as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love Bertie and Elizabeth were devastated by the scandal that launched them onto the throne and into the limelight neither had ever expected or wanted to be king and queen but they saw it as their duty to serve their people so reluctantly took on the heavy mantle great animosity existed between Elizabeth and Wallis Elizabeth referred to Wallace as that woman while Wallace called the new Queen cookie because she said she resembled a fat Scottish cook on May 12th 1937 the date previously planned for Edward the 8th score nation birdie now King George the sixth and Elizabeth were crowned king and queen in Westminster Abbey 11 year old Princess Elizabeth was elated by the ceremony but she was also aware of her parents trepidation as they took on this weighty responsibility the abdication scandal made a lasting impression on the young future Queen and though she is now in her 90s she will likely never abdicate the throne in favour of her own son Elizabeth and Margaret were brought up in a relaxed atmosphere and the family of four were very tight-knit Elizabeth instilled in her daughter's the importance of good manners saying that they would get you through anything though Queen Elizabeth's formal education had been cut short years earlier she put great value on continuing to educate herself in order to keep up with the ever-changing world around her she had a thirst for knowledge read voraciously and correspondent with many great thinkers of the time including playwright Noel Coward undiscovered spy Anthony Blunt and poet laureate Ted Hughes and when Adolf Hitler was just beginning his rise in Germany she read his autobiography at mine Kampf in order to better understand this potential new threat if like Queen Elizabeth you have a hunger for knowledge then a great way to feed your brain is by checking out the great courses plus this subscription on-demand video learning service offers a huge variety of lectures and courses led by professors from top universities around the world you can find over 11,000 video lectures about anything that interests you history obviously but also science philosophy and literature you can even learn new skills like cooking photography or playing an instrument I've been devouring food a cultural culinary history and get some great video ideas from the Warriors queens and intellectuals 36 great women before 1400 series and when my brain is full of history and I want to relax I'm brushing up on my painting skills with how to paint right now the great courses plus is offering a free trial to my viewers you can indulge your love of learning and support my channel by going to the great courses plus comm slash Lindsey Holliday or by clicking on the link in the description to get your free trial today and now back to history in the summer of 1939 the king with his queen by his side became the first British monarch to visit Canada the tour was a massive success in no small part thanks to Elizabeth the new king and queen eclipses the popularity of Edward the eighth and were no longer seen as a second-best substitution they also met the Roosevelts at the White House Elizabeth and Eleanor got on like old friends and the king and president stayed up late every night talking the meeting reinforced an alliance that would be of the utmost importance in the coming years that's a timber Nazi Germany invaded Poland and Britain declared war for the second time in living memory throughout the Second World War the king and especially the Queen visited troops hospitals and factories around Britain to boost public morale on the Queen's very first visit to the poor neighborhood of London's East End which was hit especially hard by German air raids her expensive clothes and jewelry angered the crowd who jeered and threw rubbish at her she explained that if the public came to see her they would wear their best clothes so she should reciprocate in kind she and her dresser adjusted her wardrobe to be more appropriate black was too defeatist while her usual bright rainbow colors were too loud for visiting bomb sites she instead wore ensembles of dusty blue rose and lilac which had the added benefit of not showing the dust Hitler saw the British Queens popularity as a serious threat and called her the most dangerous woman in Europe Elizabeth refused to leave London or her husband's side even when their home at Buckingham Palace was bombed while the King and Queen were there she responded I'm glad we've been bombed it makes me feel I can look the East End in the face rumors of a Nazi plot to kidnap princesses Elizabeth and Margaret force their parents to consider sending them to Canada for safety but Elizabeth couldn't bear to part with her beloved daughters so instead the girls were moved to Windsor Castle about 20 miles from London where they would be safe but close the Queen encouraged women to do their part in taking a factory jobs training his nurses and joining the Home Guard to serve the war effort Princess Elizabeth served as a driver and mechanic in the auxiliary territorial service throughout the war the royal family was a symbol of Pride and British fortitude and played no small part in encouraging the public to stay the course in 1945 the Allies won the Second World War and Britain rejoiced the royal family was as popular as they had ever been but the stress of the conflict had a serious impact on the Kings health two years after VE Day the king and queen and the princesses went on a state visit to South Africa in an attempt to promote unity amidst growing tension between black and white people they were surprised and disturbed by the hostilities bubbling under the surface of the celebrations the tour was grueling and further strained the King's health and the tours goal of unity was a failure a year later the African National Party took over the country and established apartheid the four months away had confirmed princess Elizabeth's love for the dashing young officer she had fallen for years earlier Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark the couple were Wed in 1947 King George who had been a heavy smoker for years began to lose weight and feeling in his right leg he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1951 a lung resection operation helped him recover somewhat but it was decided that Princess Elizabeth and Philip would go on a Commonwealth tour in the King and queens place while they were gone King George Elizabeth and Princess Margaret went to their Sandringham Estate for rest and relaxation they had a happy family dinner and looked at photo albums that evening and then during the early morning of February 6 1952 King George died in his sleep at the age of 56 Princess Elizabeth was now queen she cut her - her short and returned home for her father's funeral and to take on the heavy mantle of monarchy the newly widowed Elizabeth retired to Scotland for a time to grieve for her husband she told a widowed friend some years later that living without a beloved spouse never gets better you just get better at it but after a short while away the energetic Dowager Queen returned to London and resumed her royal duties now in support of her daughter who was crowned queen elizabeth ii the elder elizabeth became known as the queen mother royal protocol would have had her addressed as queen elizabeth but that was too easily confused with her daughter's new title the queen mom was there to support her daughter for the next fifty years when the young Queen resumed the Commonwealth tour she had cut short in the wake of her father's death her mother served as counsellor of state and looked after her grandchildren at Charles and Anne as a retired Queen she had more time to enjoy the things she hadn't been able to do before she went with friends on holidays in France Italy and the Caribbean she bought and renovated the dilapidated Castle Mae in Scotland which she visited twice a year to get away from it all and she took more interest in horse racing and steeplechase uncollected art including works by Monet and Faberge the family faced scandal when Princess Margaret fell in love with Group Captain Peter Townsend the couple wish to marry but Townsend was divorced and the government refused to sanction the marriage Margaret was forced to choose between love and her royal position and income her mother was disconcerted and wondered where they would live to which Prince Philip responded it is possible to buy a house under pressure from her family Margaret decided to give up Townsend she later married photographer Anthony Armstrong Jones who also wasn't seen as quite proper for a royal princess but at least he wasn't divorced the queen-mother group particularly close to her grandson Charles who said of her my grandmother has been the most wonderful example of fun laughter warmth infinite security and above all else exquisite taste in so many things she admired Charles equally appreciating his humanity and sensitivity but she was deeply disappointed watching from the sidelines as his marriage to Princess Diana fell apart Elizabeth was quite traditional about marriage and believed that it was for life in her day unhappy marriages were kept private not splashed all over tabloid headlines she was devastated when her daughter Margaret was divorced in 1978 and when three of her grandchildren separated from their spouses in 1992 through it all the Queen Mother was a steady and popular force in the British royal family she was famous for her rainbow of colorful if rather old-fashioned clothes and hats she loved to spend on fanciful and frivolous outfits often to the Queen's penny-pinching dismay but the mother and her two daughters were always incredibly close the Queen Mother dealt with the pains and indignities of old age with fortitude and good humor she had bouts with cancer cataracts had an emergency operation to remove a fish bone from her throat and a hip replacement surgery on August 4th 2000 the mother celebrated her 100th birthday with a service of Thanksgiving at st. Paul's and a public pageant she passed her longevity on to her daughter Queen Elizabeth who is now in her 90s and is still going strong in February 2002 Elizabeth had to say goodbye to her younger daughter Princess Margaret who died at the age of 71 just over a month later the Queen Mum feeling unwell retired to the Royal Lodge at Windsor she died in her sleep on March 30th 2002 at the age of 101 more than a million people lined up in London to pay respects to the Queen who had been a fixture and inspiration for all of their lives she was laid to rest at st. George's Chapel Windsor next to her beloved husband and daughter her charisma fortitude and good humor even in the face of tragedy was an invaluable contribution to the royal family and is still echoed in their popularity two decades after her death if you enjoyed this video please like subscribe comment your thoughts and check out my other royal history videos if you really want to help please consider supporting me on patreon a link is in the description thank you for watching you

Channel: Lindsay Holiday

Views: 742,266

Rating: 4.8964872 out of 5

Keywords: queen, princess, history, documentary, royal family, royalty, sex, the crown, scandal, royal wedding, feminist, bbc history, european history, germany, princess diana, wallis simpson, Edward VIII, Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth II, prince Charles, Prince Harry, Prince william, kate middleton, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, Queen mother, Queen mum, WWII, World War II, winston churchill, england, united kingdom, King George Vi, Queen victoria, 1900, buckingham Palace, scotland, mother's day

Id: W0135eksbPs

Length: 21min 16sec (1276 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 21 2020