Posted by Janet
on 25/9/2009, 17:50:51, in reply to "A different view on "eveyone's favourite granny""
81.158.141.31
The idea that Queen Elizabeth’s dislike of the Windsors was somehow caused by her obsess ional love of Edward VIII is instantly debunked by the simple fact that throughout the 1920s and 1930s she was indeed quite tolerant of Edward’s many married mistresses, socialising with them both privately and publicly.
I suspect Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon was quite comfortable with men having dalliances and indeed even the women they had dalliances with, provided those women always knew their place. Wallis Simpson was a mistress who aspired to be a royal bride, to someone like Queen Elizabeth I suspect that was staggering.
Queen Mary was horrified that her son could give up his throne for Wallis Simpson, she placed duty above all else, including personal happiness and presumably Queen Elizabeth felt likewise. What is also overlooked is that the Duke and Duchess of Windsor’s conduct in the years immediately after their marriage was not necessarily helpful, becoming international jetsetters, socialising with Hitler etc were not things which would look good or help the badly damaged image of the British monarchy while it was trying to recover from one of its most shocking moments.
I’ve never recalled any suggesstion that Queen Elizabeth was personally ambitious for the throne, she came to love the role and position of Queen but it was not one for which she hankered for or actively pursued, given she had married a second son its not really something one can actively campaign for.
As for blaming the Windsors’ for the death of her husband. that has been something projected onto Queen Elizabeth and is impossible for anyone to know, of course she would not be the first or last person to irrationally pass the blame for the loss of a loved one from one thing onto something far remote because it is simply easier to accept.
There is no denying that Queen Elizabeth wielded enormous private influence but publicly she ALWAYS remained subservient to the King and during his lifetime the King was always the primary focus of public attention. He died in 1952, his widow lived for another 50 years and gradually become closely associated with World War II, however she was especially protective of his memory. There were no deliberate attempts to overshadow anyone.