Thatcher, Margaret, Baroness, 597
Thayer, Bob, 458
Thomas, Dr Bernard, 7, 15, 54, 105
Thomas, George Henry, 253 & n
Thomson, Rita, 559n
Thornby Grange, Northanpton, 185n
Thorpe, D. R., 258n
Thynne, Lady Emma, see Northampton, Emma, Marchioness of (née Lady Emma Thynne)
Thynne, Lady Mary see Nunburnholme, Mary, Lady (née Lady Mary Thynne)
Thynne, Hon. Thomas Timothy: death, 172n
Tiger, Operation, 313
Timbertop (school), Australia, 530
Toc H, 196 & n, 309
Torby, Count Michael, 56 & n
‘Tortor’ see Little-Gilmour, Victoria
Townsend, Group Captain Peter: appointed equerry, 361; travels to Rome, 415; romance with Princess Margaret, 419, 470n, 489n, 490; misses 1953 tour of Rhodesia, 471n; succeeded as Comptroller by Lord Adam Gordon, 483n; Princess Margaret renounces marriage with, 490n
Trades Disputes Bill (1931), 185
Trefusis, Fenella see Bowes Lyon, Fenella
Trefusis, Lady Mary, 113
Trinidad, 527
Truman, Harry S., 441
Tunisia, 576
Turner, Miss (nanny), 420
Tweedsmuir, John Buchan, 1st Baron, 273–4 & n
TWEEDSMUIR, SUSAN CHARLOTTE, LADY, 273
Tyrrell, William George Tyrrell, 1st Baron, 189
Uganda: QE’s official tour (1959), 506–8; see also East Africa
Umberto, Crown Prince of Italy (‘Beppo’), 370 & n
United Nations, 337–8 & n, 389n
United States of America: QE’s interest in, 191–2, 195; QE’s fondness for Americans, 195, 340, 486; GVI and QE visit (1939), 243, 261n, 271–3; enters war (1941), 244, 315–16; neutrality, 270, 291; sends gifts and sympathy to Britain in early years of war, 292; QE broadcasts to women (1941), 313; QE tours (1954), 485–76; Elizabeth II visits (1983), 583
Upper Avon Canal, 553n
V1 flying bombs, 363n, 365–8, 370
V2 rockets, 377
Vanderbilt, Grace Graham Wilson, 128
Vanderbilt, Grace (‘Gracie’), 128
Vanguard, HMS, 394, 399
VARLEY, DR., 184
VE Day (8 May 1945), 382
Victor Emmanuel III, King of Italy, 370n
Victoria, Queen, 116n, 168n, 180n, 198n, 220n, 237, 312, 480, 514
Victoria & Allbert, HMY, 197
Victoria Eugenie, Queen of Alfonso XIII of Spain (‘Queen Ena’), 171 & n, 326n
VJ Day (15 August 1945), 385
Vyner, Charles, 382n, 469n
VYNER, CLARE GEORGE, 206; 352, 399, 461n, 469, 516, 534; scheme for unemployed, 206
VYNER, LADY DORIS (née Gordon-Lennox), 322, 382, 469; friendship with QE, 57n, 206; son killed, 382–3; QE visits in Caithness, 452, 461n, 462; memorial to children at Fountains Abbey, 469 & n
Vyner, Elizabeth: death and memorial, 322, 469n
Wales, Prince of see Charles, Prince of Wales, and Windsor, Edward, Duke of
Wales, Prince William of (later Duke of Cambridge, son of Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales): birth, 580n; visit to Australia with parents, 583
Wallace, Edgar, 168
Wallace, William Euan (Billy), 476
Walmer Castle, 569
WALSH, MAJOR R. H., 148; 138n, 139–40, 420
Walton, Henry, 429 & n
Walton, Sir William, 337 & n
WALWYN, CATHERINE, 581; 550n
WALWYN, FULKE, 563, 585; 550n, 556n, 570, 581, 588
Waverley, Ava, Viscountess (née Bodley), 104
Way, George: death, 378
WAY, MRS GEORGE, 378; 304
Weavers, Mervyn, 317
Weidenfeld, George, Baron, 602
Weir, Captain (of Dundee Fire Brigade), 40
Weir, Dr Sir John, 184 & n, 229
Wellington, Gerald Wellesley, 7th Duke of, 238 & n
Wells, Miss (governess; ‘Wellsie’), 81
Wembley see British Empire Exhibition
Wessex, Prince Edward, Earl of, 526n, 531
Westminster Abbey: wedding of GVI and QE, 119; damaged in war, 312
Wheeler-Bennett, Sir John, 232n, 464–5
Whistler, Laurence, 406n
Whistler, Rex, 371 & n
White Lodge, Richmond Park, 111 & n, 115, 120, 130, 149
Whitehouse, Revd Mr (of St Paul’s Walden Bury), 116
Wigram, Colonel Clive (later 1st Baron), 129 & n, 243, 264, 301
Wigram, Francis, 354
Wilder, Thornton, 174 & n
Wilhelmina, Queen of the Netherlands, 293n, 407n
William Arthur Philip Louis, Prince (Charles–Diana’s son): birth, 580n; visit to Australia with parents, 583
Williams, Duncan: Trousered Apes, 561 & n
Williams, Major Thomas, 297–8
Wilmot, Norah, 502
Wilson, Harold, Baron, 531
WINDHAM, ASHE, 594; 621
Windlesham Manor, Surrey, 405–6
Windsor: adopted as Royal Family name, 71
Windsor Castle: QE visits, 175–6, 429, 494, 574, 607; in wartime, 294, 299, 302; Christmas pantomimes, 356–7; servants’ ball, 421, 478; fire (1992), 606n
WINDSOR, EDWARD, DUKE OF (earlier Prince of Wales and King Edward VIII: David), 134, 223, 226, 231, 253; QE meets, 56; ch& neered at Victory Parade (1918), 64; overshadows brother Bertie (GVI), 71; father’s attitude to, 76; accession, 77, 216; abdication, 77, 230–1; involvement with Wallis Simpson, 77, 198–9, 220n; visits Bicton, 91 & n; QE’s supposed engagement to, 104–6; and QE’s engagement to GVI, 107–8; QE’s relations with, 117; dines with QE, 125; returns from US trip (1924), 130; wishes to visit Glamis, 147; sees off QE and GVI on tour of Australasia, 151; home at Fort Belvedere, 198n; declines to open new Aberdeen hospital, 220n; QE on lack of sympathy, 221; reforms at Sandringham and Balmoral, 221–2n; plans to marry Wallis, 224–5 & n; QE asks to review St John of Jerusalem personnel, 224; as Duke of Windsor, 230–1; leaves country, 231; popularity and charm, 230, 234; in Sitwell satire, 236n; marriage, 243; meets Hitler, 243; Monckton acts for, 248n; QE on giving up responsibility, 252; QE sends box of cutlery to, 253–4; broadcast to American people (1939), 263; movements in Second World War, 275, 280; writes to mother, 334; first post-war visit to Britain (October 1945), 386 & n; visits and accuses GVI, 421; QE refuses to see, 439; in York House, 591; and GVI’s Wembley speech, 958
Windsor, Wallis, Duchess of (earlier Simpson): EVIII’s involvement with, 77, 198–9, 220n; visits Fort Belvedere, 198 & n; EVIII plans to marry, 224–5 & n; marriage, 243; meets Hitler, 243; QE’s wariness of, 275, 279, 280
Windsor Wets Club, 187 & n, 193, 205, 211
Woburn Abbey, 524n
Wodehouse, Sir P. G., 122; blue plaque unveiled, 592; The Pothunters, 581n
Wolferton: stables, 477
women: QE’s views on working, 195–6; QE broadcasts to in wartime, 281–4
Wood, Lady Dorothy see Halifax, Countess of
WOODS, RIGHT REV. EDWARD, Bishop of
Lichfield, 339; as QE’s ‘personal bishop’, 339n; helps QE draft broadcast speech, 344n; proposes Christian study centre in Regent’s Park, 375; QE proposes for Council of St Katharine’s (Regent’s Park), 390; as ‘Librarian’ to GVI and QE, 590
WOODS, RIGHT REV. ROBIN, (former Dean of Windsor), 590
World War I see First World War
World War II see Second World War
Wright, Charlie, 619
WYATT OF WEEFORD, WOODROW, BARON, 601, 608
York, Prince Albert, Duke of see George VI, King
York, Prince Andrew, Duke of: divorce, 453, 605n; birth, 510 & n; childhood, 512, 531; first birthday party, 513; visits QE in hospital, 525; character, 560; marriage to Sarah, 589n
York Cottage, Sandringham, 97, 149
York, Sarah, Duchess of (née Ferguson), 453, 589 & n, 605n
Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), 289
Ypres, 162–3
Yugoslavia: in Second World War, 308, 310 & n
Yugoslavia, Andrej, Prince of, 513n
Yugoslavia, Elizabeth, Princess of, 477
Yugoslavia, Olga, Princess Paul of (née Princess Olga of Greece), see Olga, Princess Paul of Yugoslavia (née Princess Olga of Greece)
Yugoslavia, Paul, Prince of, see Paul, Prince of Yugoslavia
About the Author
WILLIAM SHAWCROSS became a writer after leaving University College, Oxford, in 1968. He was in Czechoslovakia during the Soviet occupation; this inspired his first book, a biography of Alexander Dubcek, the Czechoslovak leader, which was published in 1970. Since then he has written and travelled widely. In 1995 he wrote the BBC Television series Monarchy. In 2002 his BBC Television series and book Queen and Country celebrated the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II and examined the changing face of Britain during her reign. His official biography of the Queen Mother was published to great acclaim in 2009. He lives in England. Visit him online at www.williamshawcross.com.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors.
Photographic Insert
1. Elizabeth Bowes Lyon with her mother, Lady Strathmore.
2. Elizabeth and David Bowes Lyon with their older brother, Jock.
3. Elizabeth, aged about five.
4. A letter written by Elizabeth aged six, with grown-up help.
5. Beryl Poignand in 1915.
6. A letter from Elizabeth to Beryl Poignand, her ‘Dear Medusa’.
7. Jock, May (playing the piano) and Rose Bowes Lyon in the drawing room at Glamis.
8. Elizabeth with Prince Paul of Yugoslavia.
9. Elizabeth (third from left), with Doris Gordon-Lennox, Freddy Dalrymple Hamilton, Bruce Ogilvy, Geordie Haddington, Alix Cavendish and Diamond Hardinge.
10. Prince Albert in 1920.
11. Elizabeth in 1920.
12. At Bisham, Ascot week 1921. Back row, left to right: Jamie Balfour, James Stuart, the Duke of York, Lord Colum Stuart, Captain Coats, Charles Balfour. Middle row, left to right: Katherine McEwan, Elizabeth, Moyra Brodrick, Amy Coats, Mollie Cecil. Front row; left to right: Arthur Penn, Bay Smith, Doris Gordon-Lennox, Aurea Balfour.
13. Elizabeth with Princess Mary and Geordie Haddington.
14. Elizabeth at Glamis with her dogs, Peter and Biffin.
15. A house party, September 1921. Back row, left to right: Wisp Leveson-Gower, Michael Bowes Lyon, David Bowes Lyon, Lord Strathmore, James Stuart, Rose Leveson-Gower, Mrs Annand. Front row, left to right: Katie Hamilton, Doris Gordon-Lennox, the Duke of York, Elizabeth, Mida Scott.
16. The Duke and Duchess of York on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after their wedding.
17. The bride and groom leaving for their honeymoon.
18. The Duchess of York trying her hand at the coconut shy at the Fresh Air Fund Fair in Epping Forest, July 1923.
19. The Duke and Duchess of York at the closing ceremony of the Empire Exhibition, October 1925.
20. The Duke and Duchess of York, April 1925.
21. The Duke and Duchess on tour in Australia, May 1927.
22. The Duchess and Lady Strathmore with the Princesses.
23. The Duchess, King George V and Queen Mary with Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret at Y Bwthyn Bach, in the grounds of The Royal Lodge, 1934. The play house was given to Princess Elizabeth on her sixth birthday by the people of Wales.
24. The Duke of York with the Princesses.
25. The Prince of Wales, the Duke of York and the Princesses.
26. The Coronation of King George VI. Left to right: the Princess Royal, the Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Gloucester, Queen Mary, King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, the Duke of Kent, the Duchess of Kent, Queen Maud of Norway.
27. A Christmas invitation to Sir Richard Molyneux, founder of the Windsor Wets, the secret club of which the Queen had been patroness since 1931.
28. The King and Queen on board the Empress of Australia, bound for Canada, May 1939.
29. The King and Queen in Washington DC with President and Mrs Roosevelt, and the President’s aide, Major-General Edwin Watson, June 1939.
30. The King and Queen surveying the damage caused by the bombing of Buckingham Palace, September 1940.
31. The King and Queen in the gardens of Buckingham Palace, May 1945, photographed by Cecil Beaton.
32. The King, Queen and the Princesses with General Smuts at Drakensberg, March 1947.
33. The Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace following the marriage of Princess Elizabeth to Prince Philip.
34. The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret, Coronation Day, 2 June 1953.
35. Queen Elizabeth with the jockey Dick Francis in 1956, the year he rode her horse Devon Loch in the National.
36. At the controls of a Comet, 1952.
37. Queen Elizabeth at Saks 5th Avenue, November 1954.
38. On tour in Bulawayo, July 1957.
39. On tour in Canada, June 1962.
40. With veterans of the Boer War at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, 1966.
41. Attending a reception for the London Scottish Regiment, of which Queen Elizabeth was Colonel-in-Chief, April 1967.
42. As Chancellor of the University of London, at the Students Union Commemoration Ball, February 1970. counting one's blessings insets V7_. 10/09/2012 11:53 Page C4
43. With Prince Charles and John Elphinstone on Cordavon in the early 1970s.
44. At Birkhall with the Queen and Princess Margaret at Gairnshiel picnic lodge.
45. A letter of congratulation to the choreographer Sir Frederick Ashton, who had been a close friend for many years.
46. Queen Elizabeth with her horse, Special Cargo, which had just won the Whitbread Gold Cup at Sandown Park, April 1984.
47. Queen Elizabeth enjoying a pint of bitter that she had pulled herself during a visit to The Queen’s Head in Stepney, July 1987.
48. Queen Elizabeth with her friend Dick Wilkins, a leading City figure of the 1960s and ’70s.
49. Queen Elizabeth with her nephew Simon Bowes Lyon and his wife Caroline watching the village parade at St Paul’s Walden in honour of her ninetieth birthday.
50. One of Queen Elizabeth’s last public engagements, in November 2001, at a reception marking the reformation of 600 Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Airforce, of which she was Honorary Air Commodore. counting one's blessings insets V7_. 10/09/2012 11:55 Page C8
Credits
Front cover photograph © Studio Lisa /Getty Images
Back cover photograph © Keystone /Getty Images
Also by William Shawcross
DUBCEK
CRIME AND COMPROMISE
SIDESHOW
THE QUALITY OF MERCY
THE SHAH’S LAST RIDE
MURDOCH
DELIVER US FROM EVIL
QUEEN AND COUNTRY
ALLIES
QUEEN ELIZABETH, THE QUEEN MOTHER,
THE OFFICIAL BIOGRAPHY
JUSTICE AND THE ENEMY
Copyright
Counting One’s Blessings
The letters of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother by courtesy of
The Royal Archives copyright © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Selection, preface and commentary copyright © William Shawcross 2012.
William Shawcross has asserted his right to be identified as the editor of this work.
The list of illustrations on pages ix–xi and the acknowledgements on pages xiii–xx constitute an extension of this copyright page.
Endpapers (RA QM/PRIV/CC12/135) by courtesy of
The Royal Archives © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
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EPub Edition © OCTOBER 2011 ISBN: 978-1-443-40730-4
Published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
First published in Great Britain in 2012 by Macmillan, an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
FIRST CANADIAN EDITION
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Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Elizabeth, Queen, consort of George VI, King of Great Britain, 1900–2002
Counting one’s blessings : the selected letters of Queen
Elizabeth, the Queen Mother / edited by William Shawcross.
ISBN 978-1-44340-728-1
1. Elizabeth, Queen, consort of George VI, King of Great Britain, 1900–2002—Correspondence.
Counting One's Blessings Page 75