Elizabeth II, a maturity shaken up (part 1)

Between 1965 and 1977, Elizabeth II faced new difficulties, but also experienced great successes.

In this new episode of the Europe 1 Studio podcast "At the heart of history", Jean des Cars tells you about the pivotal years that separate the death of the old lion from the Queen's Silver Jubilee on June 7, 1977.

The death of the old lion 

Winston Churchill had handed in his resignation to the Queen on April 5, 1955. Tired, worn out by his political battles, he feared he would not survive long ... He was wrong.

This winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953, spent his retirement writing, painting and traveling, from Bermuda to Morocco, from Madeira to Monte-Carlo.

On July 29, 1964, he bade farewell to the House of Commons and then appeared at his window the day before his 90th birthday, to which the crowd applauded.

On January 24, 1965, after nine days of fighting against death, he passed away, the victim of a stroke. 

The queen is very affected by his disappearance.

She admired everything about him, even his faults as an indomitable and fanciful aristocrat.

He had accompanied the first three years of his reign.

The debutante sovereign and the experienced politician had formed an effective and respected duo.

Immediately, Elizabeth II asks her brand new Prime Minister, Labor Harold Wilson, for a state funeral for this man on the incredible journey, from the disaster of the Dardanelles in World War I to the hero of World War II. 

His solemn funeral takes place at Saint Paul's Cathedral where the greatest military leaders are honored, such as Nelson and Wellington.

The whole royal family attends.

Then leaving from Waterloo station, this historical giant makes his last trip in a special train to the small Bladon cemetery, near Blenheim Castle, where he was born in 1874.

Tributes from around the world arrive at Buckingham Palace.

Elizabeth II is very moved by the letter from the French President, General de Gaulle:

"Mrs,

For all, in my country, for myself, Sir Winston Churchill is and will always remain the one who, by leading the admirable British war effort until victory, contributed powerfully to the salvation of the French people and the freedom of the world .

In the drama, he was the greatest.

I ask Your Majesty to accept my very respectful and very saddened tributes. "

The Queen and "swinging London"

After Churchill's funeral, the Queen made two official trips.

On February 2, 1965, she left with Prince Philip for Ethiopia, at the invitation of Emperor Haile Selassie, who has reigned since 1930. The one called the Negus had been forced into exile in Great Britain five years in 1936, because Mussolini's troops occupied his country.

Thanks to the British forces, the emperor had triumphantly regained his capital Addis Ababa in 1941. The queen and her husband are living a week of festivities in the mythical land of the Queen of Sheba.

In May 1965, Elizabeth undertook a trip to Federal Germany.

It is much closer but much more delicate on the diplomatic level.

In fact, twenty years after the end of World War II, not all the wounds have healed.

The dynastic origins of the sovereign like those of her husband, mean that they have a multitude of cousins ​​dispersed on the territory of the Federal Republic.

It is Philip, helped by his sister Sophie from Hanover, who is responsible for clearing the land and designing a program. 

The Queen meets each of her cousins ​​in the Landers of their residences, which correspond to the former German princely states.

The visit takes place without the slightest incident.

The royal couple travels through West Germany before returning to London which, for two years, has been vibrating to the sound of pop and rock groups, including the Beatles who triumph. 

Much has changed in the UK.

A real moral revolution is underway.

The British Parliament authorized abortion and decriminalized same-sex relationships between consenting adults.

Oscar Wilde may have been at the wrong time… Divorce is easier, the protection of wives consolidated and the right to vote lowered to 18 years.

At this point, the queen does not yet know that her own family will also be affected by these upheavals. 

Elizabeth II rejoices in the breeze of freshness blowing over London and, on October 26, 1965, she decorated the Beatles with the Order of the British Empire, for their contribution to the influence of the United Kingdom.

Those who are called the "Fab Four" are delighted: they found their sovereign "adorable and very lovable".

They will compose for her the song "Her Majesty". 

But the revolution is not just musical.

It also affects the length of the skirts.

On King's Road, a Mecca of "Swinging London", the self-taught designer Mary Quant invents the miniskirt in her shop called "Bazaar".

It is a triumph that will go global.

It should be noted that this joyous revolution is obviously accompanied by alcohol, sex and an excessive consumption of illicit substances ...

Aberfan: The Queen's Late Compassion

Away from the hustle and bustle of London, South Wales, a terrible tragedy strikes the mining village of Aberfan.

On October 21, 1966, after torrential rains, a gigantic coal heap collapsed on the village school, causing the death of 144 people including 116 small schoolchildren.

A horror !

Prime Minister Harold Wilson immediately goes there and begs the Queen to do the same.

But Elizabeth II is satisfied with agreed condolences.

She deems it indecent to show herself at this time. 

She will wait eight long days before deciding to go to Aberfan.

She arrives there after the dignified and heartbreaking funeral of the children, but it is too late.

This serious error of appreciation inflicts terrible remorse on him.

From that moment, she will be present with the victims whenever a disaster strikes the population.

The Return of Uncle David

The Queen, perhaps influenced by the times, finally accepts, on June 7, 1967, that her uncle and his wife, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, attend a royal ceremony in the presence of the whole family.

A real event!

In fact, it is simply a matter of honoring the memory of Queen Mary by putting a plaque on the wall of her last residence, Marlborough House. 

The truth is, Elizabeth II knows that ex-King Edward VIII, 73, is ill.

He underwent several operations in the United States and in London where she had visited him two years earlier.

Photographers are on edge.

The Queen shakes hands with her uncle and the Duchess, the Queen Mother kisses her brother-in-law on the cheek.

Wallis is extremely nervous.

If she succeeds in her bow to the Queen, she will not bow to the Queen Mother.

The two sworn enemies had not seen each other since 1936!

Forgiveness is also limited since the Duke and Duchess do not attend the family lunch that follows at Buckingham Palace.

They have lunch with the Duchess of Kent in Kensington before returning to Paris. 

But we cannot escape the Duke and Duchess of Windsor!

They had overwhelmed George VI with their perpetual recriminations.

They will continue with his daughter.

In August 1968, the Duke wrote to his niece the Queen, again about money, but this time for after her death.

He knows that his lifetime pension of 10,000 pounds per year will cease to be paid on the day of his death.

He asks Elizabeth II that an annuity be paid to Wallis when she is widowed.

Annoyed, she took eight months to answer him!

She nevertheless assures her uncle David that an annuity of 5,000 pounds will be paid to Wallis, hoping that this decision "will help her to calm her mind".

As usual, Edward is exaggerating and Elizabeth is very good because in addition to this pension, Wallis will inherit her husband's fortune, and the fabulous jewels he gave her and which she will keep.

Charles is enthroned Prince of Wales 

In 1965, Charles will be 16 years old.

The least we can say is that he is not very happy.

His parents wanted him to have an education similar to other boys of his age and background, except that he is not like the others.

He is the heir to the throne and that cannot be synonymous with "normal" life. 

In 1957, aged 9, he became a boarder at the college in Cheam, where all the Mountbatten passed.

He feels very lonely there and suffers from it.

In 1962, when he turned 13, his father imposed on him the institution where he had studied, the formidable Gordonstoun College in Scotland.

Charles is even more unhappy there.

One of his comrades, the future novelist William Boyd will say: "We were all after him to knock on the future king of England!"

The heir becomes more and more depressed.

Elizabeth, aware of the disaster, decides to send her son to the other side of the world for six months.

It will be Australia, Timbertop precisely, the local equivalent of Eton.

And there, the miracle occurs.

Accompanied by a squire from his father who settles down with his wife and children next to Timbertop to take care of him during weekends and holidays, Charles will flourish.

A trip to New Guinea and Papua will fascinate him and undoubtedly develop his taste for anthropology. 

On his return to Scotland, he is metamorphosed.

A sort of family council, in which the Prime Minister and the Archbishop of Canterbury also participate, then chooses for him the option proposed by his godfather, Lord Mountbatten: he will continue his studies at Trinitry College in Cambridge before being initiated into the Navy at Dartmouth.

Charles loves Cambridge where he studies archeology and anthropology.

But the year of his 21 years, in 1969, he must be invested Prince of Wales.

At that time, however, the political climate was appalling in Wales.

Nationalism is very active and very violent there.

Elizabeth II nevertheless decides, for the three months preceding his investiture, that Charles integrates the Welsh University of Aberystwyth.

He enthusiastically accepts despite the risks.

He will learn Welsh in record time and it is not an easy language! 

Just before the enthronement, rumors of an attack on the heir to the crown spread.

It is a high risk event.

A bomb exploded the very morning of the enthronement, July 1, 1969, 30 miles from Caernarvon Castle where the ceremony will take place, killing the terrorist who manipulated it ... 

But the ceremony is magnificent.

The queen, caped and dressed in yellow, places on the head of her son kneeling before her the crown of the Princes of Wales.

Charles takes his oath in Welsh: "I, Charles, Prince of Wales, proclaim myself your liege man and I pledge by my faith and honor to serve you until death."

After this ritual passage, he gives a speech that tens of thousands of spectators gathered around the castle hear and see on screens.

The Prince of Wales is truly becoming one of them.

The broadcast of the ceremony on television is much appreciated, and so much the better, because it takes place just after the airing of an unprecedented show on the royal family, which was not really a good idea ...

"Royal Family": the pitfalls of communication 

A priori, it was a good idea.

One of those which Dickie Mountbatten had the secret… During the year before the enthronement of the Prince of Wales, a television crew follows the royal family at every moment of its life, both official and private.

Entering the privacy of the Windsors, what British subject has not dreamed of? 

The film aired on the BBC on June 21, 1969, ten days before the Caernarvon ceremony.

We see the preparation for the broadcast of the Sovereign's Christmas speech, Charles on a bicycle in the streets of London, the Queen on horseback for her birthday ceremony Trooping the Color, the annual garden party at Buckingham Palace where the we welcome 9,000 people with a smile.

The highlight of this report is a picnic at Balmoral where Philip and Anne take care of the barbecue while Charles explains to his little brother Edouard how to make a salad dressing with crème fraîche.

The Prince of Wales on skis, Anne on Horseback, Philip piloting his plane, and then a final sequence: a lunch at Buckingham Palace bringing together the Queen, Philip, Charles and Anne.

The Prince Consort openly mocks, for a long streak, his stepfather, the King of George VI, by ridiculing his speech difficulties, which is not in the best taste. 

The Queen Mother had warned that disclosing the privacy of the family was a bad idea.

This could only desecrate the monarchy.

And George VI's widow was right.

Although the show beats an audience record (40 million viewers), this report has never been rebroadcast and its extremely rare copies have disappeared ... The queen has understood that communication is a delicate art.

And in terms of communication, Philip is not a champion! 

He will demonstrate it once again.

Times are tough for the royal family as Harold Wilson is slashing his budget.

On television, the Duke of Edinburgh then declared: "We are going to be in the red this year, what to do? We have a small yacht, the Britannia, that we can sell. I will probably have to give up polo soon ... Things like that !"

British viewers are torn between amazement and hilarity.

The press takes over with ruthless cartoons like "Honey, if we sold a Canaletto to change the washing machine?"

More seriously, the “Firm” Windsor will have to submit its accounts to Parliament from 1970.

The death of the Duke of Windsor, Anne's marriage

In early May 1972, the Queen learned that her uncle David was dying of cancer.

He only has a few more days to live.

However, Elizabeth II is due to come on an official visit to Paris in mid-May.

She finds time, in her overloaded agenda, to pay a visit to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, in their residence in Bois de Boulogne, in Neuilly, accompanied by Philip and Charles.

Willingness for forgiveness and appeasement after so much family hatred. 

Elizabeth II is inherently good and hates conflict.

She has a final interview with her uncle which we will not know.

Eleven days later, on May 29, the Duke of Windsor died in the arms of his wife Wallis, at the age of 77.

Former King Edward VIII is entitled to a funeral in St. George's Chapel in Windsor, before being buried in the Royal Cemetery at Frogmore.

It's the end of a long nightmare.

Fortunately, a joyous event will reunite the royal family on November 14, 1973, at Westminster Abbey.

Princess Anne marries Captain Mark Phillips.

Anne never posed a problem for her parents.

She loves the countryside and the horses.

She has a strong personality and a lot of admirers.

She was the official girlfriend of Andrew Parker-Bowles who would later marry Camilla Shand.

She is madly in love with the handsome captain Mark Phillips who shares all her tastes.

The Queen is delighted and wants, for her only daughter, a very beautiful wedding in Westminster Abbey, broadcast by the BBC.

A real media success.

The princess appears radiant and lovely.

In the spring of 1977, Elizabeth can be calm.

She has reigned for twenty-five years and will celebrate her Silver Jubilee on June 7th.

Dressed in pink, she is acclaimed throughout her journey to Saint Paul's Cathedral where the Archbishop of Canterbury celebrates the event in front of thirty-five heads of state, including US President Jimmy Carter.

The festivities are televised, including the traditional appearance on the balcony.

The only question the crowd then asks concerns the Prince of Wales: why, at almost 30 years old, is he still single?

Bibliographic resources:

Sarah Bradford,

(Penguin Books new edition 2002)

William Shawcross,

(Pan Books, 2009)

Sarah Bradford,

(Penguin Books, 1989)

Jean des Cars,

(Perrin, 2018)

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"At the heart of History" is a Europe 1 Studio podcast

Author and presentation: Jean des Cars

Production, distribution and editing: Timothée Magot

Director: Matthieu Blaise

Graphics: Karelle Villais