Long live the Queen!

I have been reading a biography of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother by Lady Colin Campbell which does a pretty good hatchet job on any reputation for sweetness the Queen Mum ever had.

According to Lady Campbell, the Queen Mum and her younger brother, David, were conceived on the family cook by her father with the consent of her mother who had already borne a number of children and wasn't up to producing any more. Apparently this was common practice among the upper class in England at the time of her birth.








Her two daughters, Queen Elizabeth II  and Princess Margaret Rose were conceived by artificial insemination with King George's sperm because the Queen Mum wasn't interested in having sex with him.

She was a mover and shaker behind the scenes in getting Edward VIII to abdicate shortly after he became King at the death of George V. She had had her cap set for Edward, or Albert, as he was known in the Royal family, and was furious when she had to settle for Bertie, his less appealing younger brother, who became George VI. As a result she hated Wallis Warfield with a vengeance when she ran off with Edward. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, as they were styled, were ex-patriots for the rest of their lives. Edward was allowed to come back to England when his mother, Queen Mary died, and Wallis came back for Edward's funeral.

Lady Campbell liberally drops names and titles by the score as she continues to trash the Queen Mum. I wonder what the Royal family thinks about this. The Queen Mum is made out to be a controlling and vicious woman who gave the impression of being soft and cuddly.

If this seems complicated, it is. Juicy, like a Barbara Cartland novel  (Diana's grandmother- I can drop names too!) But a good read if you like scandal.