Elizabeth, The Queen Mother—I Captivating Feminine Charm

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28491, 22 January 1958, Page 14

Elizabeth, The Queen Mother—I Captivating Feminine Charm

At Best On Royal Tours

[Sv MOLLIE McGEE]

CHE is smaller, prettier than her photographs suggest So much more a personality than a personage, Elizabeth the Queen Mother usually surprises those who see her for the first time. Her simplicity of manner, understanding and kindly interest, her large, expressive blue eyes, clear complexion, with what is often described as her intensely feminine charm, captivate those who meet her.

I They feel that something should be done about it—as did the I Buckingham Palace cleaner at a Christmas party. I “Your Majesty, thank you for all your kindness,’* the old charlady began, then, in the same breath, ' she launched out impulsively: ; “Ma’am, you are just the sort of ■ woman we would all like for a neighbour, and we alT’love you.” At 57 the Queen Mother, in spite of her serenity, can look back on more than a quarter of a century of public service during terrific, unforeseen upheavals. Difficult Time Perhaps the most difficult time she has had to face has been the six years since the King’s death. They did everything together. She was his confidante and in many ways his adviser, though it was he who would weigh matters i —slightly mistrustful of innovations—thinking out his own final decisions. He was thoroughly accustomed to Royal routine, but she made Royal rounds with a fresh approach, and sometimes as they talked over happenings of a busy official day, she sent him into peals of laughter with her accounts of pompous dignitaries or ridiculous incidents. She is an excellent mimic. The family was close knit, interdependent. They kept birthdays and anniversaries with little treats and parties. They visited relatives and shared friends. Saving Sense Of Humour Then abruptly all this came to an end. Death took away not only the Queen’s husband and divided the family he headed, but also her main interests and occupations. There seemed little left for her to do, but the Queen —now Queen Mother—had that saving sense of humour and it was when, as she told a friend: “Newspapers appear to be classifying my castle of Mey as an ‘Eventide Home,* ” that she took her life in hand again. She made preparations to move from Buckingham Palace apartments she had shared with the King, to Clarence House, and went on a Royal tour of Kenya with Princess Margaret. She is at her best on Royal tours, and though she sometimes admits to being “terribly tired” after hours of smiling and bowing to continuous crowds cheering, staring and waving, she rarely shows strain. Remembered The Guard Last year reporters with her on the Rhodesian visit told of flying in on a sizzling hot morning, driving miles through dust to where the Queen Mother went from her closed car to one open to the sun ar>d with r- unted escort. Finally, the cavalcade arrived at Government House thoroughly grimy and weary, but after leaving her car she went to speak to each man in the Guard of Honour (and patted the head of every horse) before going into the shade.

“She enjoys being a Queen and she does it extremely well.” That is the opinion of experienced officials: and the staff below stairs consider her “the most charming of all the Royal ladies.” An instinctive flair for striking the right note is one of her greatest assets. When Nyasaland chiefs arranged a “bazara”— gathering—in her honour, thousands of Africans, splendid in paint, plumes, beads and skins, converged on a flat, sandy arena for mass ceremonial dances, the Queen Mother too came dressed in her best. Fairytale Figure As drums throbbed and the ground shook under pounding, fenzied feet, she could be seen through the lattice of waving feathers and flourished spears, a fairytale figure in a throne-like chair, with filmy white dress and long white gloves. Diamonds in her tiara flashed in blazing sunlight; earrings, bracelets, insignia of orders and ropes of pearls glowed and. scintillated. Her

Garter sash, a bar of vibrant blue, showed out beyond ebony dancers in their haze of golden dust In London the Queen Mother is not concerned with the usual smart society, events. She does not live in seclusion, neither does she attend any social functions other than State and family gatherings, or those involving some activity in which she is interested. Habit Of Lifetime At her official residence, Clarence House, she usually lunches with her household, occasionally invites friends to lunch—her guests and those of Princess Margaret forming one party—sometimes goes out to small lunches or dinners, but rarely asks other than her close friends or her family to dine with her. “She is often tired after the day’s programme,” is the explanation, but this is also the habit of a lifetime.

So often in the past she dined quietly with the King, and when they could, they would spend the evening together, she playing the music he liked, he working at crossword puzzles, or, sitting by the fireside, they would listen to a radio programme. Nowadays, after dinner, she may watch television, go to the theatre or a concert, or, when she is in the country, join the rest of the family and the household watching films. Close To The People In hundreds of visits and tours, her kind smile and evident interest have brought the Queen Mother close to the people. Thousands of letters poured in while the housing shortage was at its worst, telling her of broken homes, old people’s worries and asking her help as if she were one of the family to whom they could turn. •

All her letters are answered. The post of Igdy-in-waiting is not a sinecure. Her ladies must be ready to report to the Queen Mother on how each letter has been handled and what have been the results.

They manage her mail, messages and shopping, and they recently finished a petit-point kheeler for Washington Cathedral, where the Queen and the Duke attended

Sunday service when they were in the United States. The Queen Mother has taken the work on as patroness of the Royal Collegeof Needlework in succession to Queen Mary, and did her stint of stitching. No Aptitude For Sewing Though she was given a thousand gold-eyed needles for a wedding present, the Queen Mother, to her own mother’s regret, had never had aptitude or application for sewing. Embroidering with her attendants may be an age-old accepted pastime for a great lady. Nowadays, however, it does not exhaust this modern lady’s talents, nor does painting take its place. There has been some talk of the Queen Mother’s taking up painting, now considered the hobby of elder statesmen and soldiers ’ (Churchill, Eisenhower, and—so they say—Montgomery). She is well informed and interested in art, but perhaps she is not sufficiently “elder”—she is much younger than the others—and there seems so much more she could do. “And She Meant It” As an ambassadress she is unrivalled. Thousands of reels of film and thousands of photographs show her smiling, intent on what is going on as if it were giving her the greatest pleasure, ! Whether she is making a foot- i tiring trip round some exhibition 1 or a tour of an old-age home, she leaves the impression that this has been a highlight in her life, and the slogging duties done by those she meets are worthwhile jobs. She is a moral booster, par excellence. At the end of an African visit, one exhausted reporter, who had ' followed her through a train of engagements and varied vicissitudes of tropical travel, was standing near the Queen Mother at a farewell party. Smiling, she turned, to him, “It is sad that it is almost over,” she said.

Repeating this to his equally weary colleagues, the reporter added with a touch of exasperated astonishment: “And she meant it. Believe it or not she must have enjoyed it. Anyway, she made me think she did.” [To be continued]