Crowned her husband and daughter, died at 101: what was the life of Elizabeth II’s mother

Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon was not to become Queen, nor was she to become the wife of George VI. The girl rejected his marriage proposal twice before she agreed. In 1923 they got married and three years later they became parents – their daughter Elizabeth Alexandra Maria was born.

In 1936, after the coronation of her husband George VI. (after the sudden abdication of Edward VIII), Elizabeth unexpectedly became queen. During the war, the couple refused to leave London and the Queen did her best to keep her subjects’ morale up. She therefore became a symbol of hope for all Britons, and Adolf Hitler himself called her “Europe’s most dangerous woman”.

Elizabeth soon became a widow: she was 51 years old when her husband George VI. In the same year, 1952, the crown passed to her eldest daughter Elizabeth II. Until the end of her days, the Queen Mother supported her daughter and actively participated in the public life of Great Britain, remaining very popular among the people. She was adored – in the truest sense of the word.

Although the Queen Mother did not become a trendsetter, her outfits were very pleasing to look at because they reflected her mood or the current political situation. So Elizabeth adored bright clothes, with the help of which she tried to charge those around her with a good mood.

The Queen Mother is famous for her longevity. Her 90th birthday was celebrated with a loud parade attended by about 300 organizations. In 2002, Elizabeth could have celebrated her 102nd birthday, but the death of her youngest daughter, Princess Margaret, in February of that year brought her down, not counting the multiple fractures she suffered one after the other and a cold. The Queen Mother died 7 weeks after this tragedy at the age of 101 years and 238 days.

At the time, she was the longest-lived member of the British royal family in history. The Queen Mother’s record was broken by her sister-in-law Alice Montagu-Douglas-Scott, who died aged 102.

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