She reigns as queen for eight different decades. Prime Ministers come and go under her. The Queen pays attention to politicians who themselves are among the greatest of their century. Elizabeth II is not as affectionate with all as she is with her ordinary subjects.
A reign of more than 70 years – so it is not surprising that a whole series of British heads of government passed Queen Elizabeth II. This does not mean that their terms of office must have been short. Tony Blair, for example, was Prime Minister under Queen Elizabeth II for around ten years. Only the Queen’s reign was much, much longer.
According to anecdotes, the Queen got along less well with some of the Premiers. She is said to have intimate relationships with others. This is not unimportant, as the Queen’s duties also included a weekly audience with the respective head of government, during which the Queen was inducted into important political issues.
The first prime minister the Queen met was the legendary Winston Churchill. A man born in the middle of another century, in 1874. Churchill served his country as Prime Minister during World War II (1940-1945) and then served for a second term (1951-1955) as the first Prime Minister to serve. Died on Thursday Elizabeth II experienced as Queen after her coronation in 1952.
Churchill’s grandson, Nicholas Soames, believes his grandfather “loved” the Queen. “That’s the only word that can come close to describing how he felt about this young monarch,” said the former Conservative MP and friend of King Charles III. the station Times Radio. The Queen also found him a great support, Soames continued. Pictures of the two also speak of a relationship characterized by sympathy.
According to a report by “Sky News”, the British historian Kate Williams said that the Queen first had to earn her merits from the legendary Churchill. “Winston Churchill was very insecure about her at first,” Williams said. After some time, however, Churchill was very impressed by the Queen, their meetings are said to have lasted hours.
The Queen encountered a prime minister with whom she is said to have had a rather cold relationship around the middle of her reign. And Margaret Thatcher then held the office for eleven years from 1979 to 1990. Citing a general, “Sky News” says that Thatcher, instead of asking the Queen’s opinion, often went about lecturing the Queen about what she was doing accordingly found “irritating”. And then there’s the anecdote about the dress:
The “Iron Lady” Thatcher is said to have been enraged that she and the Queen wore dresses of nearly the same green color to a social event. “Wouldn’t it be a good idea if we agreed beforehand?” Thatcher asked in a message to Elizabeth II. The traditional answer: “The Queen takes no notice of what other people wear.”
But the Queen could also be kind and forgiving: at one of her famous garden parties, she struck up a conversation with a young woman. Shortly thereafter, her cell phone rang, which visibly embarrassed her. The Queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland said with a smile: “Pick up the phone, it could be someone important.” The Queen apparently preferred to “note” the ringtone of the party guest’s cell phone to Thatcher’s wardrobe planning.
During her long reign since 1952, the Queen has had a total of 15 prime ministers. The Premiers after Churchill were as follows:
Unlike the “Iron Lady” Margaret Thatcher, Harold Macmillan, who succeeded Winston Churchill, liked to be told something about the Queen. According to British media, he wrote in his diary: “She showed, as her father was wont to, an uncanny knowledge of details and personalities. She must read the telegrams very carefully.”
Recently appointed as the third woman in British history to be Prime Minister, Liz Truss was no longer able to develop a close relationship with the Queen. She is the 15th to be nominated by the Queen and the last to receive the honor. Two days before her death, the Queen insisted on dutifully making the appointment herself. Liz Truss will certainly never forget that.
