The 1960s had come to an end and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother was about to enter her eighth decade. The 1970s in Britain were notably famous for economic failure, weak government and demands for reform for many historic British institutions, the Church of England, Armed Forces and the law to name but a few, some were even demanding reform for the Monarchy itself.
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother bore witness to all of these changes and a whole lot more. More women were going to work, university students were becoming a whole lot more rebellious and decimal coinage replaced pounds, shillings and pence in 1971. The 1970s really were a decade of change for the nation and even more so for The Royal Family.
One of the biggest changes for The Royal Family came about a year before the onset of the 1970s. In 1969 the BBC broadcasted Royal Family, a film of The Royal Family both at work and at play. It was the first film of its kind, opening the doors to what was once a closely guarded secret. Though at the time the film was a huge success it was also though that because The Royal Family had breached the walls of their own privacy, their private lives were now fair game and that included the life of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, a lady who was from a generation where privacy meant privacy. The film was the beginning of momentous change for the Monarchy.
As mentioned, the 1970s saw calls for reform across various British institutions including the British Monarchy. In May 1971 the Select Committee began its examination of Royal finances and The Queen Mother’s Civil List allowance came under close scrutiny. There had been a request that Elizabeth’s Civil List allowance be increased from £77,000 to £95,000 though the Committee insisted that there had been no explanation as to why they should grant this increase. In December 1971, Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret came under fierce criticism in the House of Commons from the Labour benches with William Hamilton MP even denouncing supporters of the Monarchy as ‘diligent sycophants’. The Civil List was eventually fixed for the next ten years by the Conservative dominated House.
Queen Elizabeth (and Princess Margaret) acted as Counsellors of State in February 1972 when Her Majesty The Queen was on an official tour of countries in South East Asia. It was a very turbulent time for Queen Elizabeth to be acting as Counsellor of State, the country was in the middle of a freezing winter and the National Union of Mineworkers had called their first strike since 1926. Elizabeth and Margaret were called upon on February 9th to approve the declaration of a state of emergency.
1972 saw the death of a former King, Edward VIII, now known as the Duke of Windsor. The health of The Duke of Windsor, who was still living in Paris, had been deteriorating for some time. Ten days after The Queen had called upon her uncle in Paris, he died. The Duchess of Windsor came to stay at Buckingham Palace ahead of The Duke’s funeral and eventual burial at Frogmore, Windsor. Though The Queen and Prince Charles dined with her, The Queen Mother stayed away after suffering a mild attack of shingles. Although it is often reported that Queen Elizabeth blamed The Duchess of Windsor for the death of her husband, King George VI, it is also reported that she was quite alright about meeting The Duchess at the funeral of Edward after all without Wallis Simpson, Elizabeth would have never been Queen, a role which she thoroughly enjoyed and made a huge success out of, even if it was for a short period of time.
The 1970s saw the first of Elizabeth’s grandchildren to marry, Princess Anne married Captain Mark Phillips at Westminster Abbey on 14th November 1973. The decade also saw the first member of Elizabeth’s immediate family to divorce- Princess Margaret. Though her marriage to Lord Snowdon had begun with great happiness, with the addition of their children David and Sarah, their unhappiness began to be well known within the family and eventually in March 1976, an announcement was made regarding their separation and divorce soon followed. Queen Elizabeth remained close to Lord Snowdon and David and Sarah spent many a school holiday with The Queen Mother at Royal Lodge or at Birkhall.
Though Britain’s problems were worsening in the late 1970s, one thing that was celebrated nationally and internationally was Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee. Considering Britain’s economic state, it was debated how this milestone should be celebrated though it was agreed that this was a significant achievement that people would wish to celebrate. Many of the celebrations that Her Majesty attended, Queen Elizabeth attended also. Those events included a dinner given by the Secretary of State for Scotland at Edinburgh Castle, the lighting of a bonfire on Snow Hill in Windsor Great Park as well as the thanksgiving service at St Paul’s Cathedral. Queen Elizabeth also attended a Jubilee Ball at the Castle of Mey during her summer stay. The Silver Jubilee, for Queen Elizabeth, represented a nostalgic look back at what Britain used to be 25 years before, the strongest economic and military power in Europe.
During Queen Elizabeth II’s Middle East tour of February 1979, The Queen Mother once again acted as a Counsellor of State and once again she took up this role during a time of crisis for Britain. Inflation was soaring and their were a series of strikes by road transport workers, ambulance drivers, grave diggers and dustmen. This period famously became known as the ‘winter of discontent’.
In the General Election of 1979, Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Government came to power. Though too discreet to make known her views on the outcome of the election, Queen Elizabeth hated the spectre of British decline.
1979 also saw personal tragedy for Queen Elizabeth, whilst lunching at Polveir on the River Dee on 27th August, she was informed that Lord Mountbatten had been killed in an explosion on his boat just off the coast of Sligo in Ireland. The IRA had hidden a bomb on the boat and it detonated as Mountbatten steered the boat out to sea. Lord Mountbatten was killed instantly along with his grandson, Nicholas Knatchbull and the boatman Paul Maxwell, John Brabourne’s mother died the next day. Queen Elizabeth, naturally, was appalled and equally as distressed by the news and was shortly joined at Polveir by Her Majesty The Queen and Princess Margaret. Queen Elizabeth took the train back to London on 4th September for the ceremonial funeral of Lord Mountbatten at Westminster Abbey.
A few days after the funeral of Lord Mountbatten, Queen Elizabeth gave tea at Birkhall to new Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher where one can imagine the topic of Lord Mountbatten’s death was high on the agenda.
As the 1970s were drawing to a close, Queen Elizabeth embarked on an official visit to Canada, a country that for her symbolised the old Commonwealth. The purpose of her visit was because of an invitation from the Province of Ontario to attend the 120th running of the Queen’s Plate at the Woodbine races as well as undertaking engagements with her various Canadian regiments.
The 1970s saw many other things happen in the life of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She was installed as the 160th Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports at Dover, the first woman ever to hold this prestigious position. She opened the British Cultural Centre in Paris in October 1976. She entertained members of the Eton Beagles at Royal Lodge and also mourned the loss of the Marquess of Salisbury, a man she and King George VI regarded as a close friend.
So there we have the 1970s, as Queen Elizabeth grew older it appears that her life got busier both publicly and privately. But just what did the future hold for The Queen Mother as she embarks on her ninth decade? Be sure to check back next week as we take a look at the 1980s, another decade in the remarkable life of Queen Elizabeth.
Featured Photo Credit: Royal Photography by Paul Ratcliffe
