The Queen disliked Diana immediately after her engagement to Charles, considering her a commoner and a cunning hypocrite. Queen Elizabeth could not come to terms with Diana even when she became a princess. The Queen did not like Di for her spontaneity and her unwillingness to come to terms with her position in the palace when Diana filed for divorce due to Charles's infidelity and indifference.

Refused to declare mourning for Diana

The Queen remained cold even to the fact of Diana's death in a car accident. Elizabeth was against declaring national mourning, insisting that Lady Diana no longer belonged to the royal family at the time of her death. Ignoring Diana's death caused popular anger. A crowd of people wishing to say goodbye to their favorite held the line near Buckingham Palace for several days, and the refusal to lower the flags at Buckingham Palace (as is done in mourning for royalty) temporarily undermined the Queen’s authority among her subjects.

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Refuses to return the title to the deceased

Princes Harry and William insist that Elizabeth restore their mother's royal title, because before her divorce from Charles, it was customary for a woman to be called Her Highness. But Elizabeth’s hostility towards her deceased daughter-in-law is still so strong that she refuses her grandchildren.

Scolded Harry for his beard

Parties, dubious connections, alcoholic sprees - the bully Harry often drew fire from the royal house. But even having corrected himself, the red-haired prince continues to incur the wrath of his prim relatives. Strip billiards and rivers of champagne are a thing of the past for Harry, but the strict queen still found something to complain about. Two years ago she scolded her grandson... for his beard! Elizabeth II believes that facial hair on a man is only appropriate when traveling around the world or during military service. While in the palace, all men of the royal family must be clean-shaven.

She reprimanded William for singing

Prince William, unlike his younger brother, was not involved in any scandals, so it is difficult to imagine what claims the Queen might have against the heir to the throne, the father of two children. Nevertheless, a reason was found: three years ago, Elizabeth II summoned William to her place and expressed dissatisfaction with his behavior.

The fact is that during a charity evening at Kensington Palace, which William hosted, he, along with musicians Jon Bon Jovi and Taylor Swift, performed the song “Livin" on a Prayer in front of the guests. This is what the Queen did not like, who said that it was inappropriate behavior for the future king, and expressed the hope that he would no longer stage such “performances.” In response to this, the prince objected to Elizabeth II and said that he wanted in the eyes of people to be not only a member of the royal family, but also a real person.

Was against Prince William's marriage to commoner Kate Middleton

Kate cannot be called a girl of the people: after all, her parents are wealthy entrepreneurs, and she studied at the private Marlborough College and at the prestigious University of St. Andrews, where she met William, the eldest son of Charles, Prince of Wales. However, Katherine's family tree only includes people from the working class.

Despite the protests of Queen Elizabeth II, William's grandmother, who did not want to put up with Middleton's origins, the prince married his beloved after 9 years of romance.

Kate Middleton makes comments about inexpensive clothes and jewelry

The relationship between the queen and the duchess is many times warmer than between Elizabeth and Diana, however, Kat is regularly called “on the carpet” to her mother-in-law. Kate has admitted more than once that she saves on shopping and allows herself to repeat outfits or buy a dress for little money. According to the reigning queen, this is unacceptable for the wife of the future king. Elizabeth is unhappy that Kate neglects jewelry and often looks too simple. The Queen is especially irritated by the Duchess's skirts, which are too short and... wedge shoes! Elizabeth considers this model ridiculous and urgently asks (and in the case of the queen, this wording does not imply objections) to refuse such shoes.

Forbade the Duchess to pole dance

Prince William's wife began taking pole dancing lessons 10 years ago and continued training until 2007. The future duchess even involved her friends in the classes. When Kate Middleton began to be recognized on the street, she came to class wearing a headscarf for secrecy purposes.

Prince William was not against pole dancing, but Elizabeth, having heard about her daughter-in-law’s hobby, immediately forbade Kate from approaching the dance studio!

Something is rotten again in the kingdom, the British media believe. Over the past month, materials informing about discord in the royal family have increasingly begun to appear on the Internet: in July, publications talked about the relationship between the wife of Prince Charles and Elizabeth II, and the other day - about the Queen’s quarrel with Prince William’s wife and himself. According to the press, the feuds could affect the fate of the crown, namely, the order of succession to the throne.

Both royal daughters-in-law, Camilla Parker Bowles and Kate Middleton, are said to have fallen from grace. This is an alarming sign, say readers who follow the life of the royal family and see parallels in the tripartite conflict with the fate of Princess Diana. In addition, it now becomes completely unclear who Elizabeth will consider a worthy successor - the younger William or Charles, who has been waiting for his turn for so long?

"Normal life away from the royal court"

William, 32, second in line to the British throne, and his wife, Kate Middleton, 31, longed for a “normal life.” This is exactly what, as the British media write, Middleton recently told the 88-year-old queen. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are tired of their pompous home and strict protocols and want to live like an ordinary young family: move out of town with their one-year-old son George, communicate with other parents, wear ordinary clothes. The couple decided to move out of Kensington Palace, their dream is a more modest estate in Norfolk. The press claims that the initiative to move came from Middleton, but William supported her.

Kate had previously had minor clashes with her husband’s grandmother: for example, last year the queen urgently asked the girl to reduce huge expenses on fashionable clothes and maintaining beauty, and also to change her wardrobe towards more conservatism. The old lady even offered to personally style her granddaughter-in-law. It’s easy to imagine Kate’s reaction, but William then withdrew from the conflict, deciding that the ladies would somehow sort out the outfits themselves.

However, the queen continued to raise her grandson and his wife, giving advice and expressing her own opinion on the smallest details of the life of the young family. William had to decide whose side he was on. When the young man made up his mind, the grandmother’s anger fell on him too.

The head of the family is furious

The life of the royal court is deeply private, and the press writing about the life of monarchs has to be content with news from “anonymous sources” and their own informants around the Windsors. The latter told the weekly Life & Style that after a quarrel with Kate, the elderly crowned lady is furious and is already hatching some plans for revenge. The courtiers, according to “sources” quoted by the media, are confident that the confrontation risks “escalating into something grandiose.” “War with the Queen - Kate has packed up and is leaving,” the magazine writes, luring readers: “How will Elizabeth punish her?”

Will the crown go to the one who behaved well?

As a matter of fact, you don’t have to buy a tabloid to guess what the Queen will do if the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge really decide to confront each other. Previously, Elizabeth II was thinking of making William her heir - bypassing Charles, who has long and patiently been waiting for his rightful turn. Recent events may well force the offended royal to abandon this idea.

However, unfortunately, shortly before the quarrel with Kate and William, the Queen had a conflict with another daughter-in-law. In July, The Globe reported that things were very bad between Camilla and Charles and the couple was considering divorcing. Journalists then wrote that, having informed Elizabeth about plans to separate from her husband, Camilla demanded 200 million pounds of “compensation” from the queen.

It turns out that the queen no longer has a favorite - unless she entrusts the throne to the merry Harry, William's younger brother, or waits until baby George grows up. By the way, the latter is not so unrealistic: Elizabeth is distinguished by good Saxon health, and she has excellent heredity - Queen Mother Elizabeth died in 2002 at the age of 102.

And those who behaved badly...

Reading materials about the discord in the noble family, the audience gloomily jokes that it makes sense for Camilla and Kate to be more polite with the queen and, just in case, not to drive through tunnels at high speeds.

In the last century, Elizabeth disliked Princess Diana in the same way. Not that the stories are very similar, but who knows, this British grandmother?..

It is unlikely that we will read a frank interview with Her Majesty on this topic in the near future, but sometimes actions mean much more than words, and in the case of the Queen this happens quite often. During the five years of Prince William and Kate Middleton's marriage, the Queen avoided meeting her grandson's chosen one. Despite staying in the same room at least three times, the women did not interact in any way.

We don't know the exact date when William and Kate started dating, but it is rumored that a spark ran between them during the celebration of the prince's 21st birthday in June 2003. By the time they graduated from the University of St Andrews, two years later, they had already gone through one break-up and their relationship had grown even stronger. However, the Queen believed that William should have been celebrating his graduation that day with his friends, so she only came to see him at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Graduation Parade in 2006.

This was followed by the couple's separation, which lasted four months, and only a year after their reunion, Kate finally met the queen. Five years after they first met, William and Kate were confident that they would share their future with each other. In an engagement interview, Kate said: “I first met the Queen at the wedding of Peter and Autumn Phillips. Elizabeth was one of many guests and was very welcoming.” William also said of his grandmother: “She’s been wanting to meet Kate for a long time.”

Apparently, Kate made a good first impression on the Queen, because a month later she was invited to Windsor Castle, where William was being awarded the Order of the Garter. Kate's appearance at the ceremony was a surprise that day - it was the first royal event in which she took part, and her arrival at the castle in the same car with Prince Harry caused a lot of noise.

Over the years, the relationship between the queen and Keist grew stronger. When Kate unveiled her wedding dress to the public in July 2011, Elizabeth accompanied her granddaughter-in-law to the official reception, and the following year the Queen invited her to three more events, two of which were without William.

Later, in an interview for the documentary Our Queen at 90, Kate said the following about her mother-in-law: “The most memorable event for me was the reception in Leicester. I went there without William, so I was a little worried. But the queen supported me all evening. The fact that she took the time to make sure I was okay is a small gesture that shows how caring and courteous she is.” Her love for her granddaughter-in-law is also noticeable in the hospitality with which she greets Kate's parents. Elizabeth not only invited them to the royal races at Ascot in 2011 and 2012, but also invited them to take part in the river parade to mark her anniversary.

The birth of Prince George and Princess Charlotte brought the Queen and Kate even closer together. On September 9, 2015, when Elizabeth was recognized as the oldest monarch of all time, she decided to celebrate this day at Balmoral Castle in a quiet family circle - along with Prince Philip, William and Kate.

Lovers and mistresses, illegitimate children and contract killings... We understand the most notorious scandals associated with the heirs of the British crown.

Queen Elizabeth was given birth to by a cook

February 6, 2017 marked 55 years since Elizabeth II became Queen of Great Britain. Of course, for such a long period of time, ill-wishers and envious people did not spread any kind of gossip about her. But writer Colin Campbell, having published the biographical book “The Queen Mother,” went further than anyone else. She released information that Elizabeth II actually cannot boast of the purity of royal blood. According to Campbell, her grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, was born as a result of a vicious relationship between Claude Bowes-Lyon (14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne) and a cook. The writer says that the count confessed to his sins on his deathbed, explaining that necessity pushed him into such a relationship.

Future Queen Mother Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in her youth

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Queen Mother Elizabeth celebrating her 50th birthday, 1950

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The fact is that Claude's wife Lady Cecilia, having lost one of her beloved eldest daughters, Violet, who died of defteritis, fell into deep despair, which affected her health. She could no longer have children, so her husband decided to “give” her a new daughter, whose care, in the opinion of the resourceful count, was supposed to ease Cecilia’s suffering. He called the cook to help. Apparently, to consolidate the result, through joint efforts the couple also produced a son, David, to the delight of the count’s wife. It must be said that in those days such “surrogate mothers” were not uncommon. Noble men, whose wives for some reason could not give birth, resorted to their services.

Moreover, society did not condemn this fact at all - if the bastard was accepted by his father, he had all the rights and privileges befitting an heir. Two facts speak in favor of the reliability of this version. Firstly, Elizabeth herself, talking about the circumstances and place of her birth, was constantly confused, putting forward different versions. Secondly, after the publication of this information, there were no denials from the royal court. Moreover, it is known that the illustrations for this book were provided by members of the royal family.

Actress Evelyn Lay - mistress of King George VI, 1922

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George VI was cured of his stutter by his mistress

Continuing the theme of the difficult fate of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (mother of the now reigning Elizabeth II), it is worth telling one interesting detail that perfectly illustrates the duplicity of the relationship between the royals. Having married Prince Albert, Elizabeth became his wonderful wife. Let's ignore the fact that initially Liz did not want to make him happy at all, since she was in love with his much more attractive brother David. But he did not react to Elizabeth in any way, and therefore, on the third attempt, she finally decided to become Albert’s wife. He was not so attractive, since he had a completely unforgivable vice for a monarch - he stuttered terribly. To overcome this problem, Liz decided to join forces with... her husband's mistress! She was a lady nicknamed Boo - actress Evelyn Lei. It was she who, at the request of Elizabeth, who, of course, knew about the nature of her husband’s relationship with this young lady, found for Albert a talented stage speech teacher and speech therapist, Lionel Logue. On his instructions, Boo studied singing with King Albert (after the coronation of George VI), and his wife Elizabeth did breathing exercises.

Princess Elizabeth (Elizabeth II), 1926

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Elizabeth II was born from a test tube

In general, according to numerous evidence, it is known that the father of Elizabeth II had many mistresses in addition to the actress Evelyn Lay. Elizabeth, who did not burn with passion for her husband, was not particularly worried about Albert’s affairs. She was even friends with his passions. However, according to the writer Colleen Campbell, this family idyll was still destined to collapse, as the prince’s parents wanted to have heirs. True, according to Colin, the couple got out of this situation without violating the established distance. They resorted to artificial insemination. This process was supervised by the famous doctor Walter Jagger. Also, according to the book, Margaret, the younger sister of Elizabeth II, was born from a test tube.

King George VI with his wife Queen Elizabeth and daughters Elizabeth and Margaret, 1931

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Why Edward VIII was not allowed to marry for love

No matter how much the British crown wanted to disown this fact, sending the culprits away, it was not possible to hide the greatest love story between the heir to the throne Edward and a simple American divorcee Wallis Simpson. On December 10, 1936, Edward VIII, having been king for ten months, abdicated the throne. In a speech he gave over the radio the next day, the former king confessed to his people: “I have found it impossible... to perform the duties of a king without the help and support of the woman I love.” And he loved a simple American woman, Wallis Simpson. She was not young, not pretty, was married at the time of the affair with the king, and did not have the graceful manners necessary to stay at court. Elizabeth immediately hated this woman. Edward was the brother of her husband Prince Albert. And, as we mentioned above, initially Liz was determined to marry him, and chose her younger brother because she had nowhere to go. Of course, she was irritated by the fact that a simple American woman with no special abilities could turn Edward’s head.

Wallis and Edward, 1940

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Elizabeth decided to prevent their happiness at all costs. It was at her instigation that Wallis was tried on a ridiculous charge. She was charged with the fact that she, allegedly possessing some outlandish sexual techniques that she learned in China, subjugated the will of the king and was able to blackmail him. Of course, no one found evidence, and the charges were dropped. But this fact greatly influenced the cabinet ministers when they decided the fate of this connection. Edward was not allowed to marry a woman with such a vicious reputation. Of course, Wallis's background and her status as a divorced woman played a role, but Elizabeth's hatred seriously aggravated the problem. In the end, she was the one who won. No one expected such a turn, but Edward chose love between love and the throne. Elizabeth's husband, Prince Albert, became king.

How Prince Charles waited 35 years to be reunited with his beloved

At the time of the wedding of the century - Charles and Diana Spencer, the prince's romance with Camilla Parker had already lasted nine years. The young people loved each other, but the Queen Mother did not give Charles permission for this marriage. Camilla was known for her novels and did not seem to Elizabeth II a worthy candidate. The fact is that the royal family was always afraid that former lovers would begin to wash dirty linen in public, which would damage the prince’s reputation.

Princess Diana and her rival Camilla, 1980

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As a result, the queen chose Diana for Charles as his wife, which doomed her, her son, and Camilla to misfortune. Parker specifically married the womanizer and rake Andrew Parker-Bowles, who, with his constant affairs, opened the way for her to retaliate. She cheated on her husband, of course, with Charles. Diana knew about this whole story, but could not force Camilla out of her husband’s heart. It is unknown how long all this would have lasted if one day a recording of a telephone conversation between Charles and his mistress, where the couple communicated more than frivolously, had not accidentally leaked to the press. It was a terrible blow to the reputation, after which it was pointless to maintain the appearance of an idyll between the prince and his wife Diana. The prince wanted a divorce to reunite with his beloved, but Diana's death in 1997 pushed them away again, as people perceived Camilla as a destroyer of the family. Only in 2000 did Charles officially introduce his beloved to his mother, and in 2005, after a 35-year romance, the couple got married.

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The vicious affairs of the “saint” Diana

In the 2013 biopic Diana: A Love Story, the director showed us one of Diana's romances - with heart surgeon Hasnat Khan. In the film, the story looks very romantic, and an uninformed viewer may get the impression that this man was the princess’s only passion. Who knows, perhaps this novel differed from others in its depth of feeling, but it was certainly not the only one. When marrying the Prince of Wales, Diana, of course, knew about his love affair, but apparently hoped to oust Camilla from her husband’s heart. When the princess realized that this was impossible, she began to desperately take revenge.

Diana with her bodyguard Barry Mannaki

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In total, according to Lady Di's biographers, she had five official lovers and about eight unofficial ones. Apparently, in order to prick her husband more painfully, Diana chose the most unexpected candidates as partners. In 1985-1986, she was in a close relationship with her bodyguard Barry Mannaki. At the same time, for a long time no one knew how serious the feelings that the princess had for her subordinate were. In 1991, when a fragment of a frank interview was leaked to the press, the whole world learned that she was seriously considering leaving everything (including her sons) to run away with her lover.

Heart surgeon Hasnat Khan - Diana's lover

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Who is Prince Harry's father?

The royal court hid Diana's adventures as best they could as long as possible. But everything secret becomes clear. So, for example, Diana did not make any special efforts to veil one of her most scandalous novels - with riding instructor James Hewitt. This novel also became scandalous because Diana’s second son, Prince Harry, was born painfully similar to the red-haired James. Butler Paula Burrell added fuel to the fire, who wrote in his memoirs that during her intimate relationships Diana preferred not to use protection... It would seem that all these speculations could have been stopped by a simple DNA test. But this procedure was never officially done. Why is unknown. Perhaps the court simply does not want to stoop to refuting rumors that discredit the reputation of the crown. Or maybe Elizabeth II has reason to fear that the DNA of her grandson and son may not match.

Prince Harry

While the British monarchy sacredly respects the rule that a king or queen cannot abdicate during their lifetime (the memory of the story of Edward and Wallis is still too strong), Prince William will have to wait a long time for his turn to the throne. And yet, no one doubts that one day the crown will fall on his head. He was prepared for the role of king from childhood. As historian Robert Lacey writes in People, “There has always been a special bond between William and the Queen. She paid him a lot of attention. When Will was a teenager, she took him to Windsor Castle and introduced him to government affairs."

In short, William’s coronation is only a matter of time, and when that day comes, his life will change dramatically. But how will all these changes affect the status of his wife, Duchess Catherine?

In any case, most likely, Catherine will not have any problems with naming, and after the coronation of her father-in-law, her husband will still be awarded the title of Prince of Wales, and she will take its female equivalent. But what happens when Charles, to put it mildly, vacates the throne for her husband?

Of course, in this case, William will become the King of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and he will have to be addressed as “His Majesty.” Catherine, as the wife of the Sovereign, will become the so-called consort - this prefix to the title means that the King's wife has no right to power. The Queen's husband, Prince Philip, is currently consort. However, unlike the Duke of Edinburgh, Kate will most likely become a Queen Consort rather than a Princess Consort. And they will address her as “Her Majesty.” Moreover, most often no one will pronounce “consort”. Thus, after William's coronation, Kate Middleton will become Her Majesty Queen Catherine.

A triumph of feminism? As it turned out, exactly the opposite. According to the logic of royal tradition, the title of Queen can be purely symbolic, while the title of King can never be (after all, kings always rule). Thus, if the Duke of Edinburgh were crowned with his wife and he received the title of King Consort, this would raise unnecessary questions and confusion as to whether Her Majesty’s husband could rule with her. Probably by the same logic, Prince Henrik, the late husband of the Danish Queen Margrethe, never became King Consroth.

As for Catherine, strictly speaking, she will remain a queen for the rest of her life. Even if for some reason she outlives her husband, and her eldest son George ascends the throne, she will still be considered the queen and will even retain the title “Her Majesty”. In this sense, her status would be reminiscent of that of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon or Mary of Teck when their children ascended the throne.

It is possible that, following Elizabeth’s example, William’s widow will be called “Her Majesty Queen Catherine, the Queen Mother.” Elizabeth II's mother was called this way to avoid confusion with her ruling daughter. However, most often, whether to call the dowager queen “queen mother” or not is, as history shows, only a matter of tradition, public sentiment and the individual preferences of the woman.