By Roya Nikkhah
LONDON: Previously unseen letters and diaries written by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, will be published this week, revealing her innermost thoughts on intimate private matters and the landmark moments of the 20th century.
A new book, authorised by the Queen to mark her diamond jubilee, will include extracts from her mother's private letters and journals from all 10 decades of her life. A prolific correspondent from childhood until her death in 2002 aged 101, her missives to family and friends span her idyllic childhood at Glamis Castle, her family home in Scotland, through both World Wars and her experiences of marrying into the royal family.
Family first ... Queen and daughters on the balcony at Buckingham Palace with King George VI after his coronation in 1937.Credit: Getty Images
They also include her writings on the abdication crisis of 1936 and the untimely death of her beloved ''Bertie'', King George VI, in 1952, followed by her adjustment to her new role as Queen Mother.
The letters reveal her dilemma over whether to marry the Duke of York. In January 1923, following a three-year courtship, the then Elizabeth Bowes Lyon wrote to one of her closest friends of feeling ''terrified'' at the prospect of marrying into the royal family, having finally accepted the duke's proposal.
War time ... meeting the people on a visit to London's bombed East End in 1941.
They also reveal her subsequent blissful enjoyment of marriage and motherhood, including many letters in which she writes affectionately of her young daughters, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose.
In a letter to Anne Beevers, her midwife and maternity nurse, written in October 1926 when Princess Elizabeth was six months old, she described her first-born daughter as ''sharp as a needle''. Another letter to her mother, Lady Strathmore, written the same month, said: ''She is going to be very wicked, and she is very quick, I think …''
In 1936, following her sudden elevation to Queen Consort after Edward VIII abdicated to marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson, Queen Elizabeth wrote to her brother-in-law that she and her husband were ''overcome with misery'' at being unexpectedly thrust on to the throne.
The letters also convey her heartbreak at the death of her husband in February 1952, following a battle with lung cancer. In a letter to her mother-in-law, Queen Mary, she wrote of her devastation at losing Bertie, whom she described as ''my whole life''.
The royal wave ... the Queen Mother acknowledges wellwishers in 2000.Credit: AP
Several of the letters featured in Counting One's Blessings: The Selected Letters of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother also reflect her love of a tipple.
One in 1931 to a close friend is signed: ''With kind regards and many hiccoughs. I remain, Yours in thirst, Elizabeth.''
The book, which will be out on Thursday, features material drawn from the royal archives at Windsor Castle, Glamis Castle, and other private collections. It was edited by William Shawcross, Queen Elizabeth's biographer, who commented: ''She had beautiful clear handwriting from the age of 10 to the age of 100.
''From childhood onwards, her words danced on the page, teeming with vitality, ebullience and optimism. Although by today's standards her formal education was limited, her letters showed a relish for language, and sparkled with the sheer joy of living.''
Telegraph, London