Queen Elizabeth, the woman Hitler feared

▲The mother of the late Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth, with her steel will and perseverance, helped her husband, daughter and the United Kingdom through the turbulent days during and after World War II. Painted in 1947. (Photo / Associated Press / Dazhi Image)

The late Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom passed away, ending her 70-year long reign, at the age of 96, and her mother was also a very long-lived legendary woman, who helped the British for 2 generations The monarch, who led the country through World War II and the difficult years after the war, had a pivotal influence. She was Queen Elizabeth, who was once named “the most dangerous woman in Europe” by the Nazi German leader Adolf Hitler. The Queen Mother).

On August 4, 1900, Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon) was born into a noble family in Scotland, the 14th generation of Strathmore 14th and 1st Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, daughter of Claude George Bowes-Lyon. Elisabeth spent most of her childhood at the family-owned St Paul’s Walden and Glamis Castle, and was well educated from an early age, with excellent academic performance and a love of sports, ponies and The puppy is a cute, lively and intelligent little girl.

▲ Elizabeth was nine years old in Glamisburg, Scotland. Taken in 1909. (Photo / Associated Press / Dazhi Image)

At the age of 14, Elizabeth’s life ushered in the first turning point. The first world war broke out. All four of her brothers joined the army, but one was killed in the battle of 1915, and the other died in 1917. She disappeared during a military operation in 2009; Glamisburg, where Elizabeth grew up, became a military hospital. She was a girl at the time, and she also helped take care of wounded soldiers and manage hospital affairs in the hospital. She experienced war at a young age. The cruelty made Elizabeth hate war from the bottom of her heart.

After the war, by chance, she met the second son of the then King George V (George V), the Duke of York (Prince Albert, Duke of York, later George VI). She fell in love at first sight and proposed to her many times since 1921, but Elizabeth rejected them all because she loved freedom and was afraid that once she married into the royal family, she would no longer be able to think, speak and act freely. However, the Duke of York, who was deeply in love, did not give up because of this. His indomitable pursuit paid off until early 1923. Elizabeth finally nodded and agreed to his proposal. The two met at Westminster Abbey on April 26, 1923. The wedding was held in the church, and Elizabeth became the Duchess of York.

▲When Elizabeth was young, she was elegant and refined, which made the Duke of York unforgettable at first sight and hoped to stay with the beautiful woman for a lifetime. (Photo / Associated Press / Dazhi Image)

In addition to being moved by the affection of the Duke of York, it is also said that the reason why Elizabeth agreed to this marriage is that the Duke of York is unlikely to inherit the throne. After all, the crown prince at that time was George V and Queen Mary. His eldest son, the Duke of York’s elder brother, Edward, Prince of Wales, who indeed succeeded to the throne in 1936 as Edward VIII (Edward VIII). It’s just that people are not as good as heaven, and what is destined to come will still come, whether it is a challenge, honor or other.

At the end of 1936, Edward VIII, who had ruled Britain for less than a year, almost triggered a domestic political crisis because he could not part with his love for Wallis Simpson, an American woman who had been divorced twice, and finally chose to abdicate voluntarily and became the Duke of Windsor. , since he had no children, he was succeeded by his younger brother, the Duke of York, as the new King George VI.

As early as when Edward VIII was still struggling between the throne and Simpson, George VI persuaded his brother to find another spouse, because he had no ambitions for the throne, and was not happy to see his brother really abdicate. As a result, Edward VIII chose to be beautiful. The Duke and Duchess of York, who were originally happy to be idle clans, could only take over the throne, and their lives have changed a lot since then.

▲Knowing that George VI was introverted, stuttered and lacked self-confidence, Elizabeth stayed by her husband’s side all the time, through all the difficulties during his reign. The picture shows the military parade celebrating the end of World War II in London on June 9, 1946. (Photo / Associated Press / Dazhi Image)

A Duchess who has been a Duchess for over 10 years, she suddenly became the Queen. Elizabeth knew that she had to get used to it, not to mention her introverted, unpleasant, and stuttering husband also needed her assistance. Build up her husband’s self-confidence, so that he can establish the majesty of a king. Elizabeth directly participated in the speech therapy of George VI. Her encouragement and support undoubtedly gave George VI great motivation and courage, and the problem of stuttering was also solved. This experience was later adapted into the well-known film “The King’s Speech” (The King’s Speech), which was released in early 2011 and achieved box office success in the UK and around the world.

In 1939, when the Second World War broke out, George VI and his wife became staunch anti-fascists. Even when the German army bombed London, the king and his wife insisted on not leaving London in the face of the danger of being bombed. Queen Lisabeth personally went to the ruined streets almost every day to offer condolences to the wounded and boost morale. At this time, she not only shouldered the important task of defending the country, but also had to help her husband deal with domestic and foreign affairs, large and small. She helped the UK survive in the chaotic and turbulent international environment, and because of her firmness, she was universally loved by the British people. It was said that she was called “the most dangerous woman in Europe” by Hitler at the time.

▲ During World War II, George VI and his wife were reluctant to leave the UK for their own safety, but chose to stick to their homeland with the people. The picture shows the king and his wife patrolling the streets of London devastated by bombs. (Photo / Associated Press / Dazhi Image)

It is a pity that although George VI successfully survived until the end of World War II, the enormous pressure of post-war reconstruction, coupled with his poor health, caused George VI to die of lung cancer in 1952 at the age of 56. The death of her husband made her grief-stricken, and she thought of retiring for a while, but under the strong persuasion of the then Prime Minister Winston Churchill, she continued to perform her duties on behalf of the royal family, assisting her eldest daughter Elizabeth II in ruling the country, and was arrested. Respected as the Queen Mother.

Compared with George VI, Queen Elizabeth is quite long-lived. Her last public event was on February 15, 2002, when she attended the second daughter Princess Margaret (Princess Margaret, who became Countess of Snowdon after marriage) Snowdon’s funeral, more than a month later (March 30), the Queen Mother passed away at Windsor Castle Hunting Palace, at the age of 101. She was the longest-lived member of the royal family at that time. After her death, she died in Windsor Castle with her husband and daughter. The King George VI Memorial Chapel in St. George’s Church (the eldest daughter Elizabeth II is also buried there on September 20, 2022).

Although Queen Elizabeth’s life is not completely without any controversy, analysts generally believe that she is a shrewd, capable and strong-willed woman. , and can manage state affairs under huge pressure. When her husband and daughter are on the throne of the monarch, they all give strong and stable support from behind. Undoubtedly, they have provided stable spiritual strength for the development of the British royal family for nearly a hundred years.