Design & Decorate

Queen Elizabeth, A Side of Her You Might Not Know

September 11, 2022

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Dear Readers,

I was going to combine this post about Queen Elizabeth with the topic of Home Organization. I know. Silly me. That’s not happening. This one is all for our dear Queen Elizabeth.

Yes, I said “our dear Queen Elizabeth,” for I believe if Diana was the people’s princess, then Elizabeth II was the world’s Queen. I haven’t heard anyone else say that, but I’m sure most of us feel that way.

Most of us can’t remember when Elizabeth wasn’t the Queen of Great Britain.

I think so many are struggling with this news because there has only been one English monarch our entire lives. The sun goes down, and we go to sleep. In the morning, the sun rises, and Elizabeth is the Queen of England. Every day of our lives, this is how it’s been until September 8, 2022, when we went to sleep knowing that tomorrow the sun will rise without our Elizabeth.

(a little portrait I made digitally)

As an American, I don’t understand why we are not calling Great Britain the United Queendom. Right? ;]

Furthermore, I have always been intrigued by the idea of people being born into royalty.

It doesn’t matter if a younger sibling is more suited for the top job. If you’re the firstborn, you’re IT. That is unless one abdicates, and yes, that has happened. As most know, Elizabeth’s Uncle Edward did just that, and of course, the next in line was Elizabeth’s father, George. Elizabeth would not have been queen had her uncle not abdicated.

Fortunately, Elizabeth inherited her strong constitution from her mom, as King George only made it to age 56. The rest, as they say, is history.

Naturally, the firstborn learns at a very early age that this is almost a sure thing. They are groomed their entire lives for the job. And, in the case of King Charles, there could be no one more ready for the position than he is, as he’s taken on many of his mother’s duties in recent years.

Growing up, my impression of the royal family was that they were a bit uptight and stuffy.

They had upper-crust English accents (the Queen’s English, you know) and lived in castles. I couldn’t relate. Please remember that these are only my impressions, not necessarily what was true.

But, then came Diana. Diana, a proper English rose, was like a breath of fresh air. Unwittingly, I perceive that she became the bridge from the old, stuffy royals to what they have evolved into; more genuine, warm, and down-to-earth. Sure, they have their problems. They are hounded by the press and the gossip that goes around…

Despite their immense wealth and privilege, it’s an incredibly demanding JOB. They must have the thickest skin imaginable. I don’t envy any of them.

However, after the London summer Olympics in 2012, I saw a side of Queen Elizabeth that changed my view of her forever.

Behind her often intensely somber facade is a screamingly funny woman.

I mean, who can forget the sight of the Queen and James Bond jumping out of a helicopter during the opening ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympics? Bond was in a tux, and Her Majesty wore a bejeweled pink formal dress.

Above, a completely deadpan Queen Elizabeth as herself and Daniel Craig as James Bond 007 heading out of Buckingham Palace to the helicopter pad.

Later, the “queen” ;] getting ready to exit the chopper.

Oh, you thought that WAS the Queen of England jumping out of a helicopter?

Boy, it sure looked like it!

My Six Figure Income Blogger guide talks about the oft-thrown-around axiom, “Content is King.”

Yeah.

However, I go on to say, “if the content is king, then our readers are QUEEN.”

Yes, you guys are that precious to me.

To go along with my words, I needed an image. I had an idea. I needed an image with a queen obsessed with my blog content. (please excuse the self-aggrandizement) Of course, there was only ONE Queen I could think of.

After several hours of searching for the grandest image of Queen Elizabeth reading, I found it.

It was perfect. However, for purposes of copyright, for my book, I created a watercolor of my photoshopped image of Her Majesty sitting on her thrown with her gold 16″ Macbook Pro.

I did find one retrospective in Vogue magazine with some fantastic images.

I turned one image of Queen Elizabeth from the article into a Warhol-esque piece of framed art. (below)

It’s a young Princess Elizabeth who is said to be playing tag, but to me, she looks like she’s swing dancing. And, since I read that Queen Elizabeth’s favorite color was blue, I used those colors in my computer art. This is a side of her that we really didn’t see, but here it is. I love that!

It is improbable we’ll see another Queen of England in our lifetime.

However, if tragedy were to strike, Princess Charlotte would be a remote possibility. Hopefully, there will be no more tragedies.

To say that Queen Elizabeth lived her life to the fullest is an understatement. We all know by now that she worked until the day that she could no longer stand; only the day before, she passed. She didn’t linger for days or weeks. No, it was just long enough for us to briefly prepare ourselves for what we all knew was happening when the news first broke, Thursday morning. We didn’t want to think the worst. Surely, as in the past, she’ll get better with some rest.

But, we knew. We have seen her growing increasingly frail in recent years. And, then, the news came out that the entire family was all rushing to be by her side.

We knew…

I was incredibly blessed to visit England in 2017. I spent several hours on the grounds of King Charles’ country home, High Grove House. No photos were allowed, not even of the immense gardens. But, we were only maybe 30 feet away from the house for a while. There, you could see the sumptuous draperies lining the windows. The luxuriously tasteful English decor was positively seeping through the glass. It was glorious.

We also spent two days with Ben Pentreath and visited Prince Charles village of Poundbury. I took zillions of photos. Ben, as you may know, is one of the chief architects of Poundbury and has also worked for King Charles and other royal family members.

I adored England and would love to go back.

I didn’t get to stay long in London but our hotel was a stone’s throw from Buckingham Palace. So, arriving a day early, I strolled over to check it out.

You can see those photos here.

It will take time to process this profound loss.