THE TRUTH BEHIND THE DIFFICULT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN QUEEN ELIZABETH II AND MARGARET THATCHER
The tension that existed between two of the most influential women in the world has been widely documented and she stars in part of the fourth season of 'The Crown'. What really happened?
Often defined as a cold relationship, these two leaders were born just five months apart but with very different perspectives on society. The fourth season of The Crown featuring Gillian Anderson as the formidable Margaret Thatcher, the newly elected Prime Minister, tells the story during her time in office and addresses the tension that existed between her and the Queen of England, who reportedly they faced many conflicts because they had conflicting opinions.
Many of the former politicians, civil servants and courtiers who agreed with them at that time agree that the relationship between the queen and the prime minister was quite difficult. Elizabeth II and Thatcher were very different women with different backgrounds who had to come together during a period that, until now, has been considered the most violent in history.
Some suggest that the Queen Mother, who died in 2002, was the member of the royal family who most defended Margaret Thatcher's far-right politics, unlike her daughter, Elizabeth II, who is "in her own way, a little leftist, "according to British historian Ben Pimlott.
It has even been documented that during Thatcher's years in office, the queen was upset by the evident division of the nation. Between March 1984 and March 1985, more than half of the country's miners, about 187,000, stopped working during what was considered the largest industrial dispute of postwar Britain, with the intention of preventing the closure of the mines . The prime minister opposed the strike and sought to reduce the power of the unions. She imagined it would end soon because of the suggestion she made to the miners' wives to pressure her men to be sensible, but many of them became actively involved in the movement. The queen, for her part, showed her sympathy towards those wives. The disagreement between Elizabeth II and Thatcher over apartheid in South Africa is also often referenced: Thatcher was against sanctions and the queen supported them. And if we talk about their personalities, both women were completely different according to their acquaintances. The queen is said to have a dry wit, while Thatcher lacked a sense of humor.
In the 2014 Amazon Prime documentary titled The Queen and her Prime Ministers, the narrator claims that their relationship became "awkward at times."
And the late royal journalist Judy Wade talks about a time that Thatcher was eager to find out what the queen would wear to an event they would both attend, simply to avoid causing any altercations, which allegedly elicited a response from the Palace that said : "Don't worry, the queen never realizes what other women are wearing."
Thatcher's former former press secretary Bernard Ingham says the prime minister had a deep respect for the monarchy and was too punctual when it came to her weekly hearings. The narrator of the documentary says: "Whenever she went to see the Queen, Mrs Thatcher would arrive a quarter of an hour early and every week Her Majesty would leave her waiting 15 minutes."
Anthony Sampson, a well-connected journalist of the time, wrote in 1982: "The relationship is more difficult because their roles seem confusing. The queen's style is more practical and domestic, while Mrs. Thatcher (who is taller) is the one who behaves like a queen. "
But despite everything, some believe that their relationship was not as disastrous as it is said.
According to British playwright Moira Buffini - the author of Handbaged (2013), which made headlines for examining the relationship between the Queen and Thatcher on stage - the Queen was actually a role model for Thatcher. In an interview with The Guardian before the premiere of the piece, she said: “Her hats, her gloves and her coats were her looking to look like the woman she admired. She aspired to be royalty. "
The relationship between any prime minister and the queen of England tends to be secret, and there are few references to the queen in Thatcher's extensive memoirs.
In the Amazon documentary, BBC announcer Michael Cockerell says: "In the end, I think they got along well, and I think Mrs Thatcher came to appreciate the advice the queen gave her." While royal biographer Hugo Vickers suggests that the queen claimed to be "very upset" by the way Thatcher was overthrown. In November 1990, she resigned as head of government and party leader after Michael Heseltine challenged her leadership. It's also worth noting that Thatcher's funeral was the first funeral for a prime minister the queen has attended since Churchill. Elizabeth II also honored Thatcher with the Order of Merit just two weeks after her resignation.
