Queen Private

Queen Private

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Published on February 22, 2022 02:00 PM

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Stephanie Petit is a Royals Writer/Reporter at PEOPLE. She has been with the brand since 2016 after graduating from The College of New Jersey and holding previous positions at Seventeen, CBS Radio and more. Follow the proud dog mom on Twitter at @stephpetit_ for the latest on Queen Elizabeth's corgis.

Queen Elizabeth 's COVID-19 diagnosis comes during an increasingly "tumultuous time" for the royal family.

Despite the 95-year-old monarch celebrating her Platinum Jubilee this year, marking 70 years on the throne, 2022 is off to a rough start. In addition to her latest health setback, the Queen is also dealing with several royal family scandals, including Prince Andrew 's settlement with his sexual assault accuser, an investigation into Prince Charles ' charity following cash-for-honors allegation and the 2020 departure of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle .

"It's a drip-feed of negativity for the monarchy," says a palace insider in this week's cover story. "I've not known such a tumultuous time as this."

For more on Queen Elizabeth 's COVID-19 diagnosis, listen below to our daily podcast on PEOPLE Every Day.

A royal insider adds: "It just feels to be one thing after another for the Queen. It's going to take a toll."

The Queen no longer has her most trusted companion beside her following the death of her husband, Prince Philip , in April — just one of the many deaths of close confidants that the monarch has experienced in recent months.

"There's a difference between being alone and being lonely," says the palace insider. Factor in even mild symptoms of COVID, and it "must be hard," adds the insider. "Whatever the symptoms, when you're feeling below par, having to deal with the other problems is really hard."

However, the Queen remains resolute even in the midst of difficult times. The Queen "is stoical and mentally strong," adds the insider.

Still, the cumulative stress along with her age has taken a toll on the usually vibrant Queen Elizabeth . Just last week, she quipped that she "can't move" as she gestured with her cane during an in-person meeting.

She's also been unable to take part in one of her favorite leisurely activities: horseback riding. Queen Elizabeth hasn't been riding her beloved ponies in recent months due to "discomfort."

"In the past, one of the things that's always been a way for her to cope is to be physically active," says historian Amanda Foreman, author of Queen Victoria's Buckingham Palace . "And with that being curtailed, it makes it especially hard."

Can't get enough of PEOPLE 's Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton , Meghan Markle and more!

The Queen remains focused on celebrating her Platinum Jubilee in June with a long weekend of events.

"Her main concern will be to get back to be in fighting form to start the Jubilee celebrations," says the insider. "She's of the generation where you 'suck it up.' It is duty first."

Adds royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith, author of Elizabeth the Queen : The Life of a Modern Monarch : "She's very, very good at dealing with what life throws at her. She understands that she needs to project that positive image more than ever and go about her business."

September 6, 2022, 12:49 PM · 2 min read
The Queen is said to never be happier than when she is staying at Balmoral estate (PA) (PA Archive)
The Queen will receive Liz Truss at Balmoral Castle (Andrew Milligan/PA) (PA Archive)
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh during a visit to a farm on their Balmoral estate, to celebrate their silver wedding anniversary (PA) (PA Archive)
Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Prime Minister of Ghana, with the Queen, Philip, the Prince of Wales and Princess Anne at Balmoral in 1959 (PA) (PA Archive)
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh during their traditional summer break at Balmoral Castle in 1976 (PA) (PA Archive)
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The Queen is said to never be happier than when she is staying on her beloved Balmoral estate.
Balmoral Castle – her private Scottish home in Aberdeenshire – was handed down to her through generations of royals after being bought for Queen Victoria by Prince Albert in 1852.
Victoria described Balmoral as her “Heaven on Earth”, and it is where she sought solace after Albert’s death.
The turreted grey stone castle by the River Dee is surrounded by fir-clad hills, lochs and grouse moors.
The Queen’s traditional annual stay at the main property – after a break at Craigowan Lodge on the estate in July – usually stretches through August and September and into October.
Princess Eugenie , the Queen’s granddaughter, once described Balmoral as the most beautiful place on the planet.
“Walks, picnics, dogs – a lot of dogs, there’s always dogs – and people coming in and out all the time,” she said.
Years of royal memories have been forged at Balmoral, including family barbecues – where the late Duke of Edinburgh did the cooking and the Queen the washing-up.
Eugenie had added: “It’s a lovely base for Granny and Grandpa, for us to come and see them up there; where you just have room to breathe and run.”
Each morning, a lone piper traditionally plays below the Queen’s bedroom window.
Prime ministers and first ministers usually visit the monarch and stay for short periods, but the Queen has never before in her long reign appointed a PM at Balmoral, with Liz Truss the first.
Former prime minister David Cameron once said there was not much “chillaxing” – chilling out and relaxing – there, with the royals spending their time on outdoor pursuits.
At royal residences, servants meticulously unpack luggage for guests.
Cherie Blair revealed in her autobiography that her son Leo was conceived at Balmoral when she left her contraception at home out of embarrassment during her annual weekend stay there with husband and then PM Tony Blair.
“In 1998 – I had been extremely disconcerted to discover that everything of mine had been unpacked,” she wrote.
“Not only my clothes, but the entire contents of my distinctly ancient toilet bag with its range of unmentionables,” Mrs Blair added.
“This year I had been a little more circumspect, and had not packed my contraceptive equipment out of sheer embarrassment.
“As usual up there, it had been bitterly cold, and what with one thing and another…”
After Philip and Princess Elizabeth married in 1947, they spent part of their honeymoon at Birkhall – a grand hunting lodge on the Balmoral estate since inherited by the Prince of Wales.
The Queen was staying with her grandsons, William and Harry, at Balmoral when their mother Diana, Princess of Wales, died in a car crash in Paris in 1997.
The monarch will carry out the key duty at her private Scottish retreat, rather than at Buckingham Palace, for the first time in her reign.
With a fire roaring beneath the mantlepiece, the royal leaned on her now familiar walking stick as she greeted the new Conservative Party leader.
The monarch spends most summer at her Scottish home
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Prince William is reportedly refusing to see Prince Harry until after his memoir come out, and feels he can't trust him not to repeat their conversations.
The Queen was most recently seen leaving for Balmoral Castle, just days after an engagement with daughter Princess Anne
Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen are reportedly in an "epic fight" over his decision to un-retire from the NFL, and she's left the family compound.
Whoopi Goldberg has a message for racist “Lord of the Rings” and “Game of Thrones” fans: “Get a job!” During the Sept. 6 episode of “The View,” Goldberg and her co-hosts confronted the racist backlash that has met the recently launched fantasy series “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” and “House of […]
On Red Table Talk Wednesday, Jennette McCurdy opens up about years of suffering in silence with her abusive mom Debbie, who died of cancer in 2013
The subject of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, one of the topics of discussion at the Venice Film Festival, bubbled to the surface again on Tuesday with Tilda Swinton making a statement with her hair dyed yellow. “It’s my honor to wear half of the Ukrainian flag,” Swinton said at the press conference for […]
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Succession star Brian Cox once wrote that "[Johnny Depp] is so overblown, so overrated." He added, "I mean, Edward Scissorhands. Let's face it, if you come on with hands like that and pale, scarred-face makeup, you don't have to do anything. And he didn't. And subsequently, he's done even less."View Entire Post ›
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Published: 11:45 BST, 2 March 2021 | Updated: 16:07 BST, 2 March 2021
Usually a private space where she can relax away from the glare of the public eye, the Queen has offered the public a rare look inside her private apartments at Windsor Castle over the last year.
The Queen, 94, has conducted a number of high profile video calls from the comfortable, countrified sitting room during lockdown , including one last week with the Governor of South Australia .
The room is normally closed off from public view and has only been photographed a handful of times, most notably when Annie Leibovitz photographed the Queen and Prince Philip for Vanity Fair in 2016.
So photographs released over the last year to mark the Queen's virtual engagements, including the ones from last week's call with Australia, offer a rare glimpse at the monarch's private quarters - and the historical objects, trinkets and personal mementos that she chooses to keep close at hand.
In the most recent images, the Queen is photographed at a felt-covered writing desk - with a couple of cushions strategically placed on her wooden dining chair for extra height and comfort. The background is rather blurry but gives an idea of the rest of the room, from the imposing glass-fronted display cabinet to the black open fireplace.
'Considering to whom this room belongs, it has a remarkably relaxed feel about it, of course, it’s grand but it’s curiously non-intimidating,' noted interior designer Benji Lewis of Zoom that Room (www.zoomthatroom.com). ' The colours are warm, the furniture layout isn’t rigid and there’s plenty of soft seating on offer.
'The interesting thing about the furnishings in this room is that they say 'Best of British craftsmanship', be that in terms of the items of furniture themselves, like the mahogany bookcases, the desk and the Chinese Chippendale fretwork armchair, or the manner in which upholstered pieces have been addressed.'
Here, FEMAIL combines the most recent photograph of the Queen's sitting room with others released over the last year to reveal a fuller picture of the Queen's private space...
AT WORK: A photograph taken of the Queen in her private sitting room at Windsor Castle during last week's call with the Governor of South Australia. Pictured: 1. A wooden dining chair with two booster cushions; 2. A glass-fronted display cabinet showcasing a ceramics collection; 3. Three horse figurines, including one of a rider; 4. Simple wooden desk with felt covering
1. DINING CHAIR WITH COMFORTABLE CUSHIONS
Although the Queen has chosen a comfortable armchair for previous video engagements, last week's call to Australia was carried out on a straight-backed wooden dining chair. At just 5ft 4in, it appeared the Queen needed a little more height for the video call and a padded cushion was added to the seat to give her a boost. A second cushion folded at her lower back no doubt made it more comfortable, too.
Benji observed: 'The inclusion of scatter cushions on the chair she’s sat on shows that she knows that a little additional height under her seat might better showcase her off for Zoom meetings and actually by showing this informal side to proceedings she’s giving us a little free lesson in an approach that might suit us all!'
In the background of the image there is an imposing glass-fronted wood display cabinet housing what appears to be an impressive ceramics collection. The Royal Collection contains dozens of priceless pieces but it is difficult to tell which ones are showcased here. One thing is for certain, they must be particular favourites of Her Majesty to be displayed alongside her personal treasures.
3. REARING HORSE STATUETTES AND FIGURE OF RIDER ON HORSEBACK
Reflecting one of the Queen's greatest passions, on top of the display cabinet there are a trio of horse statuettes. In the centre there is a miniature rider on horseback, potentially a model of the Queen herself. Otherwise it could be a favourite horse that the Queen has owned over the years. On either side there is a horse rearing on its hind legs, reflecting the wilder side of the animal Her Majesty loves.
The Queen is photographed at a wooden desk with two small drawers at the front. This writing desk looks like it has been temporarily moved to the side of the room for the video call and is small enough to be easily carried and positioned by household staff. A thin piece of red felt has been placed on top of the desk to protect the wood from any scratches or damage. The Queen has another heavier desk elsewhere in the room (No. 10, below).
Benji added: 'The necessity for a ‘virtual working from home space station’ to maintain contact with the world, hasn’t escaped the Royal household, and it’s been done very smartly.
'The desk is just large enough for a sizeable monitor with space for a couple of papers and nothing more, likely a pretty sensible approach so as not to be encumbered by additional desktop clutter, allowing for HM The Queen to focus on those with whom she needs or wishes to engage.'
RELAXED: This view of the Queen in her private apartments was seen during a documentary about Princess Anne that was released last summer. It offers a better idea of the details of the room. Pictured: 5. A selection of framed photographs; 6. Mantelpiece with a pair of candlesticks; 7. Ornate gold wall mirror; 8. Heavy gold curtains; 9. Comfortable sofa
On the display cabinet and on the sideboard, there are a number of framed photographs. It is difficult to tell who is pictured but it is more than likely that they are snaps of the Queen's family. The Royal Household frequently rotate photo frames between rooms to freshen up the displays. Many of them are from milestone celebrations or family events such as weddings and christenings.
6. MANTELPIECE WITH CANDLE HOLDERS
On the mantelpiece behind the Queen, a pair of matching candle holders are just about visible. While little can be gleamed about the piece from this angle, other photos taken in the room, including the one by Leibovitz, show similar pieces that take the form of humans 'holding' the candles on outstretched arms. It is possible these are the same ones.
Displayed above the fireplace, next to one of the windows looking out to the castle courtyard, is an ornate gold mirror.
Pulled back on either side of the large windows are gold curtains in a heavy fabric. Benji said: 'The curtains are absolutely traditional and super grand, made even more splendid with their fringed embellishment, and yet it’s a soft window dressing. Instead of a simple curtain pole or squared box pelmet it's been dressed with something way more gentle, no less grand but gentle with the pleasing scooped shape in the draped pelmet being echoed in the soft curves of the oval mirror.'
Benji said: 'The sofa is a beauty - curiously the only upholstered piece in a patterned fabric – and I should think superbly comfortable, yet it's quite contained with its tallish arms and it's made less clumpy looking due to its fixed back, rather than loose backed cushions.
'The dressy nature of the room is continued on the sofa upholstery which instead of having exposed feet, has been given a box pleat skirt, a nice counterfoil to the draped curtains. My feeling is that the patterned upholstery forms part of a bigger picture to which we’re not being made aware.
'In much the same way as the curtains have been given added spectacle with the fringing, the scatter cushions have been similarly finished with differing textures (velvet on some and pique cotton on others I think) and edged in either a cord or a caterpillar fringe, demonstrating an attention to detail and enjoyment of that little bit extra.'
ON CALL: The Queen on a phone call with the Prime Minister at the start of the pandemic last year. The photo offered a view of the Queen's cluttered desk, which is decorated with corgis and a Queen's Guard statuette
The Queen's love of her corgis is well-documented and this photo shows how she likes to be reminded of them while working at her writing desk. On the left-hand side of the desk there are three corgis: one larger one, thought to be china, and two smaller ones, t
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