While marathoning Netflix's new series The Crown, which premieres on Friday, you might notice that there are not just one, but two Queen Elizabeths represented in the TV drama. One is the Queen Elizabeth everyone knows as the current monarch of the United Kingdom. The other is her mom, I mean mum, who is known officially as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. So who is Queen Elizabeth's mother? She was originally born as Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, according to Biography, and went on to become the strong, supportive wife and queen consort to King George VI, Queen Elizabeth II's father.
According to The Guardian, the Queen Mother died at age 101 in 2002. She was born in 1900 to noble parents Lord and Lady Glamis in England, but she would spend many of her summers at Glamis Castle in Scotland, according to the BBC. She grew up a young royal named Price Albert (nicknamed "Bertie" and future King George VI), who would come over and play with her older brothers, reported The Guardian. By the time they reached their 20s, Albert proposed marriage to Elizabeth twice and she turned him down both times, "afraid never, never again to be free to think, speak, and act as I feel I really ought to," she said, according to The Guardian.
But third time was the charm for Albert and Elizabeth said yes after Proposal No. 3 and they wed in 1923 at Westminster Abbey, according to the BBC. "I felt it my duty to marry Bertie, and fell in love with him afterwards," she is quoted as saying, according to The Guardian. The first Elizabeth never expected to be queen and Albert never expected to be king — Bertie was second in line for the throne, behind his elder brother Edward, Prince of Wales, reported BBC. Together, they were the Duke and Duchess of York and had two daughters: Elizabeth (the future queen) and Margaret. Albert had a stutter and his wife Elizabeth supported him throughout therapy sessions with Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue — which you will recall being chronicled in the Oscar-winning film The King's Speech, starring Colin Firth.
When King George V died in 1936, Edward ascended to the crown — and then famously abdicated the throne in order to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. The spotlight then shifted to Albert and Elizabeth, who took the throne as King George VI and queen consort. The king would rule until 1952, when he died after suffering many illnesses at 56 years old, including lung cancer, according to the BBC. "He loved you all, every one of you, most truly. Now I am left alone to do what I can to honour that pledge without him," the Queen Mother said in a message days after his funeral, according to The Guardian.
Princess Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth II at age 25, but Queen Elizabeth I continued her royal duties after an initial period of mourning for her late husband. "My only wish is that I may be allowed to continue the work that [King George VI and I] sought to do together," the Queen Mother said, according to Biography.
So as you can see, the first Queen Elizabeth is just as fascinating as the first.
