Between 1979 and 1990, the UK was ruled not by one woman, but by two. To say that the relationship between Queen Elizabeth II and Margaret Thatcher was difficult is an understatement. The two heads of the executive were the same age within six months, and more than one point in common: both had idolized their father, tended to be wary of women, and professed an unwavering patriotism and concern for continuity. . “Maggie” was a staunch royalist and her shyness echoed that of the sovereign, although the former compensated for it with aggressiveness and the latter with reserve. Yet a world separated Grantham’s grocer’s daughter and the aristocrat.
Nothing is supposed to filter from the interview which brings together the queen and her prime minister in Buckingham every week. Their confidentiality makes it a habitual time for free discussion, and political leaders have often described the benefit they derive from this dialogue with a queen who is actually well informed and wise.
With Margaret Thatcher, the sessions were often described as heavy, tense and unproductive. The excessive deference of “Maggie” is considered embarrassing by the sovereign, who finds it hard to bear the sweet and authoritarian tone of her interlocutor. The tendency of the Prime Minister to want to protect the Queen is perceived by the latter as condescending. His mania for arriving very early appears to be a sign of rudeness.
Plethora of disagreements
Especially, M.me Thatcher drowns Elizabeth II in a flood of words while following her agenda. She expresses her opinions, even lectures, instead of seeking the opinions of the queen. If the latter approves at the beginning of the drastic policy of economic recovery of the Iron Lady and endorses the intervention in the Falklands as head of the armies, her disagreements with Mme Thatcher grew from 1983, during her second term. The queen, recipient of a flood of letters from wives of striking miners, is sensitive to their distress during the longest social conflict of the post-war period (1984-1985). The fall of the pound sterling worries her.
Mme Thatcher drowns Elizabeth II in a flood of words while following her agenda. She expresses her opinions, even lectures, instead of seeking the opinions of the Queen
Discontent was expressed spectacularly on July 20, 1986 on the front page of the Sunday Times, which proclaims: ‘Queen appalled at Thatcher’s insensitivity’. The article, actually inspired by Buckingham, claims that Elizabeth sees her Prime Minister’s policies as “aggressive and socially divisive”. What is more, it appears at a time when several Commonwealth countries, of which the Queen is the head, are threatening to leave the organization in protest against Margaret Thatcher’s refusal to take economic sanctions against South Africa and its system of ‘apartheid.
You have 32.27% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.
